Don's PhotoJaunt 2003
Highland, James Monroe's Home

James Monroe was quite a guy. He joined the army when the American Revolution began; in a few days he was General George Washington's right hand man, at age 20. He kept moving right up, through the presidencies of Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison; then he himself became president. Thomas Jefferson himself designed Monroe's plantation, Highland (now sometimes called Ashlawn), and later designed his retirement home, Oak Hill (which I didn't get to visit).

James married Elizabeth when he was 27 and she was only 17. She, like her predecessor First Lady, Dolley Madison, was a beauty. She was the daughter of a British officer, but when she and James were stationed in France, she adopted the mannerisms of the French upper classes, and as First Lady established a regal protocol for social events at the White House -- "Queen Elizabeth," their political enemies called her.

By and large, James, although he was probably the best-prepared president we have ever had, did not live up to his promise as president, and didn't accomplish much. However, he was well-liked; his presidency became known as "The Era of Good Feelings." He ran unopposed for a second term, and won re-election with only one electoral vote against him.

Statue of James Monroe at Highland

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PhotoJaunt 2003 Intro | Beacon Hill Area of Boston | Boston Common | Unitarian Universalist Association | Massachusetts State House | Adams Historic Park | Boston Temple | John F. Kennedy National Historic Site | John F. Kennedy Library and Museum | Acadia National Park | Maine State Capitol | New England in the Fall | Town and Country Inn | Vermont State House | Chester Alan Arthur Birthplace | President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site | Franklin Pierce Homes and Gravesite | New Hampshire State House | Rhode Island State Capitol | New York State Capitol | Hyde Park | William J. Clinton Home | New York City | The Met | Grant's Tomb | George Washington Inauguration Site | Unitarian Church of All Souls | Theodore Roosevelt birthplace | Sagamore Hill | Woodrow Wilson Homes | Grover Cleveland Home | Amish Country | James Buchanan Sites | Eisenhower Home | Gettysburg | Lincoln Highway | Washington DC Temple | Mary Washington Home | Washington Birthplace | Ferry Farm | Mount Vernon | Appomattox Court House | James Madison's Montpelier | Highland, James Monroe's Home | Monticello | Poplar Forest | FDR's Little White House in Georgia | Jacksonville | Back to Don's Web Site Home Page |

©D.L. Mark 1997-2004