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James Monroe: A Resource Guide

Serving as the fifth U.S. president from 1817-1825, James Monroe spent his career in public service, both domestically and overseas. This guide provides access to primary source digital materials, external websites, and a selected print bibliography.

Introduction

The digital collections of the Library of Congress contain a wide variety of material associated with James Monroe, including the James Monroe Papers. Born in Virginia in 1758, Monroe was a soldier in the American Revolution, member of the Continental Congress (1783-86), U.S. Senator (1790-94), governor of Virginia (1799-1802 and 1811) and diplomat in France (1794-96) and England (1803-07). He also served as secretary of state (1811-17) and secretary of war (1814-15) in the James Madison Administration. In 1816, James Monroe was elected the fifth president of the United States (1817-1825), the last of the Founding Fathers to serve as president.

This resource guide compiles links to digital materials related to James Monroe such as manuscripts, letters, broadsides, government documents, newspaper articles, and images that are available throughout the Library of Congress website. In addition, it provides links to external websites focusing on Monroe and a bibliography containing selected works for both general and younger readers.