James Monroe in 1817

Electoral Brawlage, #5

“Electoral Brawlage” examines the first inaugural address of each president in U.S. history, with some commentary and analysis. This is the third installment. Check back on Mondays for more.

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We Named Doctrine After Him

America’s fifth president was only eighteen years old when the Declaration of Independence was signed. He joined the Continental Army and would later perform at the Battle of Trenton. He got into politics in Virginia, his homeland, and had a few terms as governor. Under President Madison, Monroe was Secretary of War, and this was in a time when actual war happened, of the sort with which he was intimately familiar.

Thus when he stood for election in 1816, after the War of 1812 was over and we were rebuilding our capital, people put a lot of stock in Monroe, and sent him to the highest office in the land. Thus it should be no surprise that a lot of his first inaugural address was focused on the success of America’s military, and the ongoing necessity thereof.

As his predecessor was keenly aware of the importance of commerce for America to thrive, Monroe carried on that tradition, and understood the relation of the military thereto. Funnily enough I just had a discussion with a friend of mine about this, a West Point graduate and ranking officer in the Army, as we were sharing some news piece about the Navy and its operations around the world.

Two centuries after Monroe, our Navy’s dominant mission is to protect our trade lanes. If we didn’t control and maintain those lanes, China or Russia would, and things would get…interesting. (I’m a Millennial, I’ve had my fill of interesting.)

Beyond the considerations of the military and commerce, Monroe issued one particular line that, in the transcription of his speech, stands alone and remains eternally relevant to all citizens:

Such, then, being the highly favored condition of our country, it is the interest of every citizen to maintain it. What are the dangers which menace us? If any exist they ought to be ascertained and guarded against.

He not only saw and lived through the Revolution, he fought and bled in it. He lived under the Articles of Confederation, followed the news of the Constitutional Convention, witnessed its ratification, saw the burial of George Washington, the presidency of Jefferson which included the handling of the Barbary Coast Pirates affair, and then the War of 1812, where once again America fought the inbred Brits on her own soil.

And he saw his country stack W upon W. He gave credit to God for that, and understood that it was the role of citizens to be worthy of His backing.

His remaining points of address centered on manufacturing and domestic industry, of relying on internal resources for production instead of so much trade with foreign countries, the acquisition and dispersal of land, and proper management of the Treasury. This line also stands out:

With the Indian tribes it is our duty to cultivate friendly relations and to act with kindness and liberality in all our transactions. Equally proper is it to persevere in our efforts to extend to them the advantages of civilization.

Since he had the long view of a short national history, I’m also not surprised that he commented on the unity of public opinion on varied subjects, considering he saw Washington elected with extremely broad approval, followed by immediate partisanship between Adams and Jefferson and their loyalists.

Discord does not belong to our system. Union is recommended as well by the free and benign principles of our Government, extending its blessings to every individual, as by the other eminent advantages attending it. The American people have encountered together great dangers and sustained severe trials with success. They constitute one great family with a common interest.

His closing line is a thing of beauty:

…I enter on the trust to which I have been called by the suffrages of my fellow-citizens with my fervent prayers to the Almighty that He will be graciously pleased to continue to us that protection which He has already so conspicuously displayed in our favor.

“We’ve been through a lot of crap, we know how to handle it, and if we keep doing things right, God will keep protecting us.”

Awesome.

But What’s the Monroe Doctrine?

Well, this piece of his legacy wouldn’t come along for six more years, but in short he declared the practice of European colonization over in the western hemisphere. You may have heard people invoke the Monroe Doctrine after the recent American maneuvers in Venezuela—this is because Maduro was funneling resources (mainly oil but Venezuela has minerals too) to the east, which wasn’t doing America any favors.

That’s secondary to the fact that Maduro was an unelected narco-tyrant, but not entirely detached from it. Consolidating control over the hemisphere, especially from foreign superpowers like China and Russia, is in keeping with the Monroe Doctrine. Doesn’t make any sense to let our enemies pillage our neighbors so they can overpower us down the line.

Monroe understood that. Now we just need to get back to the principles of law, unity, and service to Providence.

Drive safe, see you out there.