[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 75 (Wednesday, May 7, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E852]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     HONORING THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTHDAY OF JAMES MONROE

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                         HON. ROBERT J. WITTMAN

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 7, 2008

  Mr. WITTMAN of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to recognize the 
250th anniversary of the birthday of James Monroe, a First District of 
Virginia native. James Monroe was born in Westmoreland County on April 
28, 1758, and was raised and educated in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
  James Monroe attended the College of William and Mary, fought as a 
Lieutenant Colonel in the Continental Army, and practiced law in 
Fredericksburg, Virginia. As a politician, Monroe served in the 
Virginia Assembly, The Continental Congress, as Governor to the 
Commonwealth of Virginia, as a US Senator, Secretary of State and 
Secretary of War to President James Madison. Ultimately, James Monroe 
became our fifth President of the United States.
  As Minister to France, Monroe helped negotiate the Louisiana 
Purchase. During his early years in the White House his administration 
was known as the ``Era of Good Feelings'', a time period in American 
political history in which partisan bitterness abated. Yet, Monroe may 
be best remembered for his belief that the Americas should be free from 
future European colonization and interference in sovereign countries' 
affairs. His strong opinions and principles on foreign policy came to 
be known as the Monroe Doctrine.
  The citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia and especially America's 
First District express their gratitude to James Monroe, in 
commemoration of the 250th anniversary of his birthday. James Monroe 
was a loyal public servant and an exceptional statesman. His ideals and 
leadership qualities are such that all citizens, not only of Virginia, 
but the United States can admire and learn from.
  As President Monroe once stated, ``In this great nation there is but 
one order, that of the people, whose power, by a peculiarly happy 
improvement of the representative principle, is transferred from them, 
without impairing in the slightest degree their sovereignty, to bodies 
of their own creation, and to persons elected by themselves, in the 
full extent necessary for the purposes of free, enlightened, and 
efficient government''.

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