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Contested Boundaries
James Monroe: A Republican Champion
Despite serving his country for 50 years and being among the most qualified men to hold the office of president, James Monroe is an oft-forgotten Founding Father. In this book, Brook Poston reveals how Monroe attempted to craft a legacy for himself as a champion of American republicanism.
Monroe's dedication to the vision of a modern republic built on liberty began when he joined the American Revolution. His devotion to the cause further developed under his apprenticeship to Thomas Jefferson. These experiences spurred him to support the virtues of republicanism during the French Revolution, when he tried to create an alliance between the United States and the French republic despite ire from the US Federalist party. As he climbed the political ranks, Monroe's achievements began to add he played a significant role in the Louisiana Purchase, helped lead the fight against Great Britain in the War of 1812, oversaw the acquisition of Florida from Spain, and created the Monroe Doctrine to protect the Americas from the influence of European monarchies.
Monroe's dedication to the vision of a modern republic built on liberty began when he joined the American Revolution. His devotion to the cause further developed under his apprenticeship to Thomas Jefferson. These experiences spurred him to support the virtues of republicanism during the French Revolution, when he tried to create an alliance between the United States and the French republic despite ire from the US Federalist party. As he climbed the political ranks, Monroe's achievements began to add he played a significant role in the Louisiana Purchase, helped lead the fight against Great Britain in the War of 1812, oversaw the acquisition of Florida from Spain, and created the Monroe Doctrine to protect the Americas from the influence of European monarchies.
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Published March 30, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 14, 2021
Readers who are James Monroe enthusiasts (and really, who isn't?) have limited choices - those looking for a well-written, modern read can go for Tim McGrath's James Monroe: A Life, those who prefer the classics can opt for Harry Ammon's James Monroe: The Quest for National Identity, and those who want to tick a box to say they read a Monroe book as part of a "I'm going to read one book about every president" quest can choose Harlow Giles Unger's absurd and fawning The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness, a comic book version of history in which James Monroe is a superhero who was the bestest president ever.
In comparison to all of those, "James Monroe: A Republican Champion" is a shorter, more focused, more academic book that's more for the James Monroe completist. If that describes you, then this is a very good supplement to one of those full biographies, for additional insights that they don't provide.
This is basically Dr. Poston's dissertation in book form. It focuses on a few key aspects of Monroe's life and political career, to show his lifelong commitment to republicanism.
Monroe was not as brilliant as his famous friends Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, he was not as successful in his diplomatic or political endeavors, he was nakedly ambitious in a way that his presidential predecessors weren't (or at least pretended not to be), and he is not well-remembered today as one who came close to measuring up to his contemporaries.
Dr. Poston's book is generally favorable toward Monroe, but not in a hagiographical way. He does a good job acknowledging Monroe's shortcomings without chastising him for them, by staking out something of a middle ground between the black-and-white views that others have expressed. Some historians, for example, claim that John Quincy Adams really authored the Monroe Doctrine, while others dismiss his contributions in order to give all credit to Monroe himself. Dr. Poston shows how Adams did play a key role in influencing the policy but the end result was still Monroe's, without trying to denigrate one of them by giving all of the credit to the other.
The book also adds some new shading to episodes in which other authors either champion or castigate Monroe for his ambition and partisanship. His decision to challenge Madison - twice - for elected office was not so much a betrayal of his friend, as it was a demonstration that he saw Madison more as a peer than a superior to whom he needed to defer. And Dr. Poston argues that Monroe's diplomatic efforts to steer the Washington administration's policy on France more toward his own views than Washington's own, was less a display of defiance and insubordination than it was a sincere (if ham-handed) effort to promote republicanism over all else, no matter the consequences.
In the end, Dr. Poston acknowledges that Monroe is not well-remembered today, without going overboard in suggesting that should be rectified. He allows that Monroe was not exactly in Jefferson and Madison's league intellectually, and concludes that, while Monroe wanted to be remembered as "the champion of republicanism," he fell a bit short in history's estimation and was really more like "one of its most dedicated warriors." Either way, Monroe is an interesting subject and I hope Dr. Poston's continued work on this often-overlooked president might someday result in a book that supplants the others as the go-to Monroe biography.
