James Monroe

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James Monroe

• Presented By
• Colin Southwick,
• Taylor Sanderson,
• Stephany Murphy,
• and
• Cat Denning
• P 1 SS
• Ms. Nagourney

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A timeline of his life

• Born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, on April
  28, 1758.(Faber page 51)
• Started college at The college of William and
  Mary in the fall of 1774.
• Joined Revolution in 1776 with Washington's army.
• Wounded in Battle of Harlem Heights.(52)
• Then participated in Battle of Trenton and was
  wounded again.

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• Elected to congress in 1783. (52)
• Married Elizabeth Kortwright in 1786
• In 1788 he was elected to a Virginia convention
  to ratify the constitution of the USA.
• In 1790 elected senator for Virginia
• In 1800 elected govener of Virginia. (Wetzel Page
  40)
• Apointed by President Jefferson as the US
  minister to France in 1801. (Faber Page 52)

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• In 1803 Bought Louisiana Purchase. (52)
• Elected Governor of Virginia 1811. (53)
• Fought in the war of 1812.
• Elected President in 1816.
• In 1817 put a lot of new furniture in the white
  house after it was burned by the British in the
  war of 1812. (54)
• He won re-election almost unanimously in 1820.

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• Eliminated Defense forces along Canadian border
  in 1817. (56)
• Bought Florida from spain in 1819.
• Issued The Monroe Doctrine
• Died on July 4, 1831 at the age of seventy-three

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What James Monroe Did Before Presidency

• Thomas Jefferson appointed Monroe to negotiate
  the Louisiana Purchase, which was the purchase of
  most of the Central United States. (Kundhardt
  Jr., 308).
• Monroe was sent to France as the U.S. Minister
  by George Washington. He was enthusiastic about
  the French Revolution, he felt it would have
  similar effect as the American Revolution.
  Despite his enthusiasm, he was recalled by
  Washington. (306).
• James Monroe was the Governor of Virginia from
  1799-1802 (Whitney, 47).
• Monroe served as a U.S. Senator from Virginia
  from 1790-1794. (47).
• Monroe was sent as the U.S. Minister to Great
  Britain from 1803-1807 (47).

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Personality of James Monroe

• James Monroe could be warm, and keep his feelings
  to himself. (Krall, 25).
• Monroe was well groomed, but not fashionable.
  (25)
• Monroe was vain, he regularly displayed his hair.
  (25)
• He was an Episcopalian, opposed to slavery. (25)
• Monroe and his wife avoided Washington society.
  (25)

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The Cumberland Road Bill Description

• In 1822, President James Monroe vetoed the
  Cumberland Road Bill which placed a toll on
  national roads. (Pious, 169). The President
  vetoed the bill, but he could have passed it, or
  vetoed and suggested a change.

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Cumberland Road Bill The Situation

• James Monroe was faced with a bill from the
  Senate and the House in 1822. (Pious, 168). The
  bill placed a toll on national roads. The money
  collected would go towards other government
  projects such as roads and canals. (169). Monroe
  was forced to decide whether to pass, or veto the
  bill. Placing a toll on national roads was
  unconstitutional to James Monroe so the bill was
  vetoed.

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The Cumberland Road Bill Why Veto?

• Though he could have passed the bill, or vetoed
  it and suggested a change, President James Monroe
  vetoed the Cumberland Road Bill. One reason for
  the veto was that Monroe thought it
  unconstitutional to place a toll on national
  roads. (Pious, 169). Also, the government took in
  enough money from taxes, though they were low.
  (168). Finally, people would be happier without a
  toll on the national roads. In my opinion, (and
  James Monroes) it was a good decision to veto
  the bill.

