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James Monroe (April 28, 1758- July 4, 1831) Party: Democratic- Republican Terms: March 4, 1817- March 4, 1820 and March 4, 1820 – March 4, 1825. He served 2 terms Vice President: Daniel D. Tompkins

Monroe did a pretty good job during his presidency. He was nationalistic, and learned a lot about politics during his time spent as the Virginia governor (1799-1802), and a senator. He was also known for his foreign affairs, and was a minister to france. There were some pros and cons to his presidency, and James Monroe deserves an A- for his terms spent as president.

Monroe's goals as president were to keep the era of good feelings going. However, this did not last long because the panic of 1819 broke out and ended the era of good feelings. Another goal of his was to keep up the surge of nationalism. Nationalism was big after the war of 1812, more and more Americans were coming together with a sense of Hey, I'm an American, not hey I'm a (enter state name here and add "ian" at the end). To keep nationalism on the up and up, Monroe took trips around the country to promote it. Monroe's final goal was to stay neutral in wars. He did this with the Monroe Doctrine which basically told everyone to stay out of America or else. It also stated that the US would stay out of war, and remain neutral.

Monroe's did good during his presidency to keep a steady relationship with congress. Remember, his first term was mostly during the era of good feelings, where both parties got along, so his relationship with congress at that point in time could not have gotten any better. Also, the congress at the time was in favor of the Democratic-Republicans, Monroe's party.v During his presidency, Monroe vetoed the Cumberland Road Bill, declaring it unconstitutional. He believed the power to make improvements to roads belonged to the states, and that is why he vetoed it. Perhaps one of the most important things past in congress during his presidency was the Missouri Compromise. The compromise took around 2 years of hard coore debate to be finally adopted. It agreed to have Missouri become a slave state, but in turn, Maine became a free state. Also, children of slave born in Missouri were to be emancipated. Other things passed were the Land Act of 1820 and the Navigation Act of 1817.

The Monroe Doctrine is by far the most positive thing to come out of the Monroe presidency. It stated that Americas should be free from future European colonization and free from European interference. It also stated that AMerica would stay out of European wars and wars between European powers and their colonies. Finally, it stated that any hostile acts anywhere in the AMericas would be consitered hostile toward the US. This is what Monroe was most known for, but John Quincy Adams also deserves credit, because he wrote the speech for Monroe.

The most negative action during Monroe's presidency was to veto the Cumberland Road Bill. This bill would have helped the US grow more rapidly then it already was. The US could have colonized more places faster if they had a big road system to help them. Also, it would have improved his relationship with congress if he had passed the bill. I dont know what Monroe was thinking by vetoing this bill, nothing negative would have come out by passing it, except for maybe the potential Indian confrontation.

Overall, Monroe was a good president and deserves an A-. He deserves this because of him vetoing the Cumberland Road Bill. If he would not have vetoed it, I would have given him an A. His president was fairly easy, and a lot of good things like the Missouri compromise and the Monroe Doctrine came out of it. There was the panic of 1819, but that was not his fault, and was unavoidable. Monroe was a good president.

Biliography "James Monroe." //White House//. Web. 1 Oct. 2009. []. "James Monroe." //Wikipedia//. 29 Sept. 2009. Web. 1 Oct. 2009. []. "Monroe Doctrine." //Wikipedia//. 1 Oct. 2009. Web. 1 Oct. 2009. [].