The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness

I have embarked on an intellectual/historical trek that involves reading every US Presidential biography. Thus far, I have read: Ron Chernow WASHINGTON: A LIFE David McCullough JOHN ADAMS Jon Meacham THOMAS JEFFERSON: THE ART OF POWER Duane Ostler JAMES MADISON: AMERICAN PROPHET. Harlow Giles Unger’s THE LAST FOUNDING FATHER: JAMES MONROE AND A NATION’S CALL TO GREATNESS Currently, I have begun Harlow Giles Unger’s JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. Although I have been enjoying the exploration of lives of our presidents, I must note that the quality of writing and the spinning of the narrative to place a positive light on the president vary a great deal. Unger stands above the other authors in his effort to create an unbiased portrait of the presidents. In terms of placing a positive writing spin, Ostler (Madison) and Meacham (Jefferson) are the guiltiest. How can a person uncover positive spins? Answer: reading the other biographies that address the same situation. When you have three explanations of a presidential policy position, a person’s eyes are finally opened to reality. In terms of presidents, Monroe is perhaps the most underrated. Historically, he used his presidential influence (even violating the Constitution) to give birth to the “Era of Good Feelings.” Within this time frame, we find the longest period of peace and economic prosperity within American history. Monroe had a firm grasp on Congress and his Cabinet in a manner that promoted cooperation and inhibited egocentrism. As soon a Monroe left office, our national government fell prey to individuals who pursued self-aggrandizement over the needs of the nation. No President before or since Monroe had the ability to mobilize individuals. One hundred years later, Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country.” Monroe could have easily made this exact same statement. Although Kennedy believed this, he was never able to get the population to embrace the action. On the other hand, Monroe never made such a statement, but he was able to implement the action within Congress and the American population. The sinister dimension of Monroe’s presidency is his history on slavery. He accepted Jefferson’s slavery position (slavery is a necessary evil) and hope it would end. Actually, with Monroe’s incredible political skills, he might have been able to end slavery and prevented the Civil War. However, his financial investment in slavery was immense. He made efforts to procure freedom slaves by purchasing land for them in Africa, but those he freed and sent were the trouble-makers: those who were most likely to revolt. He wanted to keep the docile slaves on the plantations. He was a bit of a pseudo abolitionist. Even with his dark side revealed, Monroe must be considered one of the most politically skillful presidents that use his influence for the best interest of the nation.

Mr. Unger sets the bar high for his subject when on the Acknowledgments and Dedication page he describes; "...James Monroe as the most significant Founding Father after George Washington". He goes on to produce a very thorough ~400-page biography of our fifth President - full of things we may have known, but now detailed and well retold, as well as many things we (the average reader) did not know about the man, his remarkable career and his family. The author's observation (page 2) that, "Washington's three successors - John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison - were mere caretaker presidents who left the nation bankrupt, its people deeply divided, its borders under attack, its capital city in ashes" - rouses the reader's interest, establishes the tone and encourages the read to come. What does come - despite the rhetoric - is delivered in a very even-handed and professional manner. I did not find the unfairness or bias detected by other reviewers here. The style and conclusions at times can be zealous, but certainly not unsupported, or implausible. By example, Mr. Unger offers a full spectrum of possibilities in his explanation for the rift between Monroe and his colleagues Madison and Jefferson (page 199) through the presentation of a number of historian's conclusions. In the end Mr. Unger suggests human foibles and pride as the cause for the breakup. Despite the author's high-admiration for his subject - the reader is often left wondering whether or not pure happenstance is as much a factor as heroics in many of the enormous events of the era. Was the Louisiana Purchase the legitimate "catch" of Mr. Monroe, or Mr. Livingston... or would Napoleon Bonapart have virtually "handed" the prize to any American envoy that President Jefferson might have sent? Mr. Unger suggests Mr. Monroe - but does not convince. Other matters of character or judgement are left quietly unexplored. For example, the damning Reynolds Dossier - a packet of proofs that ultimately destroy Alexander Hamilton are left for safekeeping with Mr. Jefferson, by Mr. Monroe. The dossier is subsequently shown to the press. Mr. Unger clearly believes Monroe above duplicity, but leaves the issue unexplored, except of course for the obvious deception of Mr. Jefferson. Could Mr. Monroe really have been "above" politics even at that most partisan of times? In the end, a number of events akin to the examples above make the reader feel that the author has set the bar too high for his subject, but no-matter Mr. Unger's research and skill with the written word make the book a very worthwhile and enlightening read. -----kindle edition----- Generally well done with the expected hyperlinks. There are numerous portraits and maps that are worthwhile to the read. The maps especially are somewhat tortured by the resolution of the kindle. The book does have hardbound page number locations which are displayed (page bottom) from the menu & toolbars display (tap page top). The index - which can be a very valuable tool in a biography - is worthless. It contains neither page number nor hyperlink - merely a shell of what should have been, despite the full price extracted for an e-book by the publisher, Da Capo Press. e-Book publication quality, ★★☆☆☆.

