American President
James Monroe (1758–1831)
Facts at a Glance
- Term
- 5th President of the United States (1817–1825)
- Born
- April 28, 1758, Westmoreland County, Virginia
- Nickname
- “The Last Cocked Hat,” “Era-of-Good-Feelings President”
- Education
- College of William and Mary (graduated 1776)
- Religion
- Episcopalian
- Marriage
- February 16, 1786, to Elizabeth Kortright (1768–1830)
- Children
- Eliza Kortright (1786–1835), James Spence (1799–1800), Maria Hester (1803–1850)
- Career
- Lawyer
- Political Party
- Democratic-Republican
- Writings
- Writings (7 vols., 1898–1903), ed. by S. M. Hamilton; Autobiography (1959), ed. by Stuart G. Brown and Donald G. Baker
- Died
- July 4, 1831, New York City, New York
- Buried
- Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia
- A Life in Brief
- James Monroe was the last American President of the “Virginia Dynasty”—of the first five men who held the position of President, four hailed from Virginia. Monroe also had a long and distinguished public career as a soldier, diplomat, governor, senator, and cabinet official. More »
Essays on James Monroe and His Administration
- James Monroe
- A Life in Brief
- Life Before the Presidency
- Campaigns and Elections
- Domestic Affairs
- Foreign Affairs
- Life After the Presidency
- Family Life
- The American Franchise
- Impact and Legacy
- Key Events
- First Lady
- Elizabeth Monroe
- Vice President
- Daniel D. Tompkins (1817-1825)
- Secretary of State
- John Quincy Adams (1817–1825)
- Richard Rush (1817)
- Secretary of War
- John C. Calhoun (1817–1825)
- George Graham (1817–1817)
- Postmaster General
- Return J. Meigs, Jr. (1817–1823)
- John McLean (1823–1825)
- Secretary of the Treasury
- William H. Crawford (1817–1825)
- Attorney General
- William Wirt (1817–1825)
- Richard Rush (1817)
- Secretary of the Navy
- Benjamin W. Crowninshield (1817–1818)
- Smith Thompson (1819–1823)
- Samuel L. Southard (1823–1825)
Consulting Editor: Daniel Preston
Dr. Preston is the editor of The Papers of James Monroe at the University of Mary Washington. The first two volumes in that eight-volume series have been published by Greenwood Press.
Presidential Speeches
Below are selections from the Miller Center’s James Monroe speech collection.
Scholarship and Speakers
The Miller Center of Public Affairs is a national nonpartisan center to research, reflect, and report on American government, with special attention to the central role and history of the presidency. Below is a selection of Miller Center resources on James Monroe.
Watch Journalist Jon Meacham’s 2006 presentation at the Miller Center on God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation.
Learn more about the Center’s National Commission on Presidential Transitions and Foreign Policy and its relationship to Monroe.
Scripps Library Reference Resources
Below are links to reference resources prepared by the Miller Center’s Scripps Library, designed to help students and scholars conduct their research quickly.
Information on James Monroe’s Private and Public Papers
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