JAMES MONROE
Monroe was born on April 28, 1758, in Westmoreland County
Virginia. His father was Spence Monroe (?- 1774) planter, carpenter. His mother
was Eelizabeth Jones Monroe (?- 1774).
James was the second of five children to live to maturity.
He had an older sister and three younger brothers- Elizabeth Buckner of Caroline
County, Virginia; Spence Monroe, Andrew Monroe of Albemarle County, Virginia;
Joseph Jones Monroe, clerk of district court of Northumberland County, Virginia,
Private secretary to President Monroe, Settled in Missouri.
Monroe was 27 when he married Elizabeth Kortright, 17, on
February 16 1786, in New York City. Monroe had two daughters to live maturity;
Eliza Monroe (1787-?) and Maria Hester Monroe (1803-1850) who married in the
White House on March 9, 1820 (first wedding ever performed at the White House).
Monroe served in the Continental Army from March 1776 to December 1778. He became a member of Virginia Assembly in 1782 to 1783. He hold other political positions: Member of the Continental Congress (1783-1786), US Senator (1790-1794), Minister to France (1794-1796), Governor of Virginia (1799-1802), Special Envoy, 1803. Monroe joined U.S. Minister Robert R. Livingston in Paris to Negotiate the Louisiana purchase; Minister to Great Britain (1803-1807)Governor of Virginia (January-March 1811), Secretary of State (1811-1817), Secretary of War (1814-1815).
Monroe was chosen as the candidate for the presidency in
March 1816 and Governor Daniel D. Tompkins of New York was nominated as the Vice
President. Monroe was elected President against Rufus King (Monroe 183- King
34). He also won the Republican Nomination for reelection in 1820.
In 1831 Monroe developed a nagging cough, some believe it was a sign of tuberculosis and started to weaken. He died July 4, 1831 about 3:15 PM from Heart failure in New York City.
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