The Last Founding Father

Review #1

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This is the first book I’ve read by this author. He did an amazing job of bringing history to life. Of the books I’ve read on the United States Presidents, I’d rate Monroe’s story as one of the best.

Review #2

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Harlow Giles Unger’s James Monroe biography, THE LAST FOUNDING FATHER: JAMES MONROE AND A NATION’S CALL TO GREATNESS, reads less like a biology and more like a sacred tomb for acolytes to use in worshipping the do-no-wrong object of their devotion.

The parts where Unger is simply relaying the events that happened are well done and quite readable, but all too often, he offers opinions designed to glorify Monroe and his wife beyond all reason.

By Unger’s description, Monroe was preceded by three presidents in John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, who “were mere caretaker presidents who left the nation bankrupt, its people deeply divided, its borders under attack (and) its its capital city in ashes.” Even worse, the 35 years after Monroe’s presidency were led by presidents who were “self-serving, politically ambitions successors” who undermined the national unity he created and led the country into Civil War.

Unger describes Jefferson’s choosing of Madison as his secretary of state over Monroe as Monroe “stepping aside,” rather than being overlooked in favor of Madison, a close and well-respected friend of Jefferson in his own right. Perhaps not coincidentally, Unger reserves much of his vitriol for Madison, claiming that when Monroe served in Madison’s cabinet, it was Monroe who took the reins of the country, especially in the wake of the British attack on Washington. Later, he doesn’t appear to recognize the irony of his response when he brings up accusations that John Quincy Adams had actually crafted the Monroe doctrine:

The assertion that Adams authored the Monroe Doctrine is not only untrue, it borders on the ludicrous by implying that President Monroe was little more than a puppet manipulated by another’s hand. Such assertions show little insight into the presidency itself and the type of man who aspires to and assumes that office; indeed, they denigrate the character, the intellect, the intensity, and the sense of power that drive American presidents.

Each time Unger mentions Madison, he makes certain to belittle the fourth president, referring to him as “incompetent,” and making frequent references to Madison’s well-documented health problems and his short stature. When comparing the foreign policy experience of the two presidents, he says:

Monroe’s many years as a minister overseas had taught him diplomacy as a chesslike game of subtle moves, each fraught with nuanced, ripple effects that can accrue to the advantage or disadvantage of either side. Madison’s years in a nation of unsophisticated frontiersmen had taught him diplomacy as a game akin to the new card craze of Slap Jack.

At another point:

… the president [Madison] seemed impotent, with no command of his armed forces, no credit with Congress, and little influence over the American people. His sickly Lilliputian stature did little to inspire confidence. Everything he said or did only alienated more Americans.

When Monroe makes his seventh annual address to Congress, Unger says that some members trembled with awe as they watch him make his way down the aisle, a description that again feels over the top; I would have loved to see a source there so it seemed less a product of Unger’s overactive, awestruck imagination.

If possible, Unger seems to go even further overboard in defense of Monroe’s wife, Elizabeth:

Washington gossips accused the Monroes – especially Elizabeth – of transforming the White House into a European court. Through no fault of her own, she became the target of mean-spirited attacks, born largely of envy – of her beauty, of her exquisite (and expensive) taste in clothes and furnishings, and of her refined manners and superb education.

What Unger wants you to understand is that not only was Monroe the awesomest president who ever presidented, but he also had the hottest and most perfect wife ever. People who disliked her didn’t have any genuine motivation for their feels — they were simply jealous!

Now, I don’t point all this out to demean Monroe or his wife — I bought this book specifically to learn more about him and his strengths as an American president, and Unger’s comparisons of Monroe to George Washington were indeed eye-opening. But over the course of the book, Unger’s descriptions of Monroe got in the way of the story of Monroe’s life, and made it difficult for me to trust Unger’s accounting of the events in Monroe’s life.

According to this book, everything great that happened, from the Louisiana Purchase to the conclusion of the War of 1812, was a product of Monroe’s greatness despite the perpetual idiocy that surrounded him.

A more nuanced view of Monroe’s life would have been far more satisfying. I have no doubt of his accomplishments or his strengths, but to really understand this president, I also would have liked to learn about his weaknesses and regrets. Unfortunately, this isn’t the book for that type of insight.

Review #3

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This author is a bit of an unknown for me. Looking at his other works on Amazon, it’s obvious that his tastes and subjects seem to be around key figures in American History from the late eighteenth/early nineteenth centuries. This book was very easy to read – perhaps one of easiest of any biography I’ve ever read. Some may see that as a detriment, or even an insult, but I certainly don’t mean it to be. If I was approached by a 17-year-old high school student who “had” to read an American biography, I might just recommend this one due to its easy-to-understand prose. It also features illustrations throughout as opposed the “middle sections” which never translate well when reading an e-book.

Branding Monroe as ‘The Last Founding Father’ is a quite accurate statement. He was the nation’s fifth president and actually served in the Revolutionary War as a teenager. Because of this, the author provides many glimpses into the factors that formed the new nation in the 1770s and 1780s. If you’ve read a lot of history like I have, you shouldn’t expect many revelations, but it’s nice to see a different figure in the center spotlight. Critics have stated that the author fawns a bit too much on his subject matter. I didn’t really see this is the case, although it was biased in some areas. Strangely, he gives Monroe most of the credit for The Louisiana Purchase (although most attribute it to Thomas Jefferson), and, despite its name, The Monroe Doctrine is usually credited to John Quincy Adams – but not here.

