James Monroe

James Monroe (1758-1831) was the fifth President of the United States. Despite being from Virginia--a trait which consigned his predecessors Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and even George Washington to being remembered in a negative light by US historians after the War of Secession--Monroe is looked on kindly in US history books for his attempt to promote U.S. Nationalism with the Monroe Doctrine--a doctrine which was eviscerated in 1864 when, thanks to the Confederate States, the US was powerless to prevent France from installing Maximillian as Emperor of Mexico.