First published in 1959, The Autobiography of James Monroe collects the compelling fragments of Monroe’s unfinished autobiography, written after his retirement from the presidency. The memoirs trace his boyhood, education, and experiences during his long service as a public servant before becoming president. Monroe vividly recalls his military experience in the Revolution, his law studies at the College of William and Mary, and his service as aide to Governor Thomas Jefferson of Virginia. From the early days of his political career, Monroe writes with passion about his opposition to slavery and his support for the Western farmer. He discusses his controversial first mission to France as a young and inexperienced minister to a country in the throes of a revolution, as well as subsequent missions in which he served as the key negotiator with France for the purchase of the Louisiana Territory. Originally edited by Stuart Gerry Brown, this new edition includes an introduction by historian and documentary editor William Ferraro. Ferraro considers the lasting influence of Brown’s edition on Monroe scholarship and surveys the most recent research, detailing the ways this founding father’s legacy continues to unfold.

First published in 1959, The Autobiography of James Monroe collects the compelling fragments of Monroe’s unfinished autobiography, written after his retirement from the presidency. The memoirs trace his boyhood, education, and experiences during his long service as a public servant before becoming president. Monroe vividly recalls his military experience in the Revolution, his law studies at the College of William and Mary, and his service as aide to Governor Thomas Jefferson of Virginia. From the early days of his political career, Monroe writes with passion about his opposition to slavery and his support for the Western farmer. He discusses his controversial first mission to France as a young and inexperienced minister to a country in the throes of a revolution, as well as subsequent missions in which he served as the key negotiator with France for the purchase of the Louisiana Territory. Originally edited by Stuart Gerry Brown, this new edition includes an introduction by historian and documentary editor William Ferraro. Ferraro considers the lasting influence of Brown’s edition on Monroe scholarship and surveys the most recent research, detailing the ways this founding father’s legacy continues to unfold.

The former senator and presidential candidate offers a provocative new assessment of the first "national security president" James Monroe is remembered today primarily for two things: for being the last of the "Virginia Dynasty"—following George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison—and for issuing the Monroe Doctrine, his statement of principles in 1823 that the western hemisphere was to be considered closed to European intervention. But Gary Hart sees Monroe as a president ahead of his time, whose priorities and accomplishments in establishing America's "national security" have a great deal in common with chief executives of our own time. Unlike his predecessors Jefferson and Madison, Monroe was at his core a military man. He joined the Continental Army at the age of seventeen and served with distinction in many pivotal battles. (He is prominently featured at Washington's side in the iconic painting Washington Crossing the Delaware.) And throughout his career as a senator, governor, ambassador, secretary of state, secretary of war, and president, he never lost sight of the fact that without secure borders and friendly relations with neighbors, the American people could never be truly safe in their independence. As president he embarked on an ambitious series of treaties, annexations, and military confrontations that would secure America's homeland against foreign attack for nearly two hundred years. Hart details the accomplishments and priorities of this forward-looking president, whose security concerns clearly echo those we face in our time. "A well-written, useful précis of Monroe’s life and career." - Kirkus Reviews

The extraordinary life of James Monroe: soldier, senator, diplomat, and the last Founding Father to hold the presidency, a man who helped transform thirteen colonies into a vibrant and mighty republic. “A first-rate account of a remarkable life.”—Jon Meacham • “Fascinating.” —H. W. Brands • “Captivating... Highly recommended.”—Nathaniel Philbrick • “A luminous portrait of the most underappreciated of our Founders.”—Joel Richard Paul • “Excellent.”—Library Journal (starred review) Monroe lived a life defined by revolutions. From the battlefields of the War for Independence, to his ambassadorship in Paris in the days of the guillotine, to his own role in the creation of Congress's partisan divide, he was a man who embodied the restless spirit of the age. He was never one to back down from a fight, whether it be with Alexander Hamilton, with whom he nearly engaged in a duel (prevented, ironically, by Aaron Burr), or George Washington, his hero turned political opponent. This magnificent new biography vividly re-creates the epic sweep of Monroe’s life: his near-death wounding at Trenton and a brutal winter at Valley Forge; his pivotal negotiations with France over the Louisiana Purchase; his deep, complex friendships with Thomas Jefferson and James Madison; his valiant leadership when the British ransacked the nation’s capital and burned down the Executive Mansion; and Monroe’s lifelong struggle to reckon with his own complicity in slavery. Elected the fifth president of the United States in 1816, this fiercest of partisans sought to bridge divisions and sow unity, calming turbulent political seas and inheriting Washington's mantle of placing country above party. Over his two terms, Monroe transformed the nation, strengthening American power both at home and abroad. Critically acclaimed author Tim McGrath has consulted an extensive array of primary sources, many rarely seen since Monroe's own time, to conjure up this fascinating portrait of an essential American statesman and president.

This book is the unfinished autobiography by James Monroe on his life before he became President. Including his boyhood, education, his service during the Revolution, and his two missions to Europe in 1794 and 1802.

From the New York Times bestselling author, the larger than life story of America's fifth president, who transformed a small, fragile nation into a powerful empire In this compelling biography, award-winning author Harlow Giles Unger reveals the epic story of James Monroe (1758-1831)-the last of America's Founding Fathers-who transformed a small, fragile nation beset by enemies into a powerful empire stretching "from sea to shining sea." Like David McCullough's John Adams and Jon Meacham's American Lion, The Last Founding Father is both a superb read and stellar scholarship-action-filled history in the grand tradition.

Few men in the history of Georgia have come down to the present in hearsay and folklore as profusely and as controversially as has James Monroe Smith, who became a millionaire farmer around the turn of the twentieth century. He was born near Washington, Georgia, in 1839 and died on his plantation a few miles from Athens in 1915. Smith’s plantation “Smithonia” was measured in terms of square miles. He developed an empire of farming and allied interests, among which was a railroad to connect his plantation with other rail lines. He served terms in the state legislature in both the house and the senate, and in 1906 ran unsuccessfully for governor. The colorful career of Smith, a bachelor, did not end with his death but was kept alive in numerous claims and counter-claims in the settling of his estate. E. Merton Coulter seeks to separate fact from fiction in his account of Smith’s varied activities and the final dissolution of his wealth.

What American president would not relish the thought of his time in office bearing the description “Era of Good Feeling”? That was the title given to the time when President James Monroe occupied the White House. Monroe was a Virginian, like better-known Founding Father Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. But his destiny was not defined solely by his loyalty to his state. He was an American, assured of a future destined to be grand because he lived in a nation where possibilities were probable. Inside you will read about... ✓ A Virginia Gentleman ✓ An American Soldier ✓ Monroe at Home and Abroad ✓ A Virginia President ✓ The Second Term And much more! Monroe grew up in the colony of Virginia as the son of a moderately prosperous plantation owner, but his career in service to his nation took him to the battlefields of the Revolutionary War, diplomacy in Europe, the governorship of Virginia, Cabinet posts in Washington D.C., and through it all, America’s future. By establishing the Monroe Doctrine, he warned other nations that trespassing in the Western Hemisphere would be taken as an attack upon the United States. That he made this proclamation at a time when the United States was a mere fledgling compared to the predators of Europe demonstrates his confident audacity in the country he governed. He was a nineteenth-century believer in the twenty-first American century.

Relying on over 150 interviews as well as Marilyn's letters and diaries, this work by best-selling biographer Spoto casts new light on every aspect of the actress's tempestuous life.

The first significant collection of the writings of the fifth President in over a century.