ELECTION #9, 1820. The NASTY- METER goes back to 1..

QUOTE from James Monroe in his inaugural address in March, 1817: "It is so gratifying to witness the increased harmony of opinion which pervades our Union. Discord does not belong to our system."

ELECTION #9. The CANDIDATE.

The election of 1820 would be the last time a sitting president ran unopposed. The Federalists had ceased to exist. They nominated no one. For the third time - and last - time in our history, a presidential candidate ran unopposed. The first was Washington in 1789 and the second was Washington in 1792.

The CAMPAIGN in 1820.

There was no campaign as James Monroe ran unopposed.

The WINNER was James Monroe.

Monroe received every electoral vote except for one. An elector from New Hampshire gave his one vote to John Quincy Adams (Monroe's secretary of atate) so that George Washington would remain the only president ever elected unanimously by the electoral college.

Monroe's LEGACY.

His legacy as president from March of 1817 to March of 1825 is pretty darn good. In fact, it was so good that historians refer to his eight years in office as the "Era of Good Feelings." Here are the three main reasons why his presidency was so good.

1. In 1818 he signed a new peace treaty with Britain that resolved one of the main issues between the two countries. It limited the size of the naval forces that both countries could use on the Great Lakes. Later in the year they agreed that the US-Canadian border would be the 49th parallel and they would settle the Oregon territory jointly. These agreements provided the basis for the good relationship the US and Britain enjoy to this day.

2. In 1819 he purchased Florida from Spain for $5 million and the border between Louisiana and Mexico was established.

3. His most famous accomplishment in foreign policy was the Monroe Doctrine. During his presidency most all of Latin America colonies rebelled against Spanish rule and became independent countries. Monroe was afraid that some other European countries would try to interfere, or even recolonize the new countries. He consulted with Jefferson and his secretaty of state, John Quincy Adams, to make sure this didn't happen. The result was the Monroe Doctrine. The Doctrine, written by JQ Adams, warned the European nations to stay out of the western hemisphere. It stated that the US wouldn't tolerate any European interference in the newly created nations. In turn, Monroe, pledged to stay out of European affairs. It was passed by Congress in 1823. It became the cornerstone of US foreign policy up to this day.

On the domestic front Monroe had some issues that didn't go quite as smooth as his foreign policy achievements. One of those issues was slavery. There was a major crisis in 1819 when Missouri and Maine applied for statehood. Missouri insisted it be admittled as a slave state - in doing so it would keep the Senate evenly split between slave and free states. The southern states demanded that this be the case. So the Missouri Compromise was worked out admitting Maine as free state and Missouri as a slave state. Monroe, who was a slave owner, sat on the sidelines and let Congress make the compromise - he signed it into law in 1820. It helped postpone further troubles between the North and South for a while.

A second issue was the economy - SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE - read on. There was economic panic in 1819 -banks failed, mortgages were foreclosed, and unemployment was high. (Does this sound familiar?) Prosperity did not return until 1824 - it took five years. (How long will our present one take? We're going into year four now.)