The last founding father : James Monroe and a nation's call to greatness

Format:

Book

Title:

The last founding father : James Monroe and a nation's call to greatness

Other title(s):

James Monroe and a nation's call to greatness

Author:

Unger, Harlow G., 1931- author.

ISBN:

9780306818080

9780306819186

9780786745876

Edition:

First Da Capo Press edition.

Publication:

Cambridge, Massachusetts : Da Capo Press, [2009]

Physical Description:

xii, 388 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Contents:

"To be free ... we must fight" -- "A brave ... and sensible officer" -- "I may lose my scalp" -- "A most interesting connection" -- "A subversion of liberty" -- "One continuous scene of riot" -- La belle Américaine -- "Let calumny have its course" -- "To prevent this greatest of evils" -- "Some outrages had been committed" -- Nothing but simple justice" -- To repair an injury -- "We have met the enemy-- " -- "The poor Capital-- crack'd and broken" -- The "Era of Good Feelings" -- "Embroidered with gold" -- "Winked away by compromise" -- A momentous decision -- Rejoice! -- "A plain and gentle man."

Summary:

The epic story of James Monroe-- the last of America's Founding Fathers -- who transformed a small, fragile nation beset by enemies into a glorious and powerful empire stretching "from sea to shining sea."

Personal Subject:

Monroe, James, 1758-1831.

Monroe, James, 1758-1831. (OCoLC)fst00019442

Subject(s):

Presidents -- United States -- Biography.

United States -- Politics and government -- 1817-1825.

United States -- Politics and government -- 1783-1865.

Geographic Term:

United States -- Politics and government -- 1817-1825.

United States -- Politics and government -- 1783-1865.

United States.

Genre:

collective biographies.

Biographies.

Biografieën (vorm)

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... McMinnville Public Library	923 Monroe, James	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

In this lively and compelling biography Harlow Giles Unger reveals the dominant political figure of a generation. A fierce fighter in four critical Revolutionary War battles and a courageous survivor of Valley Forge and a near-fatal wound at the Battle of Trenton, James Monroe (1751-1831) went on to become America's first full-time politician, dedicating his life to securing America's national and international durability.

Decorated by George Washington for his exploits as a soldier, Monroe became a congressman, a senator, U.S. minister to France and Britain, governor of Virginia, secretary of state, secretary of war, and finally America's fifth president. The country embraced Monroe's dreams of empire and elected him to two terms, the second time unanimously. Mentored by each of America's first four presidents, Monroe was unquestionably the best prepared president in our history.

Like David McCullough's John Adams and Jon Meacham's recent book on Andrew Jackson, this new biography of Monroe is both a solid read and stellar scholarship--history in the grand tradition.

Author Notes

A veteran journalist, broadcaster, educator, and historian, Harlow Giles Unger is the author of fifteen books, including four biographies of America's Founding Fathers. He was recently named the 2008 Distinguished Visiting Fellow in American History at George Washington's Mount Vernon.

Reviews (3)

Kirkus Review

Cogent reexamination of a relatively neglected American icon. James Monroe (17581831) was a major guiding force in the territorial expansion of the country, argues historian Unger (America's Second Revolution: How George Washington Defeated Patrick Henry and Saved the Nation, 2007, etc.). Monroe was a key negotiator of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, which effectively doubled the nation's territory overnight. More importantly, as the nation's fifth president he kept the country safe from outside attack via the Monroe Doctrine, an 1823 policy that warned European governments that colonization or interference with U.S. states would be viewed as an act of war. As a result, pioneers felt safe enough to trek westward and settle in faraway lands. Less prominent than some of the other Founding Fathers, he was nonetheless present at many major historical events in the revolutionary struggle. As a student in Virginia, he was inspired by Patrick Henry's "give me liberty, or give me death" speech at Richmond in 1775. A soldier under General Washington, he holds the flag in Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze's famous 1851 painting, Washington Crossing the Delaware. Monroe was also Secretary of State and Secretary of War during the War of 1812, the first true military challenge to the nascent United States. Unger ably explains how these experiences later informed Monroe's pragmatic and confident leadership style. The author's treatment of Monroe's relationship with wife Elizabeth is somewhat less interesting and invites unfavorable comparison to David McCullough's excellent John Adams (2001), which used John's correspondence with Abigail in effective and revelatory ways. Still, Unger makes a solid and cohesive argument for Monroe's importance in the early years of the United States, even if he goes too far in his enthusiasm by calling predecessors Adams, Madison and Jefferson "mere caretaker presidents." A worthy attempt to rescue Monroe from obscurity for a mainstream audience. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Choice Review

Unger contends that James Monroe was "the most significant Founding Father after George Washington." He considers John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison "mere caretaker presidents who left the nation bankrupt, its people deeply divided, [and] its borders under attack." The author bases his evaluation of Monroe on the fact that, while president, Monroe rectified all these problems. Monroe devoted four decades to public service between his enlistment in the military in 1775 and his retirement from the presidency in 1825. Unger, whose past subjects include Lafayette, John Hancock, Noah Webster, and Washington, empathizes with Monroe's personal and economic problems and sympathetically assesses all phases of his life, quoting judiciously from Monroe's correspondence. Particularly well written, this is a worthy successor to Harry Ammon's 700-page James Monroe: The Quest for National Identity (1971), which focuses less on the private and more on the public Monroe. Unger gives Monroe greater personal credit for the success of his presidency than does Noble E. Cunningham Jr. in The Presidency of James Monroe (CH, Sep'96, 34-0492) and judges the doctrine that bears his name "the most important political manifesto in American history after the Declaration of Independence." Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. J. C. Bradford Texas A&M University

Library Journal Review

In this well-written biography, Unger (Lafayette) presents the fifth president as a man of independence and initiative rather than merely a disciple of Jefferson, Madison, and John Quincy Adams. In this respect, he follows Harry Ammon's assessment in James Monroe: The Quest for National Identity. Unger shows that as a diplomat, Monroe went beyond his ministerial instructions to negotiate treaties and the Louisiana Purchase, that as governor of Virginia he effectively used pronouncements to build public support for his policies, and that as President, he used his diplomatic, cabinet, and military experience to proclaim what became known as the Monroe Doctrine. The author's praise for Monroe should have been balanced by some questions about Monroe's ambition (and possible vanity). For example, during the War of 1812, how far did Monroe undermine Secretary of War John Armstrong so that he could take over the post himself? Verdict Like Gary Hart's James Monroe, in the Times Books series of short presidential biographies, Unger's work will appeal to a more popular audience, especially those who enjoy presidential history or studying the Founding Fathers. Historians and history students should read as well but will still rely on Ammon.-Bryan Craig, MLS, Nellysford, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.