r/James_Monroe

Bet you weren't expecting to see this guy at James Monroe's country retreat! The presence of this large marble bust often comes as a surprise to visitors, but in the context of James Monroe's life and career it actually makes a great deal of sense (or as much sense as a giant bust of Napoleon can make).

The United States owed a huge debt of gratitude to France (and its "favorite fighting Frenchman" Lafayette) for its support during the American Revolution, and US-French relations continued to play a central role in the growth of the young United States. Monroe was twice a diplomat to France, the second time in 1803 when he was sent by President Thomas Jefferson to finalize negotiations for the Port of New Orleans. The current ambassador Robert Livingston's negotiations had stalled, and not only was France familiar to Monroe, but so was its ruler--Napoleon Bonaparte. In fact, Monroe's daughter had become good friends with Napoleon's now step-daughter Hortense in the school they both attended during Monroe's first appointment as Minister to France in 1794-1796.

The two girls' friendship certainly wasn't the reason that Napoleon would change the deal and offer the United States the entire Louisiana Purchase--which Monroe and Livingston readily accepted--but it is one of many reminders of the ongoing diplomatic and cultural connection between France and the United States. Monroe received this Carrara marble bust some time after the Louisiana Purchase negotiations, likely as a diplomatic gift. He and his wife Elizabeth attended Napoleon's coronation (of himself) as Emperor of France in 1805.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1332878888800198&set=a.548112673943494

Robert Livingston and James Monroe closed on the sweetest real estate deal of the millennium when they signed the Louisiana Purchase Treaty in Paris on April 30, 1803. They were authorized to pay France up to $10 million for the port of New Orleans and the Floridas. When offered the entire territory of Louisiana–an area larger than Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal combined–the American negotiators swiftly agreed to a price of $15 million.

Although President Thomas Jefferson was a strict interpreter of the Constitution who wondered if the U.S. Government was authorized to acquire new territory, he was also a visionary who dreamed of an "empire for liberty" that would stretch across the entire continent. As Napoleon threatened to take back the offer, Jefferson squelched whatever doubts he had, submitted the treaty to Congress, and prepared to occupy a land of unimaginable riches.

The Louisiana Purchase added 828,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River to the United States. For roughly 4 cents an acre, the United States had purchased a territory whose natural resources amounted to a richness beyond anyone's wildest calculations.

Source: https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/american_originals_iv/sections/text_purchase_treaty.html

At the center of the proposal is Oak Hill, the longtime home of President James Monroe. Lawmakers are considering whether to preserve the 1,200-acre property as a public park, offering both outdoor recreation and a rare look at one of the nation’s founding-era leaders.

Sources: https://youtu.be/YUGRJjoQfk4?si=nY1zREpRQOmGwlVD

https://wjla.com/news/local/lawmakers-weigh-fate-monroes-oak-hill-estate-james-monroe-loudoun-county-virginia-state-park-conservation-fund-historic-preservation-250th-anniversary-dmv-250

Image Source: https://academics.umw.edu/jamesmonroepapers/biography/genealogy-monroe/