President Thomas Jefferson did not wish to embroil the young nation in European disputes and was rightfully concerned about what action Napoleon, an aggressive dictator of unparalleled military skill, might take. He preferred a diplomatic solution and acted boldly by dispatching his old friend and former Minister to France, James Monroe, to join his regular minister in Paris, Robert Livingston. Their instructions were to seek to buy New Orleans and as much land as they could secure to the east for no more than $ 10 million. Should negotiations break down, they were to open communications with Great Britain concerning a possible alliance.

Unknown to Monroe and Livingston, Napoleon was planning to resume hostilities with Britain and he decided to sell the vast wilderness that he had coerced from Spain for whatever he could get to finance his campaigns in Europe. Accordingly, he instructed his foreign minister to ask the Americans what they would pay for the entire territory.

As a dictator, Napoleon could make instant decisions. In contrast, Monroe and Livingston knew they were supposed to consult with Jefferson and the Congress on a deal of such magnitude. But Washington was an ocean away, and consultations would require at least three or four months, including the time required for round trip travel by ship. Monroe and Livingston examined their instructions and decided to act decisively. On 30 April 1803, they concluded a deal with French foreign minister Talleyrand to purchase all of Louisiana for $ 15 million.

Monroe and Livingston’s bold gamble was a turning point in American history. At the stroke of a pen, the nation had doubled in size, laying the foundation for America’s future emergence as a great power. Equally important, on the diplomatic front, they had placated France while avoiding an entangling alliance with Britain. While securing the mouth of the Mississippi, they quickened the heartbeat of the nation by providing a vast wilderness for western exploration and expansion.1

Such an achievement would be enough to make any man’s mark in history as a skilled negotiator and adept diplomat. But for James Monroe, this was simply the start of an extraordinary career in international affairs characterized not only by concrete results of immediate benefit to the nation, but by enduring vision of far reaching and lasting impact.2

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FOOTNOTES

1 Thomas A. Bailey, The American Pageant, (Lexington, Massachusetts: D.C. Heath and Company , 1971), pp. 200-204.

2 Before embarking on his international career, domestically he had already served as a member of the Virginia state legislature, a member of the Continental Congress, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, a United States senator and Governor of Virginia. See Christine Maloney Fitz-Gerald, Encyclopedia of Presidents: James Monroe, (Chicago: Children’s Press: 1987).

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Monroe followed his brilliant success as Minister to France to arrange the Louisiana Purchase with a four-year tour as Minister to Great Britain, including a stint as the nation’s Envoy to Spain. Based on his performance, it came as no surprise when President James Madison tapped Monroe to become his Secretary of State.

Monroe counseled against war with Great Britain, but “war hawk” sentiment in Congress was too strong and on 18 June 1812 Congress voted to declare war. What became known as the War of 1812 did not go well militarily for the Americans, and Monroe’s considerable skills and versatility were called upon to help save the young republic. Twice he served as acting Secretary of War while continuing his duties as Secretary of State. When a British fleet entered Chesapeake Bay, he was forced to hastily organize the defense of Washington. Although unsuccessful in preventing the British from entering the capitol, his efforts bought precious time for the President to escape and for the timely evacuation of many priceless historical items to avoid capture and destruction.3

Expecting to make major concessions, the American people were delighted by the Treaty of Ghent, signed on Christmas Eve 1814, which ended hostilities under terms

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FOOTNOTES

3 Wendie C. Old, James Monroe, (Berkeley Heights, New Jersey: Enslow Publishers, 1998), pp. 65-73.

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which were, in essence, an armistice. “Not One Inch of Territory Ceded or Lost” became the defining slogan as Congress unanimously approved the treaty. Once again Monroe had played his hand with consummate skill, producing superlative results in the nation’s service.

He followed this success by engineering the Rush-Bagot agreement with Britain, providing for the mutual naval disarmament of the Great Lakes. Although a modest achievement at the time, it was gradually extended to include border fortifications, and laid the foundation for a truly significant accomplishment. Monroe’s work formed the basis of what eventually led to the establishment of the border between the United States and Canada as the longest unfortified boundary in the world, over 5527 miles long, including Alaska.4

But James Monroe was not finished. After sweeping to the Presidency in 1816, he continued his career of distinction in international affairs. An often overlooked and much underrated accomplishment is the Treaty of 1818 with Great Britain, which took up many of the issues left in abeyance by the Treaty of Ghent. Unresolved territorial boundaries were delineated and a ten-year joint occupation of the Oregon territory was agreed upon, a clause much to the advantage of the American side, whose presence there grew yearly.

