James Monroe
James Monroe
This chapter discusses James Monroe, considered a stronger president than James Madison and known as a committed believer in the vital importance of a unitary executive structure. Regrettably, he did not always act on his beliefs. Monroe's support for the unitary executive and for the importance of administrative hierarchy became evident long before he assumed the presidency. He had also championed presidential control in military matters in 1815, when as head of the War Department he prepared a report for a Senate committee championing unilateral presidential control over the state militