Welcome to Blogging the Presidents: A Voting While Intoxicated™ Almost Original Series. We will be taking a serious look at the 42 men who have led our country and hopefully finding a few laughable details.
PART V
As the first President who was not among those considered a founding father, James Monroe is a publicly under appreciated President, and I don’t just say that because my childhood “girlfriend” was a Monroe. I mean, how many Presidents could we say this about:
In both the presidential elections of 1816 and 1820 Monroe ran nearly unopposed. Attentive to detail, well prepared on most issues, non-partisan in spirit, and above all pragmatic, Monroe managed his presidential duties well.
The death of Alexander Hamilton many years earlier had weakened the Federalist Party, Monroe’s adoption of a more moderate position on economic policy, with a little more federal role, helped finish it off for good, hence running unopposed. This positive view was the result of a peace in international and partisan conflict, and despite a downturn in the economy, now recognized to be part of the ordinary business cycle. With the Missouri Compromise, he kept the slavery issue fairly restrained for a good while.
He is more known for his foreign policy. As Secretary of State he helped with the Louisiana Purchase. As President he orchestrated the acquisition of Florida, though perhaps that was a bad idea in hindsight (talking about 2000). Most important is the Monroe Doctrine, basically saying that we’ll stay out of the affairs of Europe and the Eastern Hemisphere, but European countries should cede the Western Hemisphere into the sphere of American influence.
Though this would be an untenable foreign policy in the modern age of international relations, at the time it greatly improved our security (we would never fight another major war against another country in the Western Hemisphere) and I feel like the developing countries of the Americas have suffered far less warring, instability and catastrophe relative to those in the Eastern Hemisphere, even if at times they have been better at independence than democracy.
As if it was going out of style, James Monroe died on July 4th, 1831, joining John Adams and Thomas Jefferson with Independence Day deaths. Having not been involved with the Declaration (and 55 not being as nice an anniversary as 50) it doesn’t get as much attention.
- VWI
