Biography of Martin Luther king jr. , a dream of help. The naval historian paul service down is here. Silverstone is here tonight. Bookhomas fleming, his new is called the intimate lives of the founding fathers. I wonder what that is about. [laughter] honored byi am having you all here because i know that some of you sacrificed the 15,000 a plate fundraiser for president obama tonight. I can only offer you food for thought, but the price is right. I am sure you have all seen the famous painting of George Washington crossing the delaware. You probably remember there is a soldier standing behind him with the American Flag in his arms. That soldier, the officer, is james monroe. And they were too symbolic reasons that the artist John Trumbull placed monroe with washington as one of the only two important figures in the painting. One of the only two figures standing in the boat. Monroe did not actually cross the delaware in the same boat as washington, but trumbull put him there to show him as a great hero of the battle of trenton under washingtons leadership. He also put him next to washington to recognize him as the second greatest and second most beloved president after washington in the early years of the republic. Indeed, monroe is the only president other than washington to be elected without opposition. With washington, americans trusted and loved monroe so much of that Political Parties disappeared. Everybody voted for monroe. Yet, if you ask the average american today to identify him, he or she would probably not know who monroe rose was. One person suggested he was a point guard on the new york basketball team. And another was certain that he was Marilyn Monroes father. That is tragic, because he was the last of our founding fathers. Next to washington, the greatest. He was the last president to have fought and lived through the revolution and as president , he transferred a transformed a tiny nation that washington had created into an empire that stretched from sea to shining sea. It was he, not jefferson, that bought louisiana. It was he who stretched americas frontiers to the pacific ocean. Trenton battle of back to the battle of trenton. Monroe crossed earlier than washington, landing on the jersey shore, circling behind the town while washington later with troops on the riverside below the town. What makes trenton so important, is that the british had almost won the war by christmas of 1776. Their troops had overrun long island, westchester, new york and most of new jersey. Thousands of american troops had deserted and the british had traced the remnants of Washingtons Army across new jersey, over the delaware and into pennsylvania. Redcoats were in sight of philadelphia, the capital. Congress had fled to baltimore and had decided talking about terms to concede to the british. The war was over, unless washington could come up with something. He chose a Young College student, lieutenant james monroe, to make a miracle happen. They all crust the delaware crossed the delaware during a blinding snowstorm. Mercenaries had spent in the evening celebrating and because of the storm, they went to sleep without posting guards. At don, monroe and his squad ,nuck to the top of king street the main street that washington would have to come up with his troops to capture the town. The soldiers happened to step outside to do you know what and he spotted them. He shouted, the enemy did they poured enemy. They poured out and started to fire on monroe and his men. Monroe was shot. But he and his men block them come andhington can force them to surrender. It was luck that is surgeon happened to wander by and tied off in artery, stopping the bleeding in monroes arm, and saved his life. Washingtonoe gave him a promotion to captain thanks to monroe, washington won the battle of trenton. They were able to win back number ill of the public win back the morale of the public and the troops. Training,tle and no we defeated the british. Enough, he was well rejoined washington, fought heroically at brandywine where lafayette was wounded and he helped save that mans life. He survived the bitter winter at valley forge and served battles. Y at other monroe grew up in a modest virginia farm. After the war, he decided against farming. He went back to finish his education at the college of william and mary and study law under Thomas Jefferson. He then shows Public Service as chose Public Service as a fulltime career, and by the time he died, he had held more offices than any public figure in history. The legislature legislator, ambassador to france, congressman, minister to spain, a fourth term governor of his home state virginia, u. S. Secretary of state, of war, and finally, a twoterm president of the United States, the fifth president. As governor of virginia and he became the second most powerful figure in america. A virginia then was americas largest, wealthiest, and most heavily populated state with 20 of the american population. It stretched to the Mississippi River and all the way north to the great lakes. It was enormous and the prestige toits governor was likable illinois, texas, california all put together. He was not only governor of americas most important state, he was a National Hero in the revolutionary war. He was a giant in his day. I do not understand why historians ignore him him a which is why i wrote this book, to restore him to his rightful place in American History. The most important president s in the early days of our nation. Now, some historians elevate john adams to historical prominence. Most all but dfi Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, and these were three great founding fathers. Great political philosophers. But they were disastrous president s. Those three men left the nation worse off than it had been when washington seated them the presidency 20 years earlier. , declared went to war a naval war on the french. He stripped americans of their First Amendment rights to free speech