Presidential Biographies | Monroe Administrations - The Monroe Administration Legacy

The Monroe Administration Legacy

When James Monroe left office in March of 1825, he turned over the office to his secretary of state, John Quincy Adams. Monroe left his successor without immediate problems or great crises to confront—the country was at peace, new states and the Florida Territory were acquired, economic prosperity had returned, and the sectional conflict over the expansion of slavery had been solved for the time being. In addition, Monroe had strengthened the power of the presidency in the conduct of foreign affairs, while leaving to his successor a country that had gained a degree of stature in the world.

At the same time, Monroe's ideal of national unity and the absence of parties never materialized. "The Era of Good Feelings," however, did not meet its defeat at the hands of a single cause. It was merely left behind. James Monroe's presidency marked the approaching end of an era. Monroe was the last...