With his diplomatic experiences guiding his priorities, John Quincy Adams focused on relationships with other nations.
Let’s begin with a trivia question: How many father-son connections are there in our White House history?
John Adams, John Quincy Adams, George Bush and George H.W. Bush
* John Adams, second president, and his son, John Quincy Adams, sixth president; and
* George Herbert Walker Bush, 41st president, and his son, George Walker Bush, 43rd president.
They are not the only “family” connections in the presidential lineage, but I’ll leave you to ponder the other relationships. Continue reading
The state’s literacy rates have been on the decline since the 2014-15 school year, with a six-point fall between the 2018-19 and 2020-21 school years. Micah Clark, director of the 
James Monroe had enjoyed his eight years in the White House and, while well liked without perhaps the reverence citizens had exhibited for George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, his administration had expanded the nation’s footprint with Florida and its international role with the Monroe Doctrine. His strong sense of nationalism was appropriate for a time when the republic was evolving and growing, and his devotion to the precedents of the past fueled his decision to only serve two terms. After all, he had run unopposed in 1820, and there were those who encouraged him to “stay the course,” but Washington’s words made that decision for him. 
If you mention James Monroe’s presidency and foreign diplomacy, most students of history immediately think “Monroe Doctrine,” a uniquely crafted document that would be applied time and again — across the decades — as a cornerstone of international policy. How did the Monroe Doctrine come into existence? 
Most young folks today think that everything that happened before they were born is ancient history, and therefore, totally irrelevant. Hopefully, as they grow in age and maturity they will shed this truncated worldview and grasp the fact that the past has a large influence on the future. I have noted, over the years, that if our view of the past is faulty, then our vision for the future will be also, Most historians today give our young people a faulty view of the past because it is one they were taught themselves. 
The War of 1812 had highlighted the need for easy movement between regions and unity’s impact on military security. James Monroe inherited that concern. As the nation expanded and additional territorial lands met the requirements for statehood and applied for admission to the Union, the need for internal improvements was obvious. Relatively primitive roads on the frontier, aided only by water transport, made the movement of goods and military assets difficult. 
Several days ago, I was handed a pile of old schoolwork and curriculum found in paperwork and memorabilia from my grandmother. Sifting through the stack, I soon pulled out several booklets labeled “Minnesota State Board Questions Certified.” Yellowed with age and somewhat dog-eared, they appear to be workbooks with which students could prepare for their yearly school exams.
In a trend that began with the pandemic, data shows ongoing school enrollment issues, and thousands of public schools nationwide are at risk of closing. According to the Department of Education , in 2023, 1.8 million fewer students enrolled in public schools nationwide compared to 2019.
As we enter a presidential campaign season, many of us are probably hoping for an era of good feelings, or at least civil discourse, which seemed to have been abundant during James Monroe’s administration. It may be difficult today to imagine that Monroe, always depicted as an unsmiling, stoic individual, was actually extremely popular among voters and the general public. The fact that he was truly interested in the people of his relatively young nation and the regions in which they lived connected him with his constituents. 
The great classical scholar Edith Hamilton 
A Georgia teacher’s funeral saw all her loved ones turn up with backpacks filled with school supplies. It was Tammy Waddell’s final wish that those who come to pay their respects to her bring school supplies for needy students. The incredibly moving gesture has gone viral on the internet. Waddell died on June 9, 2018, succumbing to stomach cancer. 