and freedom of the press. Thomas jefferson imposed a trade embargo that bankrupted the nation. And madison declared war, unnecessarily, on britain. What had just signed a peace treaty. Those three president s left the nation still threatened on the north by british troops, threatened on the south by spanish troops, and threatened in the west as Indian Tribes slaughtered farmers. It took monroe to end those threats and leave that still small, still poor, still undeveloped nation to greatness. Transform the to nation into an empire. Now, along the way to greatness, monroe fell in love with and married the beautiful elizabeth cortright, a new york heiress who unlike most women of her day, had received an education and the arts, history and literature. She could hold her own with the best educated men in her era. His was the greatest love affair in white house history. , mean, you talk about passion let me put it this way. Put theory book club monroe story on the front cover of its christmas catalog. It buried bill clinton and Monica Lewinsky on the inside. He monroes adored each other they were inseparable throughout their lives, everywhere that he went, she was by his side, elegant. When you see the portrait, you will see that she was the most beautiful and elegant first lady in history. Also, the most gracious. Monroe was still a senator when president washington sent him to france to negotiate with the revolutionary government. Elizabeth and their daughter went with him. In paris, they learned that lafayettes wife had been sentenced to death. Monroe could do anything about it without risking his diplomatic status, so elizabeth took matters into her own hands. She got into their carriage and like out of a movie, she drove through the paris mobs, by herself to the prison. She had a driver, but she was alone in the carriage and when she got there she demanded to see the wife of lafayette. Eventually, she won her release. Elizabeth munro was only about five feet tall, a tiny lady. But the courage and heart of a joan of arc and she won the hearts of the french people. They called her the beautiful american lady. Helped lafayette and her children flee france to safety. Together, elizabeth and james monroe saves the lives saved their lives. On his next mission to france, a ,ecade later in the this time he went with 9 million from congress to negotiate the path purchase of the island of new orleans. That was all he was supposed to do. The farmers westerville appalachians wanted to flow grain down to new orleans for shipment overseas. Instead of buying an island, monroe borrowed 6 million more dollars from an english bank on his own signature, and a double the size of the nation. He bought almost one million acres, the largest territory ever acquired by any nation in history from another, peacefully. Without a war. One million acres and at a bargain price of two cents an acre. Even in those days, the average price for Wilderness Land was two dollars an acre. This purchase stretched the rockies and gave us the river valley. It was monroe that engineered the louisiana purchase. And as president , jefferson took credit for the deal, but he impact almost canceled in fact, almost canceled it. He had to be talked out of canceling it. He thought it was unconstitutional for the u. S. Government to buy foreign territory. Now, while james monroe was in paris combine louisiana, reducing louisiana, Elizabeth Munro was snapping up french furniture. The revolutionaries had looted several homes and shadows and used furniture shops had piles of magnificent louis the 14th furnishings and furniture. It was at bargain prices. She bought dozens of beautiful pieces and later as first lady, she filled the white house with the priceless european treasures. It transforms it into the glittering palace it is today. You can see the pieces if you tour the white house today, a longstanding silver tray with magnificent silver candelabra, still sitting on the long dining table that is still used often for formal state dinners. Her portrait hangs in the east room on the wall opposite the podium that the president uses at his press conferences, as he answers questions, he can stare over there their ugly faces and be inspired by her beauty on the opposite wall. [laughter] mr. Unger one other thing that they did on their second trip to paris was to save the lafayette from french destitution. He was bankrupt and james monroe convinced a bank to accept land in the american wilderness as collateral and advanced lafayette enough cash to recover, financially. James monroe became americas fifth president , two years after the end of the war of 1812, in which the british invasion left the public buildings of our. Apital gutted by fire americans called the war of 1812, madisons war, because James Madison and his them toence cabinet declare war on britain and innovative canada, invade canada. Madison and his war secretary left the city of washington undefended. When he realized the mistake, he pleaded with james monroe to become the secretary of state and then to become secretary of war on the to hold the two positions simultaneously. Monroe all that went into battle to protect washington, but it was too late. So he took all the men he could muster to baltimore to protect it. That battle raged through the night, but at dawn, our flag was still there and the british retreated, thanks largely to the brilliance of james monroe. By the Capital Building and the president ial mansion as it was called, had been gutted by fire. They slathered on codes of white paint to cover the black exterior of the president s house, and that is when it got its name, the white house. It was Elizabeth Munro monroe, the first lady to live in it after the war, who turned it into americas most beautiful home. While elizabeth was refurnishing the white house, her husband was refinishing the nation. He was determined to make the in tangiblecable impenetrable by foreign countries. Toexpanded