James Monroe

James Monroe served as a soldier in the Revolution, a senator and governor of Virginia, a diplomat, and secretary of state before becoming president in 1817. His two terms coincided with the decline of the Federalist Party and an expansion of American claims across the continent. The apparent political unity of the “Era of Good Feelings” concealed mounting disagreements over slavery, economic policy, and the future of western territories. ¹

Monroe and Secretary of State John Quincy Adams used negotiations with Spain to settle longstanding territorial disputes. Andrew Jackson’s incursions into Spanish Florida increased pressure on Madrid. The Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819 provided for Spain’s cession of Florida and established a boundary extending to the Pacific; the United States relinquished its claim to Texas. Ratification and the transfer followed in 1821. ²

As Spanish American colonies won independence, Monroe recognized several new republics in 1822. His annual message of December 1823 warned against further European colonization and intervention in the Americas while declaring American noninterference in European affairs. Later called the Monroe Doctrine, the statement arose from concern about European attempts to restore Spanish rule and Russian claims on the Pacific coast. American power to enforce it was limited, and British maritime interests also favored keeping Spain’s former colonies independent. ²

At home, the Panic of 1819 brought bank failures, falling prices, and distress among borrowers. The dispute over Missouri’s admission exposed the sectional conflict over slavery; Monroe signed the 1820 compromise admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, while restricting slavery in part of the remaining Louisiana territory. He favored transportation improvements but questioned whether Congress possessed adequate constitutional authority to operate a national system. ³