Basic Facts:
Birth: April 28, 1758 at Westmoreland County, Virginia
Death: July 4, 1831 at New York City, New York
Married: February 16, 1786 to Elizabeth Kortright (1768-1830)
Children: Three – Eliza, Maria Hester, James Spence
President: Two terms beginning March 4, 1817 and March 5, 1821
Quote: “It is only when the people become ignorant and corrupt, when they degenerate into a populace, that they are incapable of exercising the sovereignty. Usurpation is then an easy attainment, and a usurper soon found. The people themselves become the willing instruments of their own debasement and ruin. Let us, then, look to the great cause, and endeavor to preserve it in full force. Let us by all wise and constitutional measures promote intelligence among the people as the best means of preserving our liberties.”
Family:
James Monroe’s wife, Elizabeth Kortright, was in fragile health and suffered seizures.
They had three children:
- Eliza Monroe Hay (1786-1840) – acted as unofficial First Lady during her father James Monroe’s presidency, as her mother’s health kept her away from many White House duties. She was rumored to be snobbish, difficult to work with, and to have “an already high opinion of herself. On September 21, 1830, Hay’s husband George died, followed by her mother Elizabeth two days later. Her father James died less than a year later, on July 4, 1831. Following this string of deaths, Hay moved back to Paris, where she converted to Catholicism and joined a convent.
- James, Jr. (1799-1801)
- Maria Hester Gouverneur (1802-1850) She married Samuel L. Gouverneur, who was serving as private secretary to her father. They were first cousins; his mother was Elizabeth Monroe’s sister. On March 9, 1820, they were married in the White House, in a small ceremony with only 42 guests, probably in the Blue Room. While it was not the first White House wedding, it was the first time a president’s child was married there. After his wife’s death in 1830, James Monroe lived with Maria and Samuel in New York City until he died in 1831.
Other
Monroe was the first president to ride on a steamboat.
At sixteen years old, Monroe attended the College of William and Mary.
He was the first president to have been a U.S. senator.
Washington appointed Monroe as his minister (ambassador) to France.
As President Jefferson’s special envoy, Monroe helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase.
In the election of 1820 Monroe received every electoral vote except one. A New Hampshire delegate wanted Washington to be the only president elected unanimously.
Monroe’s inauguration in 1817 was the first to be held outdoors.
The U.S. Marine Band played at Monroe’s 1821 inauguration and at every inauguration since.
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Sources:
Internet Public Library
Greenman, Barbara. The Timeline History of U. S. Presidents and First Ladies. Thunder Bay Press, San Diego, California, 2009.