This season of “good will” seems perfect to focus on James Monroe’s accomplishments and the growth of our nation.

Confession time. I like to imagine living during an era of “good feelings,” especially when considering political and economic factors. Granted, I have a blessed life, and I enjoy living in this republic based on the important qualities of liberty, equality, and justice, even if those ideals are still a work in progress. However, I admit that I approach the print and programmed media news each day with a bit of trepidation. It seems as though we find new ways to separate ourselves into groups of individuals who stand in our corners and hurl insults toward each other, focusing on our differences and seldom acknowledging our similarities.

Yes, I’m a Pollyanna in a world populated, it seems, by Medusas.

While James Monroe’s presidency is often forgotten between the administrations of more well-recognized presidents — James Madison and John Quincy Adams, followed by the fiery Andrew Jackson — this season of “good will” seems perfect to focus on his accomplishments and the growth of our nation.

So, what’s your first thought when I mention James Monroe?

                            President James Monroe

Struggling? Recognize the name as another of the Virginian presidents, but having a difficult time attaching specifics to that fuzzy picture in your mind? You’re not alone. Poor Monroe, who was much-admired during his lifetime, has slipped from the collective consciousness of our nation.

May I introduce you to James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States and quite an interesting Founding Father?

Monroe was one of the younger members of the Revolutionary generation to later become president. Born in 1758 into a wealthy planter family, Monroe was orphaned in his mid-teens and became the ward of his uncle Joseph Jones, who would become an influential guide for the young man. At age 16, the studious Monroe entered the College of William and Mary, and I often imagine the excitement filling Williamsburg, the colonial government center for Virginia, for a young scholar surrounded by revolutionary speeches and larger-than-life personalities. Patrick Henry. Thomas Jefferson. George Mason. My toes are twitching just imagining the scenes unfolding…

One examines the portraits of James Monroe and he appears stoic and calmly contemplative, but I see the young student who, with his friends, raided the arsenal at the governor’s palace once Governor Dunmore had fled for his life. After the group seized 200 muskets and 300 swords, they promptly donated them to the Virginia militia. Following Patrick Henry’s stirring speech in the House of Burgesses — “The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle?” — Monroe joined the Virginia militia, became an officer, and served with General George Washington in the New York campaign and at Trenton, Monmouth, Brandywine, and Germantown. He distinguished himself at Trenton, leading a charge against the cannons and suffering a near-fatal shoulder wound that eventually removed him from combat leadership. Instead, he was posted as a staff officer for General William Alexander. By 1780, he had returned to Virginia, serving Governor Thomas Jefferson as an “observer” regarding military operations in the South, with a special interest in the strength and resolve of Virginia’s close neighbor, North Carolina.

The war ended in 1781, and James chose to study the law under the tutelage of Thomas Jefferson. (Yes, I am admittedly jealous. Can you imagine the conversations?)

One year later, he was elected to the Virginia Assembly and given a seat on the Council of State, where he again worked closely with Jefferson. Monroe was a quick study and a skillful mediator in Virginia government, and by 1783 he was elected to the Continental Congress, where his understanding of the western frontier’s gifts and needs made him an important voice.

He traveled the regions, drafted governmental guidelines for the western territories, and quickly understood the importance of free navigation of the Mississippi to the farmers throughout the Ohio Valley and the South. Interestingly, the future president also pushed for more legislative powers because he believed that the “voice of the people” was critical to the success of the republic — and, years later, he would vote against the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

Always that somewhat independent voice, he pushed for the Bill of Rights, influenced perhaps by his friend, George Mason, and the direct election of the president, again siding with the “voice of the people,” not the elites of society.

Interesting man, right? Not easily pegged even though he identified as a Jeffersonian Democratic-Republican.

Next week, we’ll see how the “Era of Good Feelings” came to be and whether Monroe deserves any of the credit.

Answers await…

Written by Linda Moss Mines for The Patriot Post ~ December 20, 2023

~ the Author ~
Linda Moss Mines is a historian dedicated to reminding the public of the blessings of Liberty and our commitment to work toward the promises of the American Dream. She is not a political commentator, although reflecting on the history of the Republic requires recounting the stories of political figures and the institutions of our political system. Linda relishes telling the stories of our country’s founding and its journey from the earliest settlers as a “noble experiment in self-government.” She believes that recounting history reminds citizens that decisions and actions have consequences and that we as a people are impacted every day by decisions made during the course of that journey.

“It is important that a nation know and understand the pivotal moments of its history,” she says. “Too often, our images of the past are a composite of classroom memories, popular culture images crafted by media productions and a smattering of editorial musings often grounded only in personal opinion and experience. As a historian, I, of course, offer some interpretation of those moments, but I am far more interested in the role of the public figures and the ‘common people’ and what motivated them than in the role of politics for political gain. Revisiting the past offers us a chance to understand today and shape tomorrow.”

As an educator, Mines notes: “I have been privileged to touch hearts and hopefully inspire my former students to become lifelong lovers of learning. Knowledge coupled with a dedication to service can truly change the world and I’m blessed to be a small part of that change.”