James Monroe
The last Founding Father president, who led the 'Era of Good Feelings' after the Federalist Party collapsed; he ran unopposed in 1820. He acquired Florida from Spain, signed the Missouri Compromise, and issued the Monroe Doctrine warning Europe against new colonies in the Americas. The Panic of 1819 brought the first major depression.
The economy, first day to last
Shaded areas show the years in office, with a few years before and after for comparison. Until 1842 the federal budget year matched the calendar year and debt figures are dated January 1; from 1843 to 1976 budget years ran July to June.
National debt
January 1, 1817: $123.49 million → January 1, 1825: $83.79 million
Until 1842 the Treasury's debt figures are dated January 1, so these are the closest readings to the start and end of the term.
Debt compared with the economy
Debt as a share of GDP. Above 100% means the debt is bigger than a year of everything the country produces.
Deficits and surpluses
Money borrowed each budget year (below the line) or paid down (above). The White House budget office's yearly figures begin in 1901.
Unemployment
No national estimates before 1890. Economist Stanley Lebergott's yearly estimates, the earliest national series, begin in 1890
Inflation
How much prices rose each year (consumer price index).
Cost of living
What everyday prices and paychecks did while in office.
Prices use the consumer price index (MeasuringWorth). The minimum wage is the federal rate set by Congress.
Executive orders
1 orders. Count from the American Presidency Project.
Orders signed each year
Yearly counts aren't reliable for this era. Orders were not numbered until 1907, when the State Department numbered the ones already in its files, and many orders were never numbered at all, so only the total is shown.
Source: American Presidency Project: executive orders (full list of every order).
Notable orders
Most orders in this era were routine, such as setting aside public land or exempting jobs from civil service rules.
Pardons and commutations
A pardon wipes out the punishment for a federal crime; a commutation shortens a sentence but leaves the conviction. The Justice Department's published counts begin in 1900.
Granted each year
The Justice Department's published clemency counts begin in fiscal 1900, so there are no reliable yearly totals for this presidency.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Justice, clemency statistics, which lists every recipient with the crime and sentence.
Notable grants: tap to see the crime
No individual grants from this presidency are highlighted yet.
Investigations and legal record
The same checklist for every president. Tap a row for details and sources.
ImpeachedNoNo
No articles of impeachment were voted on.
Criminally chargedNoNo
Never charged.
Aides or cabinet convictedNoNo
No member of his cabinet or White House staff was convicted.
Special counselsNoNo
None were appointed.
Misuse of DOJ, FBI or IRSNo findingNo
No official investigation found he used federal power against political opponents.
People around the president who were charged or penalized
No one in the administration was charged or formally penalized.
Controversies and scandals
What happened, what was proven, and how it ended.
Jackson's invasion of FloridaDisputed1818
General Andrew Jackson invaded Spanish Florida, seized forts and executed two British subjects. Monroe's administration first disowned the action, then used it to pressure Spain.
Outcome: The House rejected censuring Jackson; Spain sold Florida in 1819.
SourceThe Missouri CompromiseDisputed1820
Admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as free, and banned slavery in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase north of 36°30'.
Outcome: It held for 34 years until the Kansas–Nebraska Act repealed it.
SourceSlaveholdingProven1780s–1831
Monroe owned dozens of enslaved people on his Virginia plantations and sold many of them to pay his debts. As governor of Virginia he oversaw the execution of 26 men after Gabriel's planned rebellion in 1800.
Outcome: He backed sending freed Black Americans to Liberia, whose capital, Monrovia, is named for him.
SourceIn their own words
Widely quoted remarks, with the context they were said in.
The American continents, by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers.