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James Monroe (1758-1831)   Democratic-Republican Party Terms: March 4, 1817-March 3, 1825 Vice President: Daniel D. Tompkins Thematic Context James Monroe’s presidency changed American citizenship by the withdrawal of political parties, and the Era of Good Feelings. Pertaining to rights citizenship didn’t really change, but what it meant to be a citizen living in America did. Both changes are easy to see how Americans could have moved during the political parties ending, and the Era of Good Feelings is dubbed as a time being in America, but the duo is still an effect of lots of things happening. The loss of political parties made citizens look deeper at who to vote for than the party they were affiliated with. This made each runner up for president looked at closely and who to side with in political discussion less easy. Nothing was presented as black and white; people got to choose less blindly. Politically being a citizen in the United States now meant that you could not just side with an organization by preference. In a way voting now meant much more. The Era of Good Feelings is ironically named that since there was a national panic in 1819 that didn’t end till 1823. This was huge back then since so many citizens were unemployed and vouched for more opportunities. The debate over tariffs rose during this time and so did restrictions on voting rights and reign of presidency. It wasn’t until later that those issues surfaced. Still lots of other events happened that were swell. For the Missouri Compromise, Missouri was a slave state, so any citizen could have the right to own slaves in that state, but nobody could own slaves above of the [|parallel 36°30′ north] unless it was within the state of Missouri. But now there was a state of Maine as a free state, which meant that anyone that lived in Maine is now obviously a Maine resident. But the Sectionalism that occurred because of this split the American people more. You were either for slavery or not. The Monroe Doctrine enforced that no European countries could colonize in the western hemisphere, so if you wanted to move there you had to become a citizen. Being a citizen can be seen as prideful since you would now have to be apart of something. This was mainly a foreign affair though with the absence of influence from the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. But it is mainly called Era of Good Feelings because of the aftermath of the War of 1812. This gave great pride to citizens of America. So rather citizen rights didn’t really change, what it meant to be a citizen did through the loss of political parties and Era of Good Feelings. Thesis James Monroe deserves an A- for his actions as president. He accomplished a lot with foreign policy and his domestic efforts often get sidelined. He established with foreign policy through his Doctrine that nobody could move into the Western Hemisphere and to leave the established countries alone. This was and is one of the largest documents concerning foreign policy. It showed what America would do and set the ground rules for the future of the Western Hemisphere. Another great deed Monroe did was the Missouri Compromise. It settled a dispute between the North and the South around slave states, because both sides were afraid of too much power in the Senate. This added to Sectionalism, but it was a profound agreement on the rules over slave ownership. He also established a new borderline between the US and Canada at the 49th parallel by the Treaty of 1818. The Adams-Onis Treaty allowed America to obtain more land from the Spanish in the LouisianaTerritory. There is a sense of ambivalence towards the encouragement of decline of political parties from James Monroe, but it set an idea in America that was like what George Washington thought of. He really pushed America forward battling with a Panic of 1819. He might have been able to do more, but during his second term the nation rebounded. He deserves the A-. Goals James Monroe’s goals for his presidency included raising the duties of civilians and giving credit to the nation. He was a firm believer in making the nation achieve a high status as was presented in his inaugural address. He repeated multiple times how people can practice their rights and how well the Union was and how awesome the government was. He wanted the best for America and mentioned the Great Lakes and was very optimistic for America being a great nation expanding and becoming greater. He recognized dangers that America could face, and was prepared for invasion or usurpation. He mentioned how the public money shall be handled through the legislation and the executive. But he would mostly talk about how the people and the nation shall prosper from the effects of the War of 1812. In his second inaugural address he mentioned all of that again, but then went on about the European countries and the Latin countries which would lead to his Doctrine. He acknowledged the Panic of 1819 which was still around till 1823 and he said that they will get out of it and the people will succeed again. Relationship with Congress James Monroe’s relationship with Congress was balanced between what he could and could not do. The push for a transportation system came to be and James Monroe thought that Congress didn’t have any laws regarding anything that had to do with transportation. Congress disagreed to writing an amendment regarding his suggestion. He allowed a bill to pass after vetoing it that said that Congress can control the tolls on a special road. He didn’t like political parties, but didn’t grant a Federalist a job in his cabinet. Positive Outcomes James Monroe was a real successful president with foreign policy. The biggest example is his doctrine. The doctrine put America as a big brother so to speak for the world. No European nations could colonize in the western hemisphere now, and no European country could attempt to re-colonize their lost countries. This was due to Latin America countries revolting. He also further established America’s neutral status concerning European wars. This document was praised and still transcends to today. America couldn’t really enforce it then, because it wasn’t as powerful, but today that it isn’t an issue. He also settled the Florida problem with slaves running into Spanish territory and the raids against the white settlers. He sent Andrew Jackson to deal with it and Andrew handled it rather controversially. Still there was a good outcome of western Spanish territory that was ceded. James Monroe also established a border line between the country and Canada. The Rush-Bagot Treaty further laid the law around the Great Lakes and how many military vessels there could be. The biggest domestic affair he handled was the Missouri Compromise. After the War of 1812 the North and South began to catapult their anger over political matters. The Missouri issue could have been catastrophic, but James Monroe wrote that Maine could become a free state and Missouri could become a slave state. He set a boundary line for what states above it could be free or not. He was thorough in trying to do away with political parties and this led to the Democrats and Whigs. He handled foreign policy well and was accomplished a lot. Negative Outcomes The biggest failure that could be said of Monroe’s presidency is the Panic of 1819. Historians can say that he didn’t handle it well enough, because of the unemployment rate, and how bad the prices were. A negative outcome of the Missouri Compromise was the catalyst for Sectionalism. It was now black and white on what was north and what was south. This was one of the factors that lead to the secession of the southern states and the Civil War. America had become divided and the depression wasn’t helping either. Influence on Presidents James Monroe was largely influential for his Doctrine. This allowed America to have a sort of authority in the Western Hemisphere. He also went on political tours which were a large part of him gaining America’s trust, which still happens today. The Missouri Compromise would put the Sectionalism issue on later presidents leading up to the Civil War. His thrust for nationalism spread onto Adams in trying to expand American power and land. Conclusion James Monroe deserves his A-, because the country was better off than when it first started. Geographically it expanded and more laws like the Missouri Compromise established certain laws like who can own slaves. At a time of depression, he could have done worse, but also better. Still during his terms the country economy got back up on its feet to thrive again. He put America on the map, and the country was very proud. He is a forgotten founding father, but in his actions he helped America for the country he believed in. Bibliography "Digital History." //Digital History//. Digital History, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2013.

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"Miller Center." //American President: James Monroe//. Miller Center University of Virgina, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2013.

"Monroe and the Era of Good Feelings." SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2013.

James Monroe: "Inaugural Address," March 4, 1817. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. [].

James Monroe: "Inaugural Address," March 4, 1821. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, TheAmerican Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=25808.