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James Monroe

April 28, 1758, Westmoreland County, Virginia - July 4, 1831, New York City, New York

Political Party: Democratic-Republican

Presidential term: March 4, 1817 – March 4, 1825

Vice President: Daniel D. Tompkins (1817-1825)

During Monroe’s presidency, the identity of America was greatly enhanced. At this time, the idea of nationalism was growing at a rapid pace through America. This idea was greatly exemplified through the so called Era of Good Feelings. Though these “good feelings” were very shallow and were lost due to things such as the financial panic of 1819 they brought the country together and truly displayed the idea of nationalism. At this time, the Federalists were dying away and Republicans were left with little opposition. Therefore, most of the country was backing one party, as opposed to the previous Two-Party system. This absence of partisan struggle brought about a whole new feeling of nationalism as well and thus greatened America’s identity as a nation because they were brought together and became more unified. Another development in America’s identity came through the creation of the American system. The American System came about when British competitors started lowering their prices to ruin America’s war-baby factories. In response to this, the protective Tariff of 1816 was made as well as the Americans System. Henry Clay developed this as a plan for developing a profitable home market. The system was made up of three big parts. The first part consisted of a strong banking system which would provide easy and abundant credit. The second part was the creation of a protective tariff which would allow eastern manufacturing to flourish and would pay for the final part of the system. Lastly, the third part of the American System was a network of roads and canals for the exchanging of goods and knitting the country together economically and politically. The demands of the system changed the mindset of many Americans. It created a new hunger for better transportation. In addition, one of the biggest causes of the failure to invade Canada was the lack of roads. This added to the wish for nationally funded roadways. Thus, this wish for internal improvement became one of the most striking aspects of nationalism and furthered America as a largely nationalistic country. On account of a lack of Federalist opposition, Monroe entered the presidency with ease. He also entered it during a time of no large threats from other countries. Therefore, Monroe was free to develop the idea of nationalism throughout his presidency. One of the great outcomes of this was it led to much national unity and pride in the still developing country. In addition, Monroe set a precedent for foreign affairs which largely affected the growing nation. He also kept a level head during hard times such as the financial depression of 1819 which helped the country greatly resolve. Although, Monroe did face much opposition as a result of the First Seminole War and his decision to let Jackson go free. Though, Jackson’s actions did ultimately lead to the creation of the praised Adams-Onis Treaty. Therefore, because of Monroe’s devotion to unifying the country and defending it internationally, though opposed on a few occasions, he deserves an A- for his presidency. It is apparent in his inaugural address, that Monroe was a large supporter of nationalism. Consequently, one of his biggest goals was to promote nationalism during his presidency. He accomplished this through his national good will tour which promoted the Era of Good Feelings and brought the country together. In addition, he stated that the country should not depend on other countries. He achieved this by encouraging the United States to continue to improve upon the economic dependence they had developed during the War of 1812. Lastly, another goal that Monroe asserted was to uphold the constitution. He did this by thoroughly evaluating every decision he made. He thought everything through and even asked for the opinions of others to get every possible point of view before making any final decisions. In conclusion, Monroe met all of the goals that he set for his presidency with pronounced results. During his presidency, Monroe formed an excellent cabinet in which John Quincy Adams and John C. Calhoun, two very influential men, were present. They helped him in many decisions in a collaborative aspect and thus strengthened his relationship with Congress. In general, Monroe was a quiet and reserved man. This worked well with Congress because it led to less conflict. In addition, there was less opposition in Congress because of the dying Federalist party, though North and South did start to oppose each other over issues concerning slavery. The overwhelming Democratic-Republican power was quite evident in the numbers. At the end of Monroe’s presidency, there were only four Federalists in the Senate as opposed to 43 Democratic-Republicans and only 31 Federalists in the House of Representatives against 154 Democratic-Republicans. Lastly, some people believed that Congress used Monroe because he only exercised his veto once, in the case of Cumberland Road. Although, this decision was justified by Monroe by the reasoning which he based his decisions, if it upheld the constitution. Therefore, he was not used by Congress at all. Hence, Monroe had an excellent relationship with Congress. During his presidency, Monroe did many outstanding things. Though, one action did affect the country in an exceedingly positive way, this was the Missouri Compromise. This law preserved the fragile relationship between the North and South. At this time, there was large controversy over whether Missouri should be admitted as a slave state, which would completely throw off the balance of slave and non-slave states in Congress. Monroe solved this by following Henry Clay’s plan of admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. The plan also stated that land north of 36 ° 30’ was free and land south of it was slave. This was a hugely important decision for Monroe. It kept peace between the feuding North and South and though it only put off the civil war, it did prevent it from happening at that time. Therefore, the Missouri Compromise was President Monroe’s most positive action. Though most of Monroe’s action had great results, the First Seminole War did produce a negative outcome. During 1817, Seminole Indians and fugitive slaves were raiding settlements in Georgia and massacring residents there. Spain was doing nothing in response of these incursions so Monroe assigned Jackson to invade Florida. Jackson did that and much more, he destroyed their villages and overthrew their governor. These actions were taken without specific authorization and so many urged Monroe to reprimand Jackson. In the end though, Monroe let Jackson go free. As a result of this, relations were Britain were briefly strained and there was disagreement with Monroe’s decision. Therefore, the First Seminole War was Monroe’s most negative action because it strained foreign relations and caused loss of support. Monroe is most well known for the Monroe Doctrine, that is because it influenced America greatly. The Monroe Doctrine was a message made in response to concern of Spain attempting to recapture colonies in Latin America and Russia wanting to extend its claims into the Oregon territory. The message warned the European powers against intervention in the Western Hemisphere. It asserted that the American continents were no longer considered as subjects for future colonization by European powers. This became the cornerstone of foreign policy for the nineteenth century as it set a precedent for things such as the Roosevelt Corollary and the Good Neighbor Policy. And so, Monroe’s most influential decision was the Monroe Doctrine as it became an integral part of American foreign policy. In conclusion, Monroe affected the country greatly during his presidency. He spread the idea of nationalism throughout the country and unified the states. In addition, he made the country more economically dependent. Lastly, he established a precedent for foreign policy that still stands today. In spite of the fact that the country did go through a period of hardship during the Panic of 1819 it was inevitable for a developing country not to face such a crisis. Therefore, Monroe left the country better off and thus deserves an A- for his presidency. "American President: James Monroe: Domestic Affairs." //Miller Center//. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2012. <[]>. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">"American President: James Monroe: Foreign Affairs." //Miller Center//. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2012. <[]>. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">DeGregorio, William A.. //The complete book of U.S. presidents//. 7 ed. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2009. Print. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">"Economic policy - James Monroe - war, domestic, foreign, second." //Profiles of U.S. Presidents//. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2012 <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">"James Monroe: First Inaugural Address. U.S. Inaugural Addresses. 1989." //Bartleby.com//. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2012. <[]>. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">"James Monroe." //Wikipedia//. Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Sept. 2012. Web. 01 Oct. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Monroe>. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas Andrew Bailey. //The American pageant//. 12th ed. New York Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002. Print.
 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Thematic Context **
 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Thesis **
 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Goals **
 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Congress **
 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Positive Action **
 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Negative Action **
 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Influential Decision **
 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Conclusion **
 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Bibliography **