The Presidency of James Monroe or Manifest Destinys Underworld

The Presidency of James Monroe

Author: Noble E Cunningham

"Noble Cunningham's command of the material, his rich insights, and the vigorous flow of the narrative combine to make this the best work on Monroe ever written. Monroe's stature as statesman will certainly benefit from Cunningham's interpretation."—Robert Allen Rutland, author of The Presidency of James Madison

"This is a superb book by our most seasoned and judicious historian of the political life of the early Republic. It is well-informed, lucid, concise, and full of insights, surely the final word for our time on the last presidency of the Virginia dynasty."—Ralph Ketcham, author of Framed for Posterity: The Enduring Philosophy of the Constitution

Author Biography: Noble E. Cunningham, Jr., is the Curators' Professor of History at the University of Missouri, Columbia. His other books include In Pursuit of Reason: The Life of Thomas Jefferson, which was a Main Selection of the History Book Club and also offered by the Book-of-the-Month Club.

Times Literary Supplement

A splendid account. Few historians have succeeded so well in grasping the relationship between the constitutional structures of the United States and the ebb and flow of day-to-day politics.

Library Journal

Cunningham (In Pursuit of Reason: The Life of Thomas Jefferson, LJ 5/1/87) contributes another welcome reference in this latest volume in the University Press of Kansas's presidential series. Monroe was the last U.S. president to fight in the Revolution and the last of the Virginia presidential dynasty. Cunningham's portrait of Monroe emerges against a backdrop of the national drama that unfolded as power shifted. The author covers the major domestic and foreign policy issues of the two-term (1816-24) president: the First Seminole War, the Missouri Compromise, and the Monroe Doctrine. The treatment of the cabinet and the Congress especially will be welcomed by presidential scholars. The author portrays Monroe as a cautious politician without the education and intellect of Jefferson and Madison, but he views both terms as successful. This is a realistic picture of a slave-owning president who disliked political parties and who struggled with burdens imposed by demands of the presidency, personal financial stress, and an ill wife. Scholars and presidential buffs alike will find this a useful volume.-William D. Pederson, Louisiana State Univ., Shreveport

Booknews

A richly detailed biography of the president whose Monroe Doctrine continues to guide American policy to the present day. Cunningham (history, U. of Missouri) uses primary sources to portray Monroe, the last Revolutionary War hero to become president, as a cautious man whose policies helped to avoid disasters during the crises of his presidential term, including revolutions in Latin America, the Spanish possession of Florida, the 1819 depression, and Missouri's slavery controversies. The biography also highlights the inner workings of Monroe's cabinet, his relations with Congress, and the influences that future presidents John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson exerted on Monroe's administration. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Table of Contents:

	List of Illustrations
	Foreword
	Preface
1	The Road to the Presidency	1
2	The Election of a President	15
3	First Months in Office	27
4	The New President and a New Congress	41
5	Andrew Jackson and the First Seminole War	55
6	Widening Horizons and Deepening Problems	71
7	The Missouri Compromise	87
8	Transition to a Second Term	105
9	Monroe as Chief Executive	115
10	Life in Monroe's Washington	133
11	The Monroe Doctrine	149
12	Domestic Concerns	165
13	Closing a Presidency	175
14	The End of an Era	185
	Notes	193
	Bibliographical Essay	231
	Index	237

New interesting book: Boomburbs or Your Money or Your Life

Manifest Destiny's Underworld: Filibustering in Antebellum America

Author: Robert E May

In the first full history of 19th-century American filibusters, illegal invasions of foreign countries with whom the US was formally at peace, May explores what drew thousands of men to join these mercenary expeditions and considers the relationship between filibustering and broader issues of American imperialism.

James M. McPherson

The fullest, most detailed, most thoroughly researched book ever written on the antebellum filibuster movement. This book will become an essential reference work on its subject.