The author wrote the book in a way that is very interesting and historically sound. There is probably a lot more information available for the subject, but I think if you need a starter on the President, this would be my choice.

James Monroe, as the last founding father to serve in the White House truly does close an era of history. Unfortunatley both he and Elizabeth Monroe have been largely overlooked by history to our detriment since there is much to learn from this family. As a young man Monroe joined the revolutionary cause and fought bravely for this country, surviving a life threatening wound. Following in Washington's footsteps he didn't accept payment for his service. This would set the stage for a lifetime of financial sacrifice in his country's service. His political career included serving as a foreign diplomat, senator, and as a governor that forever changed the role of Governor of Virginia, and finally Preisdent of the United States. Unger portrays Monroe as an affable man who knew how to nurture relationships, queit until pushed by passion to act boldly even disregarding the Constitution at times, politically astute, a true unifer as he destroyed the two party political system for a time, and a visionary who successfully increased the land mass of the country and set forth the famous Monroe Doctrine. Elizabeth Monroe is portrayed as a fascinating, beautiful, highly educated and courageous woman. Thier marriage and dedication to each other rival John and Abigail Adams. Unger does an incredible job of completely telling the story of James Monroe and providing important details where they belong. For those who find biographies fraught with too much detail that will not be an issue here. Those who want a complete understanding of the subject will find it with Unger.

This is a well written and fairly well paced biography of James Monroe. I enjoyed the reading experience and learned a great deal. I liked it enough that I have already purchases another book by this author. Occasionally I read a biography that is very educational but a taxing read. I found Mister Unger's writing style to be enjoyable. I also enjoyed the audiobook narrated by Michael McConnohie. The narration was very faithful to my Kindle version and was very professional. President Monroe was, until now, perhaps the founding father President I knew least about. Therefore I found personally found the book extremely illuminating. I am not sure that another, more well versed reader may find the biography a bit brief. The author seems to portray Mister Monroe as an exceedingly great man, perhaps second or third only to Washington and maybe Jefferson as a founding father. Maybe that is a fair assessment, I do not know enough about this era to be sure. I was concerned that the book lacks objectivity. in summary, I enjoyed this book and the writing style of the author. I learned a great deal, starting from a low baseline. I think it was a very good introductory Work about James Monroe. Thank You...

Well written and sustains the readers interest. We owe James Monroe for American prosperity and success. Would he even recognize who we are today?

Harlow Giles Unger’s James Monroe biography, THE LAST FOUNDING FATHER: JAMES MONROE AND A NATION’S CALL TO GREATNESS, reads less like a biology and more like a sacred tomb for acolytes to use in worshipping the do-no-wrong object of their devotion. The parts where Unger is simply relaying the events that happened are well done and quite readable, but all too often, he offers opinions designed to glorify Monroe and his wife beyond all reason. By Unger’s description, Monroe was preceded by three presidents in John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, who “were mere caretaker presidents who left the nation bankrupt, its people deeply divided, its borders under attack (and) its its capital city in ashes.” Even worse, the 35 years after Monroe’s presidency were led by presidents who were “self-serving, politically ambitions successors” who undermined the national unity he created and led the country into Civil War. Unger describes Jefferson’s choosing of Madison as his secretary of state over Monroe as Monroe “stepping aside,” rather than being overlooked in favor of Madison, a close and well-respected friend of Jefferson in his own right. Perhaps not coincidentally, Unger reserves much of his vitriol for Madison, claiming that when Monroe served in Madison’s cabinet, it was Monroe who took the reins of the country, especially in the wake of the British attack on Washington. Later, he doesn’t appear to recognize the irony of his response when he brings up accusations that John Quincy Adams had actually crafted the Monroe doctrine: The assertion that Adams authored the Monroe Doctrine is not only untrue, it borders on the ludicrous by implying that President Monroe was little more than a puppet manipulated by another’s hand. Such assertions show little insight into the presidency itself and the type of man who aspires to and assumes that office; indeed, they denigrate the character, the intellect, the intensity, and the sense of power that drive American presidents. Each time Unger mentions Madison, he makes certain to belittle the fourth president, referring to him as “incompetent,” and making frequent references to Madison’s well-documented health problems and his short stature. When comparing the foreign policy experience of the two presidents, he says: Monroe’s many years as a minister overseas had taught him diplomacy as a chesslike game of subtle moves, each fraught with nuanced, ripple effects that can accrue to the advantage or disadvantage of either side. Madison’s years in a nation of unsophisticated frontiersmen had taught him diplomacy as a game akin to the new card craze of Slap Jack. At another point: … the president [Madison] seemed impotent, with no command of his armed forces, no credit with Congress, and little influence over the American people. His sickly Lilliputian stature did little to inspire confidence. Everything he said or did only alienated more Americans. When Monroe makes his seventh annual address to Congress, Unger says that some members trembled with awe as they watch him make his way down the aisle, a description that again feels over the top; I would have loved to see a source there so it seemed less a product of Unger’s overactive, awestruck imagination. If possible, Unger seems to go even further overboard in defense of Monroe’s wife, Elizabeth: Washington gossips accused the Monroes – especially Elizabeth – of transforming the White House into a European court. Through no fault of her own, she became the target of mean-spirited attacks, born largely of envy – of her beauty, of her exquisite (and expensive) taste in clothes and furnishings, and of her refined manners and superb education. What Unger wants you to understand is that not only was Monroe the awesomest president who ever presidented, but he also had the hottest and most perfect wife ever. People who disliked her didn’t have any genuine motivation for their feels — they were simply jealous! Now, I don’t point all this out to demean Monroe or his wife — I bought this book specifically to learn more about him and his strengths as an American president, and Unger’s comparisons of Monroe to George Washington were indeed eye-opening. But over the course of the book, Unger’s descriptions of Monroe got in the way of the story of Monroe’s life, and made it difficult for me to trust Unger’s accounting of the events in Monroe’s life. According to this book, everything great that happened, from the Louisiana Purchase to the conclusion of the War of 1812, was a product of Monroe’s greatness despite the perpetual idiocy that surrounded him. A more nuanced view of Monroe’s life would have been far more satisfying. I have no doubt of his accomplishments or his strengths, but to really understand this president, I also would have liked to learn about his weaknesses and regrets. Unfortunately, this isn’t the book for that type of insight.

