In 1789, George Washington took office as the first American president — just as the French Revolution was about to erupt. In 1794, he sent James Monroe to serve as the first international ambassador to Paris, which was still reeling from the Reign of Terror. Monroe was resourceful in getting his bearings in the shifting social and political sands. He had major accomplishments, including protecting U.S. trade from French attacks and achieving the release of patriot Thomas Paine and Adrienne de Lafayette, the wife of the Marquis de Lafayette, from French jails. But the French Revolution led to war between Britain and France in 1793, and after Monroe arrived in France the U.S. and Great Britain concluded the Jay Treaty. The treaty outraged the French because it appeared to favor Britain. Monroe had not been fully briefed on the treaty but he was tasked with repairing the rift it caused. Indeed, he achieved some success in what was probably an impossible task. Washington recalled Monroe from his post in November 1796 and he returned to the United States. Monroe’s letters provide our best window into his thinking and that of his correspondents, the prevailing atmosphere in that turbulent era, and the efforts he made to perform his duty in good faith.

The extraordinary life of James Monroe: soldier, senator, diplomat, and the last Founding Father to hold the presidency, a man who helped transform thirteen colonies into a vibrant and mighty republic. “A first-rate account of a remarkable life.” —Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Soul of America Monroe lived a life defined by revolutions. From the battlefields of the War for Independence, to his ambassadorship in Paris in the days of the guillotine, to his own role in the creation of Congress's partisan divide, he was a man who embodied the restless spirit of the age. He was never one to back down from a fight, whether it be with Alexander Hamilton, with whom he nearly engaged in a duel (prevented, ironically, by Aaron Burr), or George Washington, his hero turned political opponent. This magnificent new biography vividly recreates the epic sweep of Monroe’s life: his near-death wounding at Trenton and a brutal winter at Valley Forge; his pivotal negotiations with France over the Louisiana Purchase; his deep, complex friendships with Thomas Jefferson and James Madison; his valiant leadership when the British ransacked the nation’s capital and burned down the Executive Mansion; and Monroe’s lifelong struggle to reckon with his own complicity in slavery. Elected the fifth president of the United States in 1816, this fiercest of partisans sought to bridge divisions and sow unity, calming turbulent political seas and inheriting Washington's mantle of placing country above party. Over his two terms, Monroe transformed the nation, strengthening American power both at home and abroad. Critically acclaimed author Tim McGrath has consulted an extensive array of primary sources, many rarely seen since Monroe's own time, to conjure up this fascinating portrait of an essential American statesman and president.

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"This is the first time an editor has focused principally on James Monroe's written communications while serving as President George Washington's minister to France, a delicate and grueling service. The letters will interest a general readership as well as students of military, diplomatic, or political history; explanatory notes place the letters in their particular historical, political, or conceptual context"--