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James Monroe was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Son of Spence Monroe, a carpenter and farmer and Elizabeth Jones Monroe.
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James Monroe attended College of William and Mary at age 16 to study law.
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James Monroe cut his studies short, left college and enlisted in the Third Virginia Regiment during the spring of 1775 to fight against the British.
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Married Elizabeth Kortright. The couple had two daughter and a son who died as an infant.
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James Monroe was a young and upcoming politician. He followed Thomas Jefferson's practices, and he was elected to the United States Senate in 1790.
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Monroe worked with the French, smoothing ties and establishing relationships. His work as ambassador likely helped paved the way to the Louisiana Purchase later on.
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After working as Ambassador, Monroe moved on to become the Governor of his home state, Virginia. He ended up being re-elected for a total of four terms.
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Monroe helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase from France.
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During the war, Monroe continued working in government. He worked as the Secretary of State and the Secretary of War.
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The fourth US president, President Madison, backed Mr. Monroe for the presidential election, and Monroe easily won.
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During his presidency, Monroe added five states to America. They were Mississippi, Illinois, Alabama, Maine, and Missouri.
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Missouri's economy was going through a depression and they applied to join the Union as a slave state. President Monroe's administration denied their request, but the Missouri Compromise was eventually passed, which had a plan to get rid of slavery.
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With a good track record during his previous presidency, President Monroe won the re-election without any problems. He was known as naming strong, influential people to his presidential cabinet.
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Monroe's work toward making America secure became law. The Monroe Doctrine helped make it off-limits for other countries to come onto the American Continent to make new colonies.
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President Monroe passed away after successfully serving two terms. He was 73 years old when he died from tuberculosis.