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How the U.S. would be different without the
Cumberland Road Bill
The Cumberland road bill placed a government toll
on national roads. (Pious, 169). Without it being
vetoed, today more roads would have tolls on
them, and that would be very bad. THANKYOU JAMES
MONROE!
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What else could Monroe have done?
James Monroe vetoed the Cumberland Road bill, but
he didnt have to. He could have passed it, or
vetoed it and asked for a change. Passing the
bill wouldnt have been that bad, citizens arent
taxed to high. (Pious, 168) Also, the money could
be used to fund other government activities.
Monroe had paid off most of the public debt, and
lowered taxes. (168) One small fine wouldnt be
to bad.
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What else could Monroe have done? (cont.)
Besides vetoing or passing the Cumberland Road
Bill, Monroe could have vetoed and suggested a
change to the Senate and House of
Representatives. He could lower the toll and make
it more constitutional. Also, only some roads
could have the toll placed on them, not national
roads. (Pious, 169). Finally, the government has
other ways to make money, such as taxes (which
could be raised). Vetoing and suggesting a change
wouldnt be so bad.
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What I would do in the situation
In this situation, I would have to disagree with
James Monroe. In my opinion, it isnt
unconstitutional to charge a toll on national
roads. Charging a toll would be a good way for
the government to collect money. The toll would
be small, yet effective, so the money would add
up to a considerable sum. Also, the people
shouldnt be to mad, since James Monroe had
lowered taxes and paid off most of the public
debt. (Pious, 168). I would have passed the
Cumberland Road Bill.
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The Latin American Revolution

• President Monroe decided to be Neutral in this
  war between Spain and their colonies but, He made
  the US a nonbelligerent neutral. This means that
  he was neutral, but in a way that the colonies
  could win. (Brinkley 269)

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What did Monroe do?

• Monroe consulted with his Secretary of State John
  Quincy Adams on who to side with. Monroe decided
  to stay neutral in this war.He did help the
  colonies though. He helped by giving them unarmed
  ships, and to continue trade with them. Which
  helped the colonies win the war. (Brinkley 269)

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3 Reasons Monroe decided to stay Neutral

• 3 reasons Monroe stayed neutral were
• He didnt want to make Spain mad
• He also didnt want to make the Colonies mad, so
  then they would stop trade with the US
• staying neutral, he could still help the Colonies
  out, but not be in the war

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How the US might be different

• These are the ways the US could be different
• we might not have trade with Argentina, Chile,
  and Cuba if Monroe had decided to side with Spain
• If Monroe had decided to side with the Colonies
  then Spain might have been really mad at us, and
  start an on going argument.

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Decision the Monroe Doctrine

• The Monroe Doctrine is a document that warned
  the European nations that America would protect
  the Western Hemisphere against the European
  Armies, on December 2, 1823 (Armento 668).

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What Caused the Monroe Doctrine

• During the time that the Napoleonic wars were
  occurring, Latin America decided to gain their
  independence from Europe. After the wars ended
  Europe wanted to regain control over the
  Americas. North America approved of Latin
  Americas retreat from Europe and disagreed with
  Europe trying to conquer again. In order to show
  that the Americas would not stand for Europes
  behavior, President James Monroe wrote the,
  Monroe Doctrine (668).

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Three Reasons Why the Monroe Doctrine Was Made

• America had already been through the tortures of
  being under Europe's rule. When Latin America
  finally broke free of Europe, North America
  supported their decision more than they opposed
  it. They didnt want Europe to have control over
  Latin America again (668).

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Reasons Continued

• Americans wanted Europe to know that they were
  willing to fight the European army, in order to
  stand up for what they thought was right. They
  wanted to show that they could, would, and
  werent afraid to fight Europe (668).
• Europes idea wasnt just to rule over South
  America, but also North America. Most North
  Americans shuttered at that fact considering what
  happened in the past (668).

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America without the Monroe Doctrine

• If President Monroe had never made the Monroe
  Doctrine, America probably wouldnt be the way it
  is in present day. Our relations and culture
  could be closer to Europes, or farther apart.
  If President Monroe had not made the decision he
  did, we could have even had another war in our
  history books. Luckily the Monroe Doctrine was
  made, and we are a better America for it.

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James Monroe Pictures
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James Monroe Pictures (cont.)
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James Monroe Pictures (cont.)
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Works Cited

• Brinkley, Alan. American History.
• New York McGraw Hill Inc. 1975

• Armento, Beverly, More Perfect Union,
• Boston Houghton Mifflin Company,1991.
• Krull, Kathleen. Lives of the Presidents. San
  Diego/New York/London Harcourt Brace Company,
  1998.

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• Faber, Doris and Harold. American Government
  Great Lives. New York Charles Sribners Sons,
  1998.
• Whitney, David C. The American Presidents. New
  York Doubleday Company, Inc., 1967.