James Monroe, another Founding Father worthy of remembrance

Steve Scroggins

Steve Scroggins is a volunteer contributor to the Georgia Heritage Council who lives in Macon.

James Monroe, another Founding Father worthy of remembrance – Commentary by Steve Scroggins

James Monroe was born on April 28, 1758 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. This commentary is to honor him on the anniversary of his birth. An interesting note is that he died on July 4th (1831), just as Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on July 4th five years earlier.

The following statement was attributed to George Washington: "Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for 'tis better to be alone than in bad company." Taking that as an axiom, James Monroe should be respected based on the associations he formed.

He was a good friend and political ally of both Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. That speaks volumes in itself. James Monroe had a distinguished career as a soldier, lawyer, legislator, Virginia governor and statesman before he became the fifth president of the United States. Of the first five presidents, four (all but Adams) were from Virginia.

It is said that Jefferson had this to say about Monroe: "Monroe was so honest that if you turned his soul inside out there would not be a spot on it." Even if that's an exaggeration, one cannot say anything EVEN CLOSE to that about most modern politicians. The current one-term governor of Georgia comes to mind as a liar of the worst kind.

I confess that I've not read as much as I should about Monroe. But I intend to remedy that. From the brief bios I've read online [ see links below ], he was an interesting character who lived in a fascinating period of American history.

He was a soldier under Washington in the Continental Army; he saw intense combat and was severely wounded. In addition to serving as a Virginia legislator and pressing for the Bill of Rights during the Ratification debates, he also served as Governor of Virginia (prior and during Jefferson's presidency) and as a minister to France and England during negotiations for the Louisiana Purchase, not to mention his service as Secretary of State and Secretary of War under President Madison.

Of course, Monroe is best known for The Monroe Doctrine which is excerpted below:

“In the discussions to which this interest has given rise, and in the arrangements by which they may terminate, the occasion has been deemed proper for asserting as a principle in which rights and interests of the United States are involved, that the American continents, by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European power. . . .
We owe it, therefore, to candor and to the amicable relations existing between the United States and those powers to declare that we should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety. With the existing colonies or dependencies of any European power we have not interfered and shall not interfere. But with the governments who have declared their independence and maintain it, and whose independence we have, on great consideration and on just principles, acknowledged, we could not view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them or controlling in any other manner their destiny by any European power in any other light than as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States.” [ Delivered to Congress Dec. 2, 1823 ]

It's obviously NOT a coincidence that the above statement, though directed specifically at imperial European powers, is based on the core ideas of American independence and self-government as were the ideas of those Southern States who chose to declare their State's independence less that 40 years later, when threatened with coercion from a domestic tyrant.

Some summarize The Monroe Doctrine as an attempt by the United States to establish itself as the world policeman responsible for the Liberty of various neighboring lands. I take the document at face value; European meddling in the Americas was viewed as a threat to the existing United States.

Don't forget that less than a decade earlier, England had invaded the U.S. in Maryland and Louisiana and they had sacked and burned Washington, D.C. Florida had just been acquired from Spain in 1819 and control of the Mississippi River was held by France in very recent memory. The Monroe Doctrine was simply a reaffirmation of the principles expressed in the Declaration of Independence. Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. Any power hostile to that principle was potentially hostile to American sovereignty.

The mass media prefers to acknowledge trivial observances and commercialized "holidays" while ignoring the truths of American history and the great men like Monroe who participated in it. They cannot see the connection between us and previous generations; they fail to see the relevance of history to current events.

As expressed in the words of Irish statesman Edmunde Burke below, I choose to acknowledge those who made this country great and who showed that Liberty can be held only by the vigilant who are willing to fight for it.

"Society is an open ended partnership between generations. The dead, and the not yet born, are as much a part of society as the living. To dishonor the dead is to reject the relationship upon which society is built, the relationship of obligation between generations. Those who have lost respect for the dead, have ceased to be trustees of their inheritance." --Edmunde Burke to the British Parliament

We owe it to our descendants to deliver them the liberties our forefathers fought to bequeath to us. Are we willing to fight to restore what was taken from us? Can we wrestle power away from the elitists and merchants who have seized control of the levers of power?

I believe we can. But first we have to acknowledge what was lost, to acknowledge what is wrong with the current arrangement and resolve to restore our inalienable God-given rights that we allowed tyrants to take away one piece at a time.

Steve Scroggins is Adjutant of the Lt. James T. Woodward Camp 1399, Sons of Confederate Veterans, in Warner Robins, GA and a frequent GHC contributor of parody and political cartoons and graphics.