Megan+R.+-+JMO+-+FA09

= = James Monroe

Vice President: Daniel D. Tompkins
President Monroe was a very ambitious and positive person who made for a president that was liked but the majority of the country and throughout remained neutral in his decisions and did not take sides in issues involving differing opinions and sectionalism. Monroe made a lot of positive and important decisions that helped the country including the Monroe Doctrine and Missouri Compromise, but also pushed the country into some very negative issues as in the Depression of 1819 and the First Seminole War. Considering the positive and negative aspects of the presidency and how he affected future presidents and Americans this leads me to give Monroe a B.

The goals of Monroe's presidency included increasing nationalism, staying out of foreign affairs, and improving American system. He helped improve the American system by promoting the construction of roads and canals, but believed that the authority and power in those should remain with the states which contradicted what Congress thought. The system broke down because of the Panic of 1819. People lost a lot of money and jobs and the banks suffered to the point where a lot went bankrupt. Although the depression started to turn around within two years it left a great impact in America at the time. Nationalism was rapidly increasing when Monroe entered his presidency but it did not last. When the issues with Missouri came up people began to divide again into a north free state society and the southern slave society. After the Missouri Compromise things settled down but they would not remain that way, as this was the start to what pushes the country into the Civil War.

Monroe had a very strong Democratic-Republican Congress during his time as president and also had a very strong and motivated cabinet backing him up all the way. As Congress was majorly the same party as Monroe they agreed on many topics including the Missouri Compromise and the Land and Relief Acts, which helped people during the Panic of 1819. Monroe vetoed very few bills from Congress and in return Congress agreed with Monroe except for the issue of states being in charge of the roads and canals. Monroe very much wanted the roads and canals built to help nationalism, but wanted that power to be with the states and not the federal government.

Throughout Monroe's presidency there were not a lot of bills or laws passed but there were definitely those that left a positive impact and those that did not. There were two very positive and almost equally important things that happened as a result of Monroe. They were the Missouri Compromise and the Monroe Doctrine. The Missouri Compromise eased tensions about slavery in states by admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. It also set a boundary in the west to determine whether future states added to the union would be free or slave states. The Monroe Doctrine ended all colonization in the states. It was read to Congress and dealt mainly with European countries that were trying to reclaim old territories. The most negative aspect of Monroe's presidency was by far the Panic of 1819. It was never Monroe's fault for the depression hitting as it was caused by the United States continuing their war economy after the War of 1812 and inflation which dealt with the banks producing too much worthless paper money and not being able to back that with enough coins to match that amount, bad crops especially wheat which drove the grain prices up, and also troubles in foreign countries. Monroe managed to work the country through the depression, but the impact was still monumental.

The main thing that Monroe passed down to future generations and presidents was the Monroe Doctrine. Its effects of allowing the United States to prosper without the threat of the "old world" returning to take back there colonies with force. It let democracy and the country grow and continually develop. It also left a mark on European countries trying to gain American alliance as it stated that there would be no such thing. It also helped more than the U.S. as Spain was trying to conquer the south and this stopped them from taking control.

The country was good at the end of Monroe's presidency as it had been before he entered office. He had led the country through its first large scale depression and for a long time protected it from getting involved with foreign matters. Although, what had happened through his terms would eventually lead the country into another war, but at that time the country was stable and beginning to prosper again. This is why he deserves a B because the country went through tough times then but came out strong.

Works Cited:

"American President: James Monroe: Domestic Affairs." //Miller Center of Public Affairs//. Web. 01 Oct. 2009. .

"Art & History Home Origins & Development Party Division." //U.S. Senate//. Web. 01 Oct. 2009. .

DeGregorio, William A. //The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents//. 7th ed. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2009. Print.

"Presidents: James Monroe." //American History and World History at Historycentral.com the largest and most complete history site on the web//. Web. 01 Oct. 2009. .