This book brought Monroe’s life into clarity for me by providing details that showed the man as very human in every aspect. It also illustrated the relationships he developed with several of the other founding fathers,relationships that sustained him his entire adult life.

First biography I have managed to find on this US President. Well constructed and written, factual and concise. A founding father who resides amongst the unknown presidents but should be higher in the pentheon of great presidents.

great book reading

Excellent read of an interesting life well lived

A marvellous book to read in one shot. It let me discover the impressive personnality of this man I now find great. Very well written

This is not a good biography of James Monroe, but not completely useless, as long as you already know something about the period: it fills in some information which biographies of Monroe’s contemporaries might leave out, but you really need to have read those biographies first, or other studies of the time, to make sure you spot the exaggerations and wild interpretations. For instance, Unger describes John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison as “mere caretaker presidents who left the nation bankrupt, its people deeply divided, its borders under attack, is capital city in ashes.” This astonishingly cavalier and blinkered judgement left me a little breathless: Adams, for all his failings, resisted huge pressure for a war with France which might have proved disastrous, and certainly would have been costly; Jefferson shifted the nation to a much clearer republican basis than Washington or Adams ever could; and Madison, though arguably his greater contribution was in framing the constitution and the Bill of Rights, was nonetheless the President who brought an end to forty years of hostility with Britain. But Unger isn’t interested in giving a balanced and nuanced view of his subject and those around him. He wants to write a hagiography. So credit for the Louisiana purchase goes to Monroe, for his role in the negotiations in Paris, not to his boss, the then Secretary of State James Madison, or to his boss’s boss, the then President, Thomas Jefferson; on the other hand, credit for the acquisition of Florida from the Spanish, usually referred to as the Adams-Onis treaty, doesn’t go to the Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams for whom it is named, but to the President, James Madison. However, Unger does give a well-paced narrative of Monroe’s life and, in particular, quotes extensively from the writings of others to back up some of his statements, making them easier to believe. These provide colour to the account and I’m grateful to Unger for including them. For instance, he quotes John Quincy Adams on Monroe’s second inaugural, that had to be held indoors because of heavy rain: "… a great crowd of people were assembled and the avenues to the hall of the house were so choked up with persons pressing for admittance that it was with the utmost difficulty that the President made his way through them…" Monroe was, as Unger makes clear, a much-loved President who “created an era never seen before or since in American history – an “Era of Good Feelings” that propelled the nation and its people to greatness.” He’s right to conjure up the atmosphere of this happy period, though not so right to play down the stultifying effect it had on politics: Monroe was the last President elected unopposed, a testament to his popularity as Unger affirms, but also evidence of a political system that had withered and lost the benefit of an active opposition, holding power to account. The reaction would be radical and intense, when Andrew Jackson came to office and brutally ended the complacency that had come before. It’s also a little overstated to say that the nation emerged from Monroe’s presidency “great”. Unger, inevitably, attributes all the credit for enunciating the Monroe Doctrine, according to which no European nation should in the future go empire-building in the Americas, entirely to the President. John Quincy Adams, it seems, played no part in it despite being Secretary of State: “the assertion that Adams authored the “Monroe Doctrine” is not only untrue, it borders on the ludicrous…” (Unger really can’t bear Adams: he even reduces his diplomatic experience to five years in St Petersburg “with his friend the Czar”, ignoring his time in the Netherlands, Prussia or Britain – the latter hardly an insignificant appointment). He fails to point out that the Doctrine, at the time it was announced in 1823, was more of an aspiration than a policy the US could enforce. By the 1840s, the US was beginning to emerge as a force to reckon with on the world stage; and she was a true world power militarily, if not always recognised as such, only after the Civil War. So there’s a lot to mislead in this biography, but with a few nuggets that give it life and make it worth reading – but only if one has read enough previously to be able to distinguish between them.