The construction of the Cumberland Road, or National Road, was something Monroe set his eyes on. In his first annual message, Monroe alarmed many by wanting to clear the federal construction of roads and canals. By doing this, he was attempting to resolve many conflicts that the presidents before him started, like James Madison and Thomas Jefferson (Economic Policy). Monroe asked and urged Congress, but they never acted on it (The American System).
Also as President, Monroe advocated for the decline of the parties. Monroe believed that the government could operate fully without them. This turned out to backfire on him. Without the parties, Monroe couldn’t rely on any one party’s loyalty to help him reach his goals. With many different factions and many different opinions, Monroe had to build consensus and create coalitions to back him up. With the end of his presidency nearing, Monroe helped to transition from the Democratic-Republican and Federalist system to the second party system of the Democrats and the Whigs (Political …show more content…
Before becoming president, he was the Minister to France and Great Britain, where he did a lot for the U.S. In his first term, Monroe managed to expand the U.S. territory by purchasing Florida from Spain. He also in 1820 developed what is now known today as the Monroe Doctrine. This policy would state that the U.S. should forevermore be free from European colonization and that any more interference with independent states would be considered a hostile act (The ‘Monroe Doctrine’). In return, Monroe said that America would no longer interfere with European territories or any wars. This document ended up being highly favorable among Congress (A Second Term and the Monroe