So, yes, some skepticism should be in order, but the author seems o.k. with attributing some of the diplomacy failures with France and England to Monroe, as well as point out his rather quirky introverted family. Monroe adored his wife Elizabeth, but she was definitely not the socialite that the young nation expected from a First Lady – especially following such a character as Dolley Madison. So parties in the White House were kept to a minimum and were quite unembellished.

What I did find peculiar is that this author hated – I mean REALLY hated Monroe’s predecessor James Madison. I’ve never heard such vitriolic diatribes pointing to the fourth president as I have here. If you were to believe this author, you would believe that Madison was a little, sniveling, sickly incompetent boob. I found this rather strange and somewhat unfair. I would recommend Lynne Cheney’s bio of Madison for a different, more balanced viewpoint.

Once you get past the most popular presidents in U.S. history, there aren’t a lot of choices if you want a well-researched bio. James Monroe is probably a name that (sadly) many Americans aren’t familiar with, but I would definitely rate this book highly. The book is not very detailed yet paints a very good, overall picture of the man. Just expect some biases – good and bad – of some of the key players.

Review #4

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This is not a good biography of James Monroe, but not completely useless, as long as you already know something about the period: it fills in some information which biographies of Monroe’s contemporaries might leave out, but you really need to have read those biographies first, or other studies of the time, to make sure you spot the exaggerations and wild interpretations.

For instance, Unger describes John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison as “mere caretaker presidents who left the nation bankrupt, its people deeply divided, its borders under attack, is capital city in ashes.” This astonishingly cavalier and blinkered judgement left me a little breathless: Adams, for all his failings, resisted huge pressure for a war with France which might have proved disastrous, and certainly would have been costly; Jefferson shifted the nation to a much clearer republican basis than Washington or Adams ever could; and Madison, though arguably his greater contribution was in framing the constitution and the Bill of Rights, was nonetheless the President who brought an end to forty years of hostility with Britain.

Review #5

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There is much to commend about The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation’s Call to Greatness by Harlow Giles Unger. For one thing, it will introduce the reader to one of the greatest, but least known Presidents. Readers who bring no biases about the man will take an instant liking to Monroe. He seems larger than life, like a hero from a Hollywood movie. Born into modest means, responsibility is thrust upon Monroe early on and he accepts it exceedingly well. He becomes the “man of the house” as a teenager upon his parents’ deaths, having to fend for an older sister and two unambitious younger brothers. He makes his way to college and joins the Revolution, seeing combat at the Battles of Brandywine and Harlem Heights. He tends to a wounded Marquis de Lafayette and is later wounded himself. It is only a lack of wealth that prevents him from raising troops and fighting in other battles as an officer, future combat evades him despite his best efforts.

Monroe continues to serve at every level of government and being universally loved by all. Despite losing his bid for a seat in the first congress to James Madison, the two men hold no grudges. He becomes a congressman, a senator, a four term Governor of Virginia before turning to the diplomatic service. He almost duels Alexander Hamilton, but Aaron Burr of all people intervenes as peacemaker. We are told that Monroe is an exceptional ambassador (or “plenipotentiary”), securing the release of the Marquis de Lafayette and his family, as well as an ungrateful Thomas Paine, from French prisons. We are also led to believe that it was Monroe who does all the heavy lifting leading to the Louisiana Purchase. He is treated poorly by his government, but remains ever loyal and ready to serve when called upon to do so.

Unger tells is that it is Monroe who, doubling as Secretary of State and War, leads the nation out of the War of 1812, while President Madison cowers in the background. There can be no doubt that Monroe was a success as president, since he presided over the “era of good feelings” and ran essentially unopposed for re-election. Unger also tells us that those historians who credit John Quincy Adams with the Monroe doctrine are clearly mistaken, all the credit goes to the man whose name the doctrine bears.

While I enjoyed the history of Monroe, I couldn’t help wonder if Unger had lost objectivity about his subject. Unger gushes over his subject. Monroe apparently had no enemies. He is given a rare letter of reference from George Washington, even as Washington recalls him from his diplomatic post in a purge of Republicans from his administration. He is first criticized but later praised by John Adams. Monroe remains a constant friend of Thomas Jefferson, maintains a lifelong friendship with James Madison even as he apparently yields Madison’s power in the dying days of Madison’s presidency and somehow manages to keep the friendship of John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson even as the two men become bitter enemies. Unger tells us that Monroe is praised by crowds everywhere in rock star proportions, and that any mistakes of his administration are the result of selfish and dishonest acts of his cabinet members like Treasury Secretary William Crawford who is positioning to become Monroe’s successor. (Monroe chases Crawford out of the White House with a pair of fireplace tongs, prompting Crawford to apologize.)

Every time first lady Elizabeth Monroe is mentioned in this book, we are reminded of her great beauty and assured that any animosity against her in Washington society is a mistaken perception of her snobbery when in fact it is really her poor health which leaves this impression. That she was remarkable in many respects is clear. That she is without her shortcomings is suspicious.

I would recommend this book for its telling of Monroe’s story. From all that he accomplished, it is clear that he was a great man and a great president. However Unger’s telling of Monroe’s story leaves the reader wondering if Monroe was as perfect and as sainted as Unger would have us believe, and leaves the reader wanting for a more objective assessment of Monroe’s Presidency. I have an appetite to read more about Monroe. I can’t say the same about any history written by Unger.

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