James Monroe (; April 28, 1758 – July 4, 1831) was the
fifth President of the United States, serving between 1817 and 1825. Monroe was the last president who was a
Founding Father of the United States and the last president from the
Virginian dynasty and the Republican Generation. Born in
Westmoreland County,
Virginia, Monroe was of the planter class and fought in the
American Revolutionary War. He was wounded in the
Battle of Trenton with a musket ball to his shoulder. After studying law under
Thomas Jefferson from 1780 to 1783, he served as a
delegate in the
Continental Congress. As an
anti-federalist delegate to the Virginia convention that considered ratification of the
United States Constitution, Monroe opposed
ratification, claiming it gave too much power to the central government. He took an active part in the new government, and in 1790 he was elected to the
Senate of
the first United States Congress, where he joined the
Jeffersonians. He gained experience as an executive as the
Governor of Virginia and rose to national prominence as a diplomat in France, when he helped negotiate the
Louisiana Purchase in 1803. During the
War of 1812, Monroe held the critical roles of
Secretary of State and the
Secretary of War under President
James Madison.