In comparison to all of those, "James Monroe: A Republican Champion" is a shorter, more focused, more academic book that's more for the James Monroe completist. If that describes you, then this is a very good supplement to one of those full biographies, for additional insights that they don't provide.
This is basically Dr. Poston's dissertation in book form. It focuses on a few key aspects of Monroe's life and political career, to show his lifelong commitment to republicanism.
Monroe was not as brilliant as his famous friends Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, he was not as successful in his diplomatic or political endeavors, he was nakedly ambitious in a way that his presidential predecessors weren't (or at least pretended not to be), and he is not well-remembered today as one who came close to measuring up to his contemporaries.
Dr. Poston's book is generally favorable toward Monroe, but not in a hagiographical way. He does a good job acknowledging Monroe's shortcomings without chastising him for them, by staking out something of a middle ground between the black-and-white views that others have expressed. Some historians, for example, claim that John Quincy Adams really authored the Monroe Doctrine, while others dismiss his contributions in order to give all credit to Monroe himself. Dr. Poston shows how Adams did play a key role in influencing the policy but the end result was still Monroe's, without trying to denigrate one of them by giving all of the credit to the other.
The book also adds some new shading to episodes in which other authors either champion or castigate Monroe for his ambition and partisanship. His decision to challenge Madison - twice - for elected office was not so much a betrayal of his friend, as it was a demonstration that he saw Madison more as a peer than a superior to whom he needed to defer. And Dr. Poston argues that Monroe's diplomatic efforts to steer the Washington administration's policy on France more toward his own views than Washington's own, was less a display of defiance and insubordination than it was a sincere (if ham-handed) effort to promote republicanism over all else, no matter the consequences.
In the end, Dr. Poston acknowledges that Monroe is not well-remembered today, without going overboard in suggesting that should be rectified. He allows that Monroe was not exactly in Jefferson and Madison's league intellectually, and concludes that, while Monroe wanted to be remembered as "the champion of republicanism," he fell a bit short in history's estimation and was really more like "one of its most dedicated warriors." Either way, Monroe is an interesting subject and I hope Dr. Poston's continued work on this often-overlooked president might someday result in a book that supplants the others as the go-to Monroe biography.
March 28, 2022
This is a study of Monroe's dedication to the cause of Republicanism more than a detailed biography. It shows how his views matured over the decades from overzealous support of the French Revolution to a more cautious approach to Latin America in the 1820s.
I recommend it.
I recommend it.
August 20, 2025
For those of us with aims of reading a bio for every former president (or for me, the ones that preceded my lifetime), this barely qualifies. I like the biographies of presidents because it usually offers an interesting overlapping series of decades to study history. This book touches on Monroe's military service and barely anything before then. This is a summary of his professional career but mostly focuses on his political philosophy. As at least one other reviewer put it, it is probably a book-version of a doctoral dissertation. That said, it's very readable. I'll also be seeking a more comprehensive biography because this doesn't discuss his life much at all.
October 14, 2022
A biography of the fifth President of the United States (1817-1825) focusing mainly on his professional life. From his time serving under Washington in the continental army to his death on July 4, 1831. Best known for the Monroe Doctrine warning European powers to keep out of affairs in the western hemisphere, he also assisted in the negotiation for the Louisiana Purchase from France. Serving as a minster to France, England and Spain, Governor of Virginia and Secretary of War during the War of 1812 he was in the middle of many of the formative events in the history of our nation. His mentor was Thomas Jefferson, his home "The Highlands" was not far from Monticello, and they worked together often. A staunch republican he dedicated his life and support to spreading that doctrine around the world. During his Presidency he acquired Florida from Spain and negotiated the Missouri Compromise. This book was interesting and had an academic feel to the writing and style.
February 27, 2025
James Monroe fought in the Revolutionary War as well as was the last of the Founding Fathers to become President. He brokered the Louisiana Purchase, nearly doubling the size of the U.S. and signed the Missouri Compromise, allowing Missouri to enter as a slave state, but banned slavery in the north. He is possibly most known for the Monroe Doctrine, a piece of foreign policy limiting European intervention in islands and territories surrounding the Americas. He supported the American Colonization Society that encouraged the colonization or repatriation of portions of Africa by freed people of the U.S. Monrovia, Liberia is named in his honor.
He died on the 4th of July, just as John Adams and Thomas Jefferson did.
He died on the 4th of July, just as John Adams and Thomas Jefferson did.
August 9, 2024
The Founding Step-Brother. A lackluster hagiography.
Poston's 2021 exceedingly brief biography of James Monroe suffers from a desire to shoehorn Monroe into the Founder's generation when he really wasn't coupled with an attempt to justify EVERY decision Monroe made as being one in support of "Republicanism" (regardless of its wisdom or efficacy).
First off, this is a SHORT book. Barely over 200 pages, it's less a biography than a thumbnail sketch of America's 5th president. That would be fine if it took a thematic approach closer to Ellis' character sketches of Washington or Jefferson. But we don't have that here - instead, We get 200+ pages of "Wasn't Monroe awesome?" Which very quickly brings the reader to the conclusion that no, he wasn't.
First off, Poston tries too hard to include Monroe in the Founding Fathers generation when he simply wasn't. He was too young and not involved in the formative events of the Revolution or Constitutional Convention to be of that era. Was he "Founder adjacent?" Certainly. But he was not a Founder in any real sense of the word. Secondly, Poston tries too hard to elevate Monroe's intellectualism well beyond the bounds of credulity.
The major problem with Poston's work is its premise. Positioning Monroe as a "Republican Champion" forces Poston to justify every action (or inaction) by Monroe as one that "advances republicanism." The major problem is that neither Poston nor Monroe ever really define Republicanism in any meaningful way.
At best, Monroe is a watered-down Jeffersonian/Madison republican but one who was never able to adequately articulate what that MEANT. So, in practice, what we get is anything that Monroe did/supported = Republicanism vs. what he didn't do/support = monarchism. It's unsatisfying/frustrating, to say the least. That inevitably makes it easier to justify every Monroe decision, but it feels so forced as to be almost laughable.
So whether it's Monroe taking a supremely naive view of the French Revolution as ambassador to France to the point that he's recalled and, even per Poston's admission, subverting America's interests in support of broader "republican" principles, or totally contravening those republican principles in furtherance of Federal power (only once he's in the seat, 'natch) -- what we get it is less a commendable bio of a Founding era figure than a middling hagiography that attempts to justify every decision through the amorphous lens of "Republicanism."
Ultimately, what we get is a very abbreviated look at Monroe's life devoid of any criticism or critical assessment of his intellectual development, decisions, worldview, or policies. While I can appreciate an attempt to reassess a past president, this attempt fails because it's less a reassessment than it is a full-on resurrection.
Poston's 2021 exceedingly brief biography of James Monroe suffers from a desire to shoehorn Monroe into the Founder's generation when he really wasn't coupled with an attempt to justify EVERY decision Monroe made as being one in support of "Republicanism" (regardless of its wisdom or efficacy).
First off, this is a SHORT book. Barely over 200 pages, it's less a biography than a thumbnail sketch of America's 5th president. That would be fine if it took a thematic approach closer to Ellis' character sketches of Washington or Jefferson. But we don't have that here - instead, We get 200+ pages of "Wasn't Monroe awesome?" Which very quickly brings the reader to the conclusion that no, he wasn't.
First off, Poston tries too hard to include Monroe in the Founding Fathers generation when he simply wasn't. He was too young and not involved in the formative events of the Revolution or Constitutional Convention to be of that era. Was he "Founder adjacent?" Certainly. But he was not a Founder in any real sense of the word. Secondly, Poston tries too hard to elevate Monroe's intellectualism well beyond the bounds of credulity.
