[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 56 (Wednesday, April 28, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E689-E690]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH OF JAMES MONROE, FIFTH PRESIDENT OF THE 
                        UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROBERT C. SCOTT

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 28, 2004

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, today, April 28th, the 
Commonwealth of Virginia celebrates the birthday of James Monroe, who 
served as the fifth President of the United States from 1817 to 1825.
  James Monroe was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia to Spence 
Monroe and Eliza Jones Monroe on April 28, 1758.
  As a student of law at the College of William and Mary in 
Williamsburg, Virginia, where he studied under the tutelage of Thomas 
Jefferson, a young James Monroe decided to join the Continental Army 
and was soon fighting at the side of George Washington in New York. 
Lieutenant Colonel Monroe earned recognition from General Washington as 
``a brave and active officer.'' After the Revolutionary War, Monroe was 
appointed Military Commissioner of Virginia.
  After a distinguished military career and completion of his legal 
studies, Monroe was elected to the Continental Congress in 1783, where 
he avidly fought to promote a bill of rights. It was at this time that 
he met and married Elizabeth Kortright.
  In 1790, Monroe was elected to represent the Commonwealth of Virginia 
as a U.S. Senator, followed by an appointment to serve as the U.S. 
Minister to France from 1794 to 1796.

[[Page E690]]

  Monroe returned home and was elected in 1799 to serve as the Governor 
of our great Commonwealth. In 1803, Monroe helped negotiate the 
Louisiana Purchase.
  Eventually, Monroe's political ideals led him to become U.S. 
Secretary of State, U.S. Secretary of War, and then, ultimately, 
President, at which time he began a new Era of Good Feelings for the 
nation.
  Monroe served two terms as President--his popularity at the end of 
his first term so high that he ran unopposed in 1820. During his tenure 
as President, Monroe signed the ``Missouri Compromise,'' barring 
slavery in territories north and west of Missouri, as well as the 
``Monroe Doctrine,'' which denounced European intervention and 
colonization in the Western Hemisphere.
  James Monroe was a loyal public servant and an important figure in 
both Virginian and American history. He set an example we can look to 
today by being a chief executive who usually chose the middle path, the 
path of compromise.
  Governor Mark R. Warner has recognized today, April 28, 2004, as 
James Monroe Day in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Therefore, on this 
day, the anniversary of the birth of James Monroe, I ask for unanimous 
consent that the Governor's Certificate of Recognition be entered into 
the Record.

                       Certificate of Recognition

       Whereas, James Monroe was born in Westmoreland County, 
     Virginia to Spence Monroe and Eliza Jones Monroe on April 28, 
     1758, and he studied law under the tutelage of Thomas 
     Jefferson at the College of William and Mary; and
       Whereas, James Monroe fought with the Continental Army as a 
     Lieutenant Colonel in the Revolutionary War, earning 
     recognition from General George Washington as ``a brave and 
     active officer''; and
       Whereas, as a young politician, James Monroe joined the 
     anti-Federalists in the Virginia Convention, where he helped 
     ratify the Constitution of the United States of America, and 
     in 1790, he was elected to represent the Commonwealth as a 
     United States Senator, and
       Whereas, James Monroe was the United States' Minister to 
     France from 1794-1796 and, along with Robert R. Livingston, 
     he utilized his understanding of foreign policy and his 
     powerful skills of persuasion to negotiate the Louisiana 
     Purchase; and
       Whereas, James Monroe served as the fifth President of the 
     United States from 1817-1825, during which time he signed the 
     ``Missouri Compromise,'' barring slavery in territories north 
     and west of Missouri, as well as ``The Monroe Doctrine,'' 
     which denounced European intervention and colonization in the 
     Western Hemisphere; and
       Whereas, James Monroe was a loyal public servant and an 
     important leader in both Virginian and American history, and 
     he left behind a legacy as one of our nation's great foreign 
     policy leaders;
       Now, therefore, I, Mark R. Warner, do hereby recognize 
     April 28, 2004, as James Monroe Day in the Commonwealth of 
     Virginia, and I call this observance to the attention of all 
     our citizens.

                          ____________________