Memorial and Biographical History of Dallas County, Texas. Page: 38 of 1,110

PRSIZDENTS OF
itE UNITED SPATES.

tween the two nations. The flags of the
two republics were intertwined in the hall
of the convention. Mr. Monroe presented
the American colors, and received those of
France in return. The course which he
pursued in Paris was so annoying to England
and to the friends of England in
this country that, near the close of Washirngton's
administration, Mr. Monroe, was
recalled.
After his return Colonel Monroe wrote a
book of 400 pages, entitled " A View of the
Conduct of the Executive in Foreign Affairs."
In this work he very ably advocated
his side of the question; but, with
the magnanimity of the man, he recorded a
warm tribute to the patriotism, ability and
spotless integrity of John Jay, between
whom and himself there was intense antagonism;
and in subsequent years he expressed
in warmest terms his perfect
veneration for the character of George
Washington.
Shortly after his return to this country
Colonel Monroe was elected Governor of
Virginia, and held that office for three
years, the period limited by the Constitution.
In I802 he was an Envoy to France,
and to Spain in I805, and was Minister to
England in 1803. In I806 he returned to
his quiet home in Virginia, and with his
wife and children and an ample competence
from his paternal estate, enjoyed a few years
of domestic repose.
In I809 Mr. Jefferson's second term of
office expired, and many of the Republican
party were anxious to nominate James
Monroe as his successor. The majority
were in favor of Mr. Madisqc. Mr. Monroe
withdrew his name and was soon after
chosen a second time Governor of Virginia.
He soon resigned that office to accept the
position of Secretary of State, offered him
by President Madison. The correspondence
which he then carried on with the
British Government demonstrated that

there was no hope of any peaceful adjustment
of our difficulties with the cabinet of
St. James. War was consequently declared
in June, I812. Immediately after the sack
of Washington the Secretary of War resigned,
and Mr. Monroe, at the earnest
request of Mr. Madison, assumed the additional
duties of the War Department,
without resigning his position as Secretary
of State. It has been confidently stated,
that, had Mr. Monroe's energies been in the
War Department a few months earlier, the
disaster at Washington would not have
occurred.
The duties now devolving upon Mr. Monroe
were extremely arduous. Ten thousand
men, picked from the veteran armies
of England, were sent with a powerful fleet
to New Orleans to acquire possession of
the mouths of the Mississippi. Our finances
were in the most deplorable condition.
The treasury was exhausted and our credit
gone. And yet it was necessary to make
the most rigorous preparations to meet the
foe. In this crisis James Monroe, the Secretary
of War, with virtue unsurpassed in
Greek or Roman story, stepped forward
and pledged his own individual credit as
subsidiary to that of the nation, and thus
succeeded in placing the city of New Orleans
in such a posture of defense, that it
was enabled successfully to repel the invader.
Mr. Monroe was truly the armor-bearer
of President Madison, and the most efficient
business man in his cabinet. His energy
in the double capacity of Secretary, both
of State and War, pervaded all the departments
of the country. He proposed to
increase the army to Ioo,ooo men, a measure
which he deemed absolutely necessary
to save us from ignominious defeat, but
which, at the same time, he knew would
render his name so unpopular as to preclude
the possibility of his being a successful candidate
for the Presidency.