The major problem with Poston's work is its premise. Positioning Monroe as a "Republican Champion" forces Poston to justify every action (or inaction) by Monroe as one that "advances republicanism." The major problem is that neither Poston nor Monroe ever really define Republicanism in any meaningful way.
At best, Monroe is a watered-down Jeffersonian/Madison republican but one who was never able to adequately articulate what that MEANT. So, in practice, what we get is anything that Monroe did/supported = Republicanism vs. what he didn't do/support = monarchism. It's unsatisfying/frustrating, to say the least. That inevitably makes it easier to justify every Monroe decision, but it feels so forced as to be almost laughable.
So whether it's Monroe taking a supremely naive view of the French Revolution as ambassador to France to the point that he's recalled and, even per Poston's admission, subverting America's interests in support of broader "republican" principles, or totally contravening those republican principles in furtherance of Federal power (only once he's in the seat, 'natch) -- what we get it is less a commendable bio of a Founding era figure than a middling hagiography that attempts to justify every decision through the amorphous lens of "Republicanism."
Ultimately, what we get is a very abbreviated look at Monroe's life devoid of any criticism or critical assessment of his intellectual development, decisions, worldview, or policies. While I can appreciate an attempt to reassess a past president, this attempt fails because it's less a reassessment than it is a full-on resurrection.
October 9, 2023
To me this seemed less like a biography of Monroe, than a series of essays examining various aspects of Monroe's relationship with the political philosophy of republicanism. Perhaps this was by design, but I didn't find it helpful. Also was a bit repetitious.
What stood out to me is that although Monroe was a founding father, he failed to grasp what made the American Revolution special. Hence he enthusiastically supported revolutions in France and South America, and then was shocked when they turned into bloody disasters.
He definitely was the forerunner of American attempting to make the world safe for democracy. Poston argues that he only intended to do this through rhetoric and moral authority, rather than military force, but I wonder whether if, as head of a superpower, Monroe would have restrained himself from plunging the country into bloody and disasters that we have undergone in recent generations.
What stood out to me is that although Monroe was a founding father, he failed to grasp what made the American Revolution special. Hence he enthusiastically supported revolutions in France and South America, and then was shocked when they turned into bloody disasters.
He definitely was the forerunner of American attempting to make the world safe for democracy. Poston argues that he only intended to do this through rhetoric and moral authority, rather than military force, but I wonder whether if, as head of a superpower, Monroe would have restrained himself from plunging the country into bloody and disasters that we have undergone in recent generations.
November 8, 2024
The forgotten Founding Father, the 5th US President, often overlooked by his Virginia powerhouse predecessors Jefferson (wrote the Declaration) and Madison (wrote the Constitution/Bill of Rights), Monroe’s fame (though lost because he burned most of his letters) as a statesman was the belief in pushing forward American ideological republicanism against the monarchist nations of Europe. The Monroe Doctrine, free trade access on the Mississippi, and negotiating the Louisiana and Florida purchases are his lasting legacies, along with the American exceptionalism that has fueled today’s beliefs in democracy vs socialism/communism. Alas, we forget this politician as he had the biggest of shoes to fill.
May 16, 2022
Yet another presidential biography that tells you NOTHING about the man, except that he was "a champion of Republicanism" about 800 times. This book was sooooo repetitive that I found myself swearing at the audiobooks to just shut up several times. Literally, chapter 5 tells its story, and then completely repeats itself in a summation that is at least half as long. Very tedious and groan-inducing without any of the details I was expecting, such as his young life, education, marriage, presidential years, or retirement. It didn't even say who ran against him either time! I felt like all this book did was repeat "champion of republicanism" over and over ad nauseum.
June 7, 2021
I miss the Earlier books about presidents having details of their lives before they got into politics.
The most Interesting fact is his July 4th death 55 years after DoI.
The most Interesting fact is his July 4th death 55 years after DoI.
February 13, 2022
A good concise biography of an often overlooked founding father.
April 25, 2022
a rather concise bio on the fifth president. The author focuses on Monroe's political ambition and achievements and only lightly touches on his personal life or personality.
January 17, 2026
Solidly competent writing on a solidly competent president.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews