![Picture of James Monroe](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20081010234132im_/http://www.state.gov/cms_images/monroe1.jpg) | BIOGRAPHY
James Monroe Secretary of State, Term of Appointment:
04/02/1811 to
09/30/1814
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- Born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, April 28, 1758;
- Attended the College of William and Mary 1774-1776;
- Served as an officer in the Continental Army;
- Studied law under Jefferson 1780-1783;
- Member of the Virginia Assembly in 1782 and 1786;
- Member of the Continental Congress 1783-1786;
- Attended the Annapolis Convention of 1786;
- Married Eliza Kortright the same year;
- Admitted to the bar and practiced in Fredericksburg;
- Member of the State convention of 1788 that ratified the Federal Constitution;
- Senator from Virginia 1790-1794; served as Minister to France 1794-1796;
- Governor of Virginia 1799-1802; was again Minister to France in 1803;
- Served as Minister to Great Britain 1803-1807;
- Headed a diplomatic mission to Spain 1804-1805;
- Again elected to the Virginia Assembly in 1810;
- Again Governor of Virginia in 1811;
- Commissioned Secretary of State in President Madison's Cabinet April 2, 1811, entered upon his duties April 6, 1811, and served until September 30, 1814;
- Served as both Secretary of War and Secretary of State ad interim October 1, 1814-February 28, 1815;
- Again commissioned Secretary of State February 28, 1815, entered upon his duties the same day, and served until March 3, 1817;
- During his tenure of office the War of 1812 was fought and the Treaty of Ghent, which restored peace, was negotiated;
- President of the United States 1817-1825;
- Retired to his farm in Virginia;
- Presiding officer of the Virginia constitutional convention of 1829;
- Died in New York City July 4, 1831.
Released on July 15, 2003
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