James Monroe

James Monroe, the last of the Revolutionary-generation presidents, presided over the 'Era of Good Feelings,' a period of one-party dominance and national optimism after the War of 1812.

His administration acquired Florida from Spain and managed the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which balanced free and slave states. In 1823 he articulated the Monroe Doctrine, declaring that the Western Hemisphere was closed to further European colonization—a cornerstone of American foreign policy for generations. Re-elected in 1820 with nearly unanimous electoral support, he faced little organized opposition.

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