James Monroe Elected President in 1816 - The Making of a Nation No.40

August 08, 2013

The Making of a Nation

From VOA Learning English, welcome to The Making of a Nation, our weekly program of American history for people learning English. I’m Steve Ember.

President James Madison retired after eight years in office. His Republican party chose another Virginian, James Monroe, as its next presidential candidate.

The opposition Federalist Party had almost disappeared by the time of the election in 1816. James Monroe easily won the election. But not everyone was happy with the result. After all, Monroe was the fourth president from the state of Virginia. The situation caused hard feelings among political leaders in other areas, especially the states of New England.

Monroe sought to improve this situation. He wanted to give the top four jobs in his cabinet to men from each of the nation's four major areas: the Northeast, the South, the West and the Middle Atlantic coast.

But he could find no Westerner who would take the job as head of the War Department. So he had cabinet ministers from only three of the four areas. The West was not represented.

Despite the political concerns, most Americans liked Monroe and welcomed his presidency.

James Monroe

Historian Harlow Giles Unger has written more than 20 books, including one about James Monroe. Mr. Unger says Monroe was one of America’s most beloved presidents. He had been secretary of state and secretary of war at the same time under President Madison. He had also been a diplomat under President Thomas Jefferson and helped carry out the Louisiana Purchase, which doubled the size of the country. And, Monroe had fought in the Revolutionary War and in the War of 1812.