James Monroe / John Quincy Adams

John Quincy Adams

A man of singular intelligence and foresight held many of the ground-breaking positions in government that had formerly gone to the brilliant and wealthy few destined for greatness. From a family of Virginia planters of modest means, he rose to be one of the most influential Founding Fathers of our new nation. This man was James Monroe.

John Quincy Adams: Mr. President or should I address you as James?

James Monroe: Like a hungry dog at dinnertime, I’ll happily answer to both. Now what can I do for the man who is nipping at my heels, so eager to lead these United States.

Adams: Please, Mr. President, I know you jest but if others should hear you say that, they may not recognize your piercing sense of humor.

Monroe: To move into the presidency, you will have to develop the appearance of the sea turtle.

Adams: How so?

Monroe: A thick carapace, my friend. Surely you remember how our esteemed press brought your father to tremendous grief by printing every unkind word mentioned about him.

Adams: My father was a babe in the woods. He never pretended to be what he was not. He said what he thought which caused him isolation and sometimes pain. From our very first trip abroad, I learned what not to say — at least not out loud. I’d also learned to let the unkindness of others roll off my back.

Monroe: I have always had tremendous respect for John Adams. Truth, however, is not always the greatest virtue or telling the truth is not always the greatest obligation. It is commonly believed that had he been more devious and scheming, he might have earned a second term as president.

Adams: And perhaps he might have been less loving to his family, but your point is well taken. You assume perhaps that I will become president at the close of your second term. I do not assume so much.

Monroe: I know of no one who is better prepared both here at home and aboard.

Adams: On one hand it is important to be prepared for the known task but how does one prepare for the precarious and yet uncharted vicissitudes that a nation’s leader must face?

Monroe: One doesn’t. You were schooled in tutorial groups as a child. You were educated at Harvard College and learned law from the finest professors. You have had the good fortune to come from enlightened and articulate parents. All this hones a fine sense of duty and commitment to public service and dare I say a light hand on the reins of power.

 

James Monroe

Adams: I’m afraid, Sir, that you are mistaken. I did not attend tutorial groups, but was tutored by my cousin James Thax and father's law clerk, Nathan Rice. I did, however, travel to Paris to serve as secretary to my father, negotiating the Treaty of Paris. During this time, I attended schools in Europe and became fluent in French, Dutch and German. Returning home in 1785, I entered Harvard College and graduated in 1787.

Monroe: I should like all my mistakes to be as the one you have accused me of making.

Adams: What I would like to know, if you would be good enough to share it with me, is what did you learn in the presidency that made you uncomfortable?

Monroe: When we agreed to speak together, I had no notion that I would be subjected to the Grand Inquisition.

Adams: I’m truly sorry.

Monroe: Don’t be. I’ll answer your question because it may be of use to you in the future. My father was a moderately prosperous planter who also loved carpentry and working with his hands. My mother had no fortune of her own but we managed to live a comfortable life. I’m sure I speak for my siblings when I say that we wanted for nothing. As I had the good fortune to be selected for interesting and demanding posts leading to the presidency, I had to be careful of how I spent my income. Unlike some of my predecessors who own large and thriving plantations, I had little to rely on to meet the unexpected exigencies of my present position.

Adams: I fully understand that. My father and mother had several financially difficult years trying to meet the demands of the presidency.

Monroe: Not to put too fine a point on it, I often had to borrow so that I could make the impression the public expected of me.

Adams: None of that, however, has impeded you from making an enormous contribution to this country. Any single one of your achievements would have made your name unforgettable to our posterity. As president, you bought Florida from Spain. You were nationally recognized to be a prominent force as a diplomat in France, when you helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. With the ratification of the Treaty of 1818 and a tiny bit of help from me, you extended our nation from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. Your protection of our country was assured with the Monroe Doctrine for which you will forever be known. And I could go on …

Monroe: Did I hear you sneak in, “with a tiny bit of help?” Quincy, without your help as my secretary of state there would not have been a Treaty of 1818. Yes you may call me Mr. President but I will always call you my very good friend.

John Quincy Adams did succeed James Monroe as the sixth president of the United States. The Monroe Doctrine held that the United States considered the Western Hemisphere as no longer a place for European colonization. James Monroe retired in 1825. His last years were difficult ones because of financial problems. In response for a request of a loan, Stephen Girard sent Monroe a check for five thousand dollars, not as a loan, but as testimony of his appreciation for Monroe’s outstanding leadership. Monroe died in 1831.