JAMES MONROE,
Reading edition
THE FIFTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,
One of the few exalted characters that served his country in both a civil and military capacity, was born in Westmoreland county, Virginia, April 26, 1758, and was educated at William and Mary’s College, whence he graduated in 1776, and commenced the study of the law. Anxious to aid in the struggle for independence, which had then just began, he abandoned his studies, and entered the army as a cadet—joining a corps under the gallant General Mercer. He soon distinguished himself in several well-fought battles, and rapid promotion followed, until he reached the rank of captain. He was at Harlem Heights, and White Plains, and shared the perils and fatigues of the distressing retreat of Washington through New Jersey, as well as the glory of the victory over the Hessians at Trenton, where he received a musket-ball in the shoulder; notwithstanding which, he valiantly “fought out the fight.” He subsequently accepted the post of an aid to Lord Stirling, with the rank of Major, in which position he saw much hard service—being engaged in almost every conflict for the two succeeding campaigns, and displaying great courage and coolness at the bloody battles of Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth.
Aspiring to a separate command, he obtained permission to raise a regiment in his native State; for which purpose he left the army, and returned to Virginia, where he encountered so many unexpected and discouraging obstacles, that he finally relinquished the enterprise, and resumed his law studies in the office of Mr. Jefferson.
In 1780, he was elected to the Virginia Legislature, and in the following year was made one of Governor Jefferson’s council, in which he continued until 1783, when, at the age of twenty-four years, he became a member of the Continental Congress. After serving three years in that body, he was again returned to the State Legislature.
In 1788, while a member of the Convention to decide upon the adoption of the new Constitution, he voted in the minority against that instrument; but this vote did not at all affect his popularity. Two years afterward he was elected United States Senator, and in 1794 he was sent envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to the Court of Versailles. After settling the cession of Louisiana to the United States, he went to England to succeed Mr. King as minister at the court of St. James. The affair of the frigate Chesapeake placing him in an uncomfortable situation, he returned to the United States, and, in 1810, was once more elected to the Virginia Legislature. He was soon after chosen Governor of that State, in which office he remained until Mr. Madison called him to assume the duties of Secretary of State in his cabinet. In 1817, he was elected President of the United States, and in 1821 was unanimously reëlected, with the exception of a single vote in New Hampshire. His administration was a prosperous and quiet one.
He united with Jefferson and Madison in founding the University of Virginia; and when the convention was formed for the revision of the Constitution of his State, he was called to preside over its action. Not long after this, he went to reside with a beloved daughter (the wife of Samuel L. Gouverneur, Esq.) in New York City, where he lived until the anniversary of Independence, in 1831, when, “amidst the pealing joy and congratulations of that proud day, he passed quietly and in glory away.”
Election for the Eighth Term, commencing March 4, 1817, and terminating March 3, 1821.
A STATES. PRESID’T. VICE-PRESIDENT.
B C D E F G H
8 New Hampshire 8 8
22 Massachusetts 22 22
4 Rhode Island 4 4
9 Connecticut 9 5 4
8 Vermont 8 8
29 New York 29 29
8 New Jersey 8 8
25 Pennsylvania 25 25
3 Delaware 3 3
8 Maryland 8 8
25 Virginia 25 25
15 North Carolina 15 15
11 South Carolina 11 11
8 Georgia 8 8
12 Kentucky 12 12
8 Tennessee 8 8
8 Ohio 8 8
3 Louisiana 3 3
3 Indiana 3 3
217 Whole No. of Electors 183 34 83 22 5 4 3
Majority109
COLUMN HEADINGS:
(A) = No. of Electors from each State.
(B) = James Monroe, of Virginia.
(C) = Rufus King, of New York.
(D) = D. D. Tompkins, of New York.
(E) = John E. Howard, of Maryland.
(F) = James Ross, of Pennsylvania.
(G) = John Marshall, of Virginia.
(H) = Rob’t G. Harper, of Maryland.
James Monroe took the oath of office, as President, and entered upon his duties March 4, 1817.
Daniel D. Tompkins, elected Vice-President, took the oath of office, and attended in the Senate, March 4, 1817.
The Seminole and a few of the Creek Indians commenced depredations on the frontiers of Georgia and Alabama towards the close of 1817, for which they were severely chastised by a force under General Jackson, and gladly sued for peace.
In February, 1819, a treaty was negotiated at Washington, by which Spain ceded to the United States East and West Florida and the adjacent Islands. In the same year the southern portion of Missouri Territory was set off under the name of Arkansas, for which a territorial government was formed; and Alabama was constituted a State, and admitted into the Union.
Early in 1820 the province of Maine, which had been connected with Massachusetts since 1652, was separated from it and was admitted into the Union as an independent State.
Election for the Ninth Term, commencing March 4, 1821, and terminating March 3, 1825.
A STATES. PRESID’T. VICE-PRESIDENT.
B C D E F G H
8 New Hampshire 7 1 7 1
15 Massachusetts 15 7 8
4 Rhode Island 4 4
9 Connecticut 9 9
8 Vermont 8 8
29 New York 29 29
8 New Jersey 8 8
25 Pennsylvania 24 24
4 Delaware 4 4
11 Maryland 11 10 1
25 Virginia 25 25
15 North Carolina 15 15
11 South Carolina 11 11
8 Georgia 8 8
12 Kentucky 12 12
7 Tennessee 7 7
8 Ohio 8 8
3 Louisiana 3 3
3 Indiana 3 3
2 Mississippi 2 2
3 Illinois 3 3
3 Alabama 3 3
9 Maine 3 9
3 Missouri 3 3
236 No. of Electors 231 1 218 8 1 1 4
Majority118
COLUMN HEADINGS:
(A) = No. of Electors from each State.
(B) = James Monroe, of Virginia.
(C) = John Quincy Adams, of Massachusetts.
(D) = Daniel D. Tompkins, of New York.
(E) = Richard Stockton, of New Jersey.
(F) = Robert C. Harper, of Maryland.
(G) = Richard Rush, of Pennsylvania.
(H) = Daniel Rodney, of Delaware.
James Monroe was re-elected President, but there is no notice on the Journals of Congress that he again took the oath of office.
Daniel D. Tompkins was re-elected Vice-President, but there is no record of his having taken the oath of office.
Public attention was much occupied in 1824-5 by a visit from the venerable General Lafayette, who, after the lapse of nearly half a century from the period of his military career, was again welcomed with every token of respect that could be devised for honoring the “Nation’s Guest.” He landed in New York in August, 1824, and after remaining there a short time, set out on a tour through all the States. Upwards of a year was taken up in accomplishing this gratifying object; and in September, 1825, he sailed from Washington in the frigate Brandywine for his native home.