Next, Monroe had to deal with Spain. Indian raids and overlapping territorial

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FOOTNOTES

4 See www.answers.com/topic/treaty-of-1818 and www.ushistory.com/pages.

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claims in Florida had led Monroe to dispatch Andrew Jackson, the hero of the Battle of New Orleans, to secure American interests and restore order. Jackson exceeded his authority significantly by capturing two Spanish outposts and deposing the governor. Monroe calmed the situation by negotiating the inappropriately named Florida Purchase Treaty of 1819. Under its provisions, Spain gave up her rights to Florida and Oregon in exchange for American claims on Texas. Again, with the stroke of a pen, Monroe had avoided war with a hostile European power and significantly enlarged American territory, instilling national pride and providing land for continued economic expansion.5

But Monroe’s greatest achievement was yet to come. Facing pressure from Great Britain to join an alliance against France, from Spain as its New World possessions slipped from its grasp, and from Russia over territory in the Pacific Northwest, Monroe elected to make a bold declaration of independence. In 1823, in his final address to Congress, he enunciated a public declaration of American policy which has come to bear his name - the Monroe Doctrine. In essence, it laid down three fundamental principles. First, he called for the noncolonization of the Americas by European powers. Second, he underscored the imperative of nonintervention by Europe in the affairs of the nations of the Western Hemisphere, especially the newly independent Latin American states. And lastly, he pledged noninterference by the United States in European affairs, in effect an abstention from involvement in European conflicts.6

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FOOTNOTES

5 See www.tamu.edu/ccbn/dewitt/adamsonis

6 Mary Beth Norton et al., A People and a Nation: A History of the United States, (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1986), pp. 230-231 and Frank Donovan, Mr. Monroe’s Message, (New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1963).

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Monroe’s declaration proved popular at home as a clear expression of nationalistic self-reliance and as a warning to predatory European powers. Ironically, the military power to back it up came in the form of her majesty’s navy. The British had no stomach for yet another protracted conflict with their erstwhile colonies, and shared common cause with the United States in preventing other European states from pursuing their interests in the Americas. As declaratory policy, it was a brilliant stroke. Monroe avoided European entanglement, enunciated American interests and demonstrated support for self-determination and democratic rule throughout the hemisphere all at once.

But it was not until years later that the true impact of Monroe’s message was felt. Succeeding Presidents made his doctrine the vehicle by which the United States, growing ever more powerful, would assert its independence, and the independence of all the Americas, from Europe.7

James Monroe was the last of the “the Virginia Dynasty” of Washington, Jefferson, and Madison, and the last of the founding fathers. He dedicated his life to public service. From his time as a Lieutenant in the Continental Army to his time in the White House, he served the nation in an amazing variety of positions, doing so with exceptional skill and aplomb at every level, mastering new challenges and delivering singularly impressive results.8 In the end, he established a record of diplomatic

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FOOTNOTES

7 Gerald Z. Levin and Jeannette Hussey, President Monroe’s Message, (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974), pp. 17-18.

8 In this paper I have intentionally focused on his diplomatic accomplishments. But it is worth noting that he achieved resounding success on the domestic front as well. He crafted the Missouri compromise, adroitly postponing Civil War over the issue of slavery for another forty years, and in 1820 he was reelected President by an overwhelming margin, winning 231 of 232 electoral votes. George Dangerfield, The Era of Good Feelings, (New York: Harcourt Brace, 1952 ) pp. 199-245.

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achievement matched by few if any in American history, and did so with his customary modest and self-effacing manner. He guided the United States with a calm and steady hand through a turbulent period in our nation’s history, and we would do well to draw upon his example as we chart a new path into the future.

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Government by the People. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1995.

Cornog, Evan and Whelan, Richard. Hats in the Ring. New York: Random House, 2000.

Dangerfield, George. The Era of Good Feelings. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1952.

Donovan, Frank. Mr. Monroe’s Message. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1963.

Fitz-Gerald, Christine Maloney. Encyclopedia of Presidents: James Monroe. Chicago: Children’s Press, 1987.

Levin, Gerald Z. and Hussey, Jeannette M. President Monroe’s Message. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974.

Merk, Frederick. The Monroe Doctrine and American Expansionism. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1966.

Norton, Mary Beth; Katzman, David M.; Escott, Paul D.; Chudacoff, Howard P.; Paterson, Thomas G.; and Tuttle, William M. A People and a Nation: A History of the United States. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1986.

Old, Wendie C. James Monroe. Berkeley Heights, New Jersey: Enslow Publishers, 1998.

Shields-West, Eileen. The World Almanac of Presidential Campaigns. New York: Scripps Howard, 1992.

Wetzel, Charles. James Monroe. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1989.

Wilmerding, Lucius. James Monroe: Public Claimant. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1960.

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www.americanpresident.org/presidents/president

www.answers.com/topic/treaty-of-1818

www.grolier.com/presidents/ea/bios

www.ipl.org/ref/POTUS/jmonroe

www.tamu.edu/ccbn/dewitt/adamsonis

www.ushistory.com/pages

www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jms