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** James Monroe ** Born: 4/28/1758 Died: 7/4/1831 Party: Democratic-Republican Terms: 1816-1820 (1st term) 1820-1824 (2nd Term) Vice President: Daniel Tompkins (Both terms)

James Monroe deserves a B for his presidency. He came into office with the country in the era of good feelings and left it in decent shape. However, many issues had their birth while he was in office. Many of his accomplishments ended up serving as mere short term solutions.

His main goal while in office was to maintain the nationalist spirit which had developed as a result of the War of 1812. He was not very successful in fulfilling this goal. Issues such as slavery and economic depression began to drive the country deeper and deeper into sectionalism. He combated issues such as slavery with compromises such as the Missouri Compromise but they did not keep the country in piece for long. One of the last moves of his presidency was issuing the Monroe Doctrine which once again brought pride to the American people and fostered nationalism.

The Democratic-Republicans had the majority in both the House and the Senate during Monroe’s presidency. He worked with congress quite well and had a very strong cabinet for support. He worked with congress to pass the Land act and the Relief act during the panic of 1819, both of which provided relief to the people. He also worked congress through the conflict over the admission of Missouri into the Union. The House had very strong northern influence and the Senate had a strong southern influence. Eventually the Missouri Compromise was worked out admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. However, Monroe did not work well with congress on issues involving state improvements such as federally constructed roads. Being a states rights advocate, he thought that the power and responsibility to construct roads and other internal state improvements rested with the states and he vetoed many bills for federal involvement.

There were many issues that arose during Monroe’s terms. Most of them had both positive and negative outcomes. The most positive event of Monroe’s presidency was the Missouri Compromise. When Missouri petitioned to be admitted as a state to the Union controversy erupted over whether it would be a free state or a slave state. The states where currently balanced at eleven each so a new state would tip the scale in one direction. As a solution the Missouri Compromise was made. It admitted Missouri as a slave state and made Maine (part of Mass.) a free state of its own. This leveled the states out again at twelve on each side. The compromise also forbade the admission of slave states in the Louisiana Territory north of the line 36°30' (Missouri’s southern border). This served as a solution at the time but would lead to conflict further down the road in American history. The most negative event to take place during Monroe’s presidency was the panic of 1819. It was the first major financial crisis to hit America since Washington’s days. It was caused by the rapid expansion westward and the mass purchasing of land with credit. When the Bank of the U.S. began to demand payment for its federal loans from the war many of the frontiersmen could not afford to pay off all of their debts to the government and the bank. The result was foreclosure. Many frontier farmers where foreclosed and became homeless. In an attempt to pull the nation out of the crisis congress passed the Land Act and the Relief Act. The land Act lowered the price of new land in order to keep the westward expansion moving as much as possible. The Relief Act allowed debtors to give up their land and gain some credit to lower their debts. Eventually the country did come out of the depression which is in a way a success for Monroe because he managed to nurture the country through one of its first major economical crisis.

By far the most influential act of Monroe was the Monroe Doctrine. Many Spanish colonies in South America were gaining their independence much to the displeasure of Spain. European nations began to band together in an effort to defend themselves from republicanism and democracy. When Britain reached out a hand towards America for an alliance Monroe declined. He stated that America would retain its policy of neutrality with foreign nations. He also said that no European nations were to attempt to reclaim colonies that had gained their independence. The final part of the doctrine was that there were to be no more new colonies formed on the American Continents. Through his actions Monroe preserved democracy in the western hemisphere for future generations.

Overall the country was not at the point it had been when Monroe entered office, but it was not in a bad state. He came into office during the era of good feelings which would be almost impossible to carry for eight years. The country essentially went from a very high point to a milder, neutral point. Monroe deserves a B because he had many conflicts thrown at him and he helped the country threw them quite well. He does not deserve an A because many of the conflicts that did occur in his presidency grew later on. Issues such as slavery and sectionalism were kept under control but they were not fully taken care of and eventually blew up into major conflicts.

Bibliography

"American President: James Monroe." //Miller Center of Public Affairs//. Ed. Daniel Preston. University of Virginia, 2009. Web. 01 Oct. 2009. [].

"Historical Party Strength in U.S. House of Representatives." //U.S. Congress//. U.S. Congress, 2008. Web. 01 Oct. 2009. [].

"James Monroe - Monroe as president: the "era of good feelings" begins." //Presidents: A Reference History//. Advameg Inc., 2008. Web. 01 Oct. 2009. [].

McPhee, Isaac M. "The Panic of 1819: The Downturn of America's First Economic Cycle | Suite101.com." //American History: Wars, settlement, industry, the railroad, and north-south politics from the Pacific Northwest to the Great Plains, California to the eastern seaboard, 1600 to today. | Suite101.com//. 12 Apr. 2008. Web. 01 Oct. 2009. [].

"Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present." //U.S. Senate//. United States Senate, 2009. Web. 01 Oct. 2009. [].