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**Political Party:** Democratic-Republican **Terms of Office:** (1817-1821, 1821-1825) 5th president **Vice President:** Daniel D. Tompkins (both terms)
 * Name:** James Monroe (April 28, 1758 - July 4, 1831)

President James Monroe deserves an A- for his terms in office. He deserves an A- because he handled the Panic of 1819 well, handled domestic affairs well, and the Monroe Doctrine. The only thing that brought his grade down was that he did not take an active role in ending the depression from 1819-1821, he just let the economy try to balance itself for more the most part. Overall he did well for both of his terms. The goals of President Monroe were to make the country more independent of other nations, to improve the nation as a whole, to unify the people, and to improve foreign relations. He accomplished the first two goals listed, but a strong sense of sectionalism prevented Monroe from achieving the third goal. He supported the American System, but felt that the Government did not have the power to do it. He then asked Congress to add an amendment giving them the power to build and control a national transportation system. They did not add the amendment, but still passed bills to have the roads built. Despite the Panic of 1819 and the depression that followed, Monroe still made improvements within the nation. He extended the Cumberland road which improved transportation and set aside money for more roads to be planned and built. Monroe tried to promote unity, but his efforts were negated by the Panic of 1819. The Panic of 1819 caused the feeling of sectionalism to strengthen, causing more trouble between the North and the South. Monroe changed foreign policy by taking a more aggressive stance. He got the Spanish to give up Florida and stopped the western powers from trying to colonize the Americas. He sided with Britain on protecting the Latin American colonies from the Spanish. Monroe accomplished most of his goals as president, and accomplished increasing unity for a little while. Monroe’s relationship with Congress was fairly good, the majority of the bills he proposed were passed, and he only vetoed one bill. The only bill that he vetoed was for the government to establish toll booths along the Cumberland Road to help pay for the extension of the road westward. After he talked to some of the Supreme Court Judges he later passed the same bill. The most important act of Congress during his presidency is the Missouri Compromise. Monroe did not interfere with the bill to much because he thought that it would appear bad to some. He passed the bill and settled the dispute quickly. The relationship between Monroe was good because he had the majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate for his entire presidency. The actions of the Monroe Administration that had the best impact on America were the Rush-Bagot Agreement (1818), the Adams-Onis Treaty (1819), and the Monroe Doctrine (1823). All three of these actions were equally important in their influence on foreign affairs. The Rush-Bagot Agreement was an agreement between the British and the Americans to stop fighting on Lake Erie. The agreement limited the English and Americans to only having one 100 ton ship armed with only one cannon on Lake Erie. This was important because it helped to ease the relationship between the two nations. The Adams-Onis Treaty was important because it got the U.S. Florida. Under the Adams-Onis Treaty, Spain surrendered Florida to America and America agreed to pay for about $5 million in damages done by the Spanish. The treaty also established the border between American and Spanish land. The Monroe Doctrine was a message given to Congress in response to Russia trying to expand its Alaska territory to include Oregon and Spain wanting to take back its Latin American colonies. The message told Europe not to try to colonize the Americas, or to expand the colonies they already had there. It relied on the power of the British navy to help them enforce it. Britain asked for America to side with them in protecting the Latin American colonies from the Spanish. Monroe issued a similar proposal to make it seem like America was in control of it, not just following the British navy. These three actions were the three with the best impact on America. The action that affected the presidents after Monroe the most was the Missouri Compromise. The Missouri Compromise allowed Missouri to join the union as a slave state and established Maine as a free state. It added two more states to the union making the nation larger. It also made it so that any state north of the 36’30” line could not have slaves. The compromise helped increase sectionalism and draw the line for the separation of the south. It increased sectionalism by creating another southern slave state and making another northern free state. It also allowed for the creation of more southern slave states. It kept the balance in order, but did not help the nation out to well. The compromise was the best solution for that time, but was not good for the future of the nation. The nation was better off at the end of the Monroe presidency. It was recovering nicely from a major depression, and was creating better a better transportation system, and was becoming more formidable. The nation had acquired five more states, including Florida from Spain. The country was starting to steadily become more independent of other nations, and becoming more powerful. America appeared much more stable at the end of Monroe’s presidency. America was better off at the end of his terms.

Works Cited "American President: James Monroe." //Miller Center of Public Affairs//. Web. 24 Feb. 2011. . Bailey, Thomas Andrew, David M. Kennedy, and Lizabeth Cohen. //The American Pageant//. 12th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. Print. DeGregorio, William A. //The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents//. 7th ed. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2004. Print. "James Monroe." //The White House//. Web. 24 Feb. 2011. .