Monroe Doctrine

James Monroe (1758-1831) was the fifth US President, serving from 1817 to 1825. Monroe is best known for his foreign-policy statement as part of his seventh Congressional message that came to be known as the Monroe Doctrine.

Monroe was born in Virginia to parents of Scottish and Welsh background. He planned on studying at the College of William and Mary. However, he participated in the American Revolution in 1776 instead. Monroe was seriously wounded at the Battle of Trenton but survived and rose through the ranks of the Continental Army, becoming an aide-de-camp to General William Alexander and a scout for George Washington.

Following the Revolutionary War, Monroe pursued an education in law under Virginia Governor Thomas Jefferson. Monroe’s political career began with his election to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1782, after which he served in Congress from 1783 to 1786 before returning to the Virginia House of Delegates the following year. In 1790, Monroe began serving in the Senate.

In 1794, George Washington chose Monroe as his Minister to France. However, John Jay’s Treaty between the US and Britain soon soured US-French relations, and two years later, Monroe returned. His A View of the Conduct of the Executive, in the Foreign Affairs of the United States (1797) was based on this experience.

In 1803, Monroe again worked as a minister to France in the context of the Louisiana Purchase. He also participated in the negotiations of the Louisiana border in Spain. In 1807, he returned to the US, reentering the Virginia House of Delegates three years later in 1810. In 1812, Monroe became the Secretary of State for President James Madison, and in 1814, he became Secretary of War.

In 1816, Monroe was elected the fifth President of the US and was reelected four years later. He was best known for what was later termed the Monroe Doctrine—a foreign-policy statement delivered as part of his 1823 Congressional address. The Doctrine defined European-American relations at that time by establishing the Western Hemisphere as a US sphere of influence free of additional European colonization. Other important events during his time in office include the acquisition of Florida in 1819, the Seminole War of 1817-1818, and the Missouri Compromise of 1820.