President James Monroe

James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States from 1817 to 1825. James Monroe was born on 28 April 1758 in Virginia but his parents died when he was a teenager, leaving him part of the family farm. In 1774 he went to College to study but he became interested in politics and even befriended fellow students who were supporting the spirit of the revolution.

He left College to join the Third Virginia Regiment in 1776. Due to his commitment and leadership attributes it did not take him long to be promoted to lieutenant. He was actively serving with the result that he was even seriously wounded during a skirmish. His leadership qualities did not go unnoticed and he was promoted to the rank of colonel.

His ambition was to be a Field Commander but he was not able to obtain such a position and disillusioned, he left the Regiment and returned to Virginia to study law. He enrolled in 1780 and he was privileged to study under Thomas Jefferson. They became lifelong friends and Thomas Jefferson was also his mentor and had a major role in James Monroe’s intellectual and political development.

The result was that in 1782 he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. His abilities, commitment and dedication ensured that his political road to the top was open and in 1783 he was elected to the Confederation Congress until 1786. In 1790, he was appointed to the U.S. Senate. As a member of the Senate, he allied himself with Madison and Thomas Jefferson, his close personal friends, against the Federalist faction.

In 1816, he was elected President, and re-elected in 1820. He began his administration with a goodwill tour, and this actually started the Monroe "Era of Good Feelings." It was called this because after the turmoil preceding his election, the country went into a peaceful and relative quiet period of political stability and tolerance. It was a transitional period in which the nation's democratic institutions and capitalist economy were taking form. National identity was growing which was evident by the westward movement and the construction of roads and canals. People everywhere started to see themselves as Americans. Roads were built to tie together the nation's commerce. They were considered a national priority and were often funded by Congress, whose members understood that an improved flow of commerce in any section of the country would also benefit their own constituencies. Political debates even became mature and constructive between political rivals. 

James Monroe consistently and successfully pursued a policy that served both to protect the United States from European interference and to foster unhampered growth of the nation and its economy. This gave rise to the well-known Monroe Doctrine. The doctrine was based on the principle that the United States would not tolerate new colonies in the western hemisphere or interference by outside powers in the internal affairs of nations in the western hemisphere. According to him it was constitutionally illegal to involve the country in the affairs of other nations, especially militarily.

James Monroe was a man of good intelligence, sound judgment, and highest integrity. In more than 40 years of public service, he never deviated from his believes and efforts in doing what he considered his public duty.

Presidents of the USA: Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States, from 1865 to1869. He was born in 1808 in a log cabin in Raleigh, North Carolina. His family was illiterate and poor. He himself was not able to master the basics of reading, grammar or maths and the only thing he was good at was tailoring and he gained his apprenticeship as a tailor but as early as during his boyhood, he ran away from home. 

He was able to settle down, and at the age of seventeen he met his wife, Eliza McCardle. With the support of his new wife he opened a tailor shop in Greenville, Tennessee. Eliza educated Andrew and helped him make wise investments in real estate and farmlands.  Although from a poor background, he had exceptional talents which enabled him to enter in debates at the local academy. 


With his exceptional talents and his debating skills it did not take him long to enter local politics. He was a good orator which gave him an edge over his rivals but his greatest attribute was his ability to interact with the middle class man and it was especially the plantation workers whom he was able to understand and support. His support to the poor middle class people guaranteed his election as a Member of the House of Representatives and the Senate from the 1840’s to the 1850’s. But he was not your average politician who rested on his laurels after election – he advocated a homestead bill which was aimed at providing a free farm to the poor man who voted him in. 

In 1862 President Lincoln appointed Johnson as Military Governor of Tennessee, and Johnson used the State of Tennessee as a model for reconstruction. In 1864 the Republicans, contending that their National Union Party was for all loyal men, nominated Johnson, for Vice President.

After the death of President Lincoln, Andrew Johnson was elected as the 17^th President of the United States. Unfortunately Johnson was branded as an old-fashioned Southern Democrat and he had all his time with the Radical Republicans in Congress. When Johnson reached the White House, First Lady Eliza Johnson was a semi-invalid suffering from tuberculosis. She only made two public appearances during her entire stay in the White House. Nevertheless, she operated behind the scenes with energy and tact and was fondly remembered by the White House staff.

President Andrew Johnson had time on his side just after Lincoln’s death. During the first eight months of his term, Johnson took advantage of Congress being in recess and rushed through his own agenda and policies for Reconstruction. These included handing out thousands of pardons in routine fashion and allowing the South to set up "black codes," which essentially maintained slavery under another name. 

By the time Congress met in December 1865, most Southern States were reconstructed and most importantly, slavery was being abolished. Radical Republicans in Congress moved vigorously to change Johnson's program. They gained the support of Northerners who were dismayed to see Southerners keeping many pre-war leaders and imposing many pre-war restrictions upon the freed slaves. 

The Radicals' first step was to refuse to seat any Senator or Representative from the old Confederacy. Next they passed measures dealing with the former slaves. Johnson vetoed the legislation. The Radicals mustered enough votes in Congress to pass legislation over his veto--the first time that Congress had overridden a President on an important bill. They passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which established Negroes as American citizens and prohibit discrimination against them. 

In a final humiliating gesture, Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act, which stripped the President of the power to remove federal officials without the Senate's approval, and in 1867, established a military Reconstruction program to enforce political and social rights for Southern ex-slaves. A few months later Congress submitted the Fourteenth Amendment, which specified that no state should "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." 

All the former Confederate States except Tennessee refused to ratify the amendment; further, there were two bloody race riots in the South. The Radical Republicans won an overwhelming victory in Congressional elections that fall. 

When Johnson allegedly violated the Tenure of Office Act, by dismissing Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, the House voted eleven articles of impeachment against him. He was tried by the Senate in the spring of 1868 and but fortunately sanity prevailed and he was acquitted by one vote. He was the first President of the United to be impeached.

Although acquitted, this was the last straw for Johnson and he returned to the Senate for Tennessee in 1875 but died shortly there after. 

Andrew Johnson was a true exponent of the saying that in America, anyone can grow up to become President. The only other man to attain the office of President with so little formal education was Abraham Lincoln. But that is where the similarities ended. Lincoln rose to the occasion to be esteemed as America's greatest President, Andrew Johnson, his successor, is unfortunately ranked as one of the worst.