Washington ordered him home in 1796.
Monroe served as governor of Virginia
from 1800 to 1803. When Jefferson
became president he sent Monroe to
France to help buy the Louisiana Territory.
Next Monroe served as minister to
Great Britain.
In 1811 Monroe again became governor
of Virginia. Later that year he resigned
to become secretary of state under President
James Madison. In 1814–15 he
also served as secretary of war.
Presidency
Monroe won election as president in
1816. A Democratic-Republican, he
easily defeated Rufus King of the Federalist
Party. Monroe was reelected in
1820.
Monroe faced the country’s first conflict
over slavery when Missouri wanted to
enter the Union. The North did not
want to allow slavery in the new state.
Finally, in 1820 Congress decided to
admit Maine as a free (without slavery)
state to balance the addition of Missouri,
a slave state. That agreement was
known as the Missouri Compromise.
April 28, July 4,
1758 1800 1811 1816 1823 1825 1831
Monroe is
born in
Westmoreland
County,
Virginia.
Monroe
becomes
governor of
Virginia.
President James
Madison
makes Monroe
secretary of
state.
Monroe is
elected
president.
Monroe states
the Monroe
Doctrine.
Monroe retires
from the
presidency.
Monroe dies
in New
York City.
T I M E L I N E
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Monroe, James 171
Monroe gained the territory of Florida
from Spain by 1821. In 1823 he
announced the famous policy that came
to be called the Monroe Doctrine. Monroe
stated that Europe should not form
any more colonies in the Americas. He
also stated that European countries
should stay out of the affairs of the
Western Hemisphere.
Retirement
In 1825 Monroe retired to Oak Hill,
Virginia. He later moved to New York
City, where he died on July 4, 1831.
..More to explore
Continental Congress • Jefferson,
Thomas • Louisiana Purchase
• Madison, James • Missouri
Compromise • United States
•Washington, George
Monrovia
Population
(2008
estimate), urban
area,
1,010,970
Monrovia is the capital of Liberia, a
country in western Africa. The city lies
on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. It is
Liberia’s main port and largest city.
Monrovia suffered much damage during
a civil war in the late 20th and early 21st
centuries.
Shipping goods through the port is
important to Monrovia’s economy. Rubber
is the main product that Liberia
ships out through Monrovia. In additon,
many ships around the world have carried
the name of Monrovia as their
home port. Shipowners pay fees to register
their ships there. The city is also
Liberia’s center of education and business.
However, many of its businesses
were hurt by the long war.
Liberia was created in the 1800s to be a
home for former slaves. Freed U.S. slaves
began settling Monrovia in 1822. The
town was named after James Monroe,
who was president of the United States
at the time. In 1847 Monrovia became
the new country’s capital.
Rebels fought the government of Liberia
from 1989 to 2003. Fierce fighting took
place in and around Monrovia. After the
war the city began to rebuild its damaged
buildings and economy.
..More to explore
Liberia
Government buildings stand in Liberia’s
capital, Monrovia.
172 Monrovia BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Montana
The U.S. state of Montana got its name
from the Spanish word for “mountain.”
The Rocky Mountains cover the western
part of this large state. Montana is the
nation’s fourth largest state.
Because of the many minerals found in
Montana, the state is nicknamed the
Treasure State. People flocked to the area
in the 1860s looking for gold. The state
capital is Helena.
Geography
Montana is located in the northwestern
part of the United States. Montana is
bordered on the north by three Canadian
provinces: Saskatchewan, Alberta,
and British Columbia. The U.S. state of
Idaho is to the west and southwest.
Wyoming is to the south, and North
Dakota and South Dakota form the
eastern border.
Although Montana’s name suggests a
mountainous region, high plains cover
more than half of the state. The Rocky
Mountain part of the state includes
many mountain ranges, including the
Bitterroot. Between the ranges are narrow
valleys that are good for growing
crops.
One of the country’s great rivers, the
Missouri, begins in the Rocky Mountain
area of Montana. It eventually joins the
Mississippi River north of Saint Louis,
Missouri.
People
Whites make up about 90 percent
of the state’s population. The early
white settlers of Montana came from
almost every state in the Union. Later
others arrived from many European
countries and Canada.
Montana was originally home to several
Native American tribes, including Crow,
Blackfoot, Sioux, Assiniboin, Cheyenne,
Shoshone, Arapaho, Flathead, and
Kootenai. Today Native Americans
make up about 6 percent of Montana’s
population. Many of them live on reservations.
Economy
Montana has thousands of farms and
ranches, many of them quite large. Sales
of livestock, particularly cattle and
sheep, account for more than half of the
state’s agricultural income. Montana is
also a leading producer of barley and
wheat.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Montana 173
Montana has large commercial forests.
The production of lumber and wood