our boundaries the natural defenses of the oceans, lakes, rivers and mountains that surrounded the continent. He sent Andrew Jackson and a small army to seize florida from spain. He forced spain to redraw the western boundaries of the louisiana territory, to extend into the rocky mountains. And north to the pacific ocean. For the First Time Since they declared independence, americans were secure from attack foreign troops and they went westward over the mountains and into the wilderness, to claim their share of america, buying up land from the government and carving out in an harvesting timber era when land was wealth. The land wealth added six states to the union and continued the never before in history had a sovereign state transferred ownership of some much land, and so much political power, to so many people not of noble rank. Ownership, the americans gained the right to vote, stand for office, govern themselves and communities, their state and nation. You could not vote or stand for office if you did not own land. If you owned land, you owned the nation. To ensure success for the land rush and perpetuate economic growth, james monroe promoted the construction of roads, bridges, and canals in every region of the nation with outlets to the sea and shipping routes to the world. The massive Building Program transforms the wilderness into the most prosperous nation on earth. The economic recovery converted the u. S. Government deficit into such a large surplus, that james monroe abolished all personal taxes in america. His presidency made poor men rich, encouraged the arts, literature and fine arts. He turned political allies into friends. As no president had done and never would again until maybe the second world war. Political parties dissolved, disappeared. Americans of all political persuasions rallied under a single starspangled banner and reelected him to the presidency without opposition. The only president other than washington to win the presidency without opposition. Never seenan era before or since, an era of good feeling, they called it. That propelled the nation and the people to greatness. After he had built the American Military a naval power to levels that made the shores impenetrable, monroe climaxed his presidency and the start of the war with the most important manifesto after the declaration of independence, the monroe doctrine. He warned the world that the United States would no longer permit foreign incurrence in the americans americas. He used diplomatic language to rarity to reiterate the warning of the rattlesnake on his regiment, do not tread on me. Unprecedented in world history, the monroe doctrine, or the manifesto, unilaterally extended americas sphere of influence over one third of the entire western hemisphere, he told the world we would not inal in their meddle their affairs and dont they dare metal meddle in ours. They would benefit much more by trading with us, rather than trying to congress. Se infuriated some has head of state, but he gave americans enjoy. Joy. Told him, you have made me prouder of my country man i ever was before. Than i ever was before. Some of you are wondering about the slavery issue. President monroe like others owned slaves, but he considered slavery you moral. Mmoral. Ijmm but saw no way to end it without a bloodbath. But the first thing to remember that slavery was not an american institution, it was british, french and spanish. Americans inherited it after it was 200 years old. Virginians had actually voted to ban slavery in the early 1700s. By the British Government of good clean and of good queen act in aruled the largely because they depended on revenues from slave traders. In the decades that followed, virginians petitioned to end slavery. All refused, and more africans crossed the atlantic, involuntarily of course. Ironically, the increase in the number of slaves was more of a burden than a benefit to most virginia planters. Slaves were usually unskilled and unable to speak english. They had fewer incentives to work than workers in the north. Fatherthey aged and children, they added enormous numbers of nonproductive infants and elderly to the population of the planters had support. In only 50 years, from 17201770, just before the american revolution, in those years virginias slave population grew almost eightfold. From when the problem was still 200,000. Ble, to nearly virginians owned 40 of all the slaves in america. With traders going up the james river, virginians feared that blacks would soon outnumber whites and stage an uprising that would end in a bloodbath. Most of virginia planters wanted to end the importation of slaves , and get rid of the ones they had, but where would they go . 200,000 people, where would they go . In the north, there were cities with factories and apprenticeships to teach freemen new skills. The south was agrarian and with fewer towns. The end of the road of one plantation led to the end of led to the beginning of the next. Where exactly where the slaves slaves to go . The the only jobs in the south were for field workers. It was a widespread fear, for slave rebellions, that sparked the idea of resettling blacks. In 1817, a year after monroes election, a group of southern plantation owners joined with northerners to form an alliance called the American Colonization Society to purchase and emancipated slaves and transport them to africa. Congress appropriated 100,000 to fund an agency to return africans captured from slave traders, to return them to their native lands. In 1821, the Colonization Society bought a large area of land at the mouth of the st. Paul river in liberia, as a temporary haven for returning slaves, expecting them to set off for their native villages. After three or four generations in america, they do not know where their native villages were, so many did not move into the interior and that settlement grew into a city. Work for the, the Colonization Society started about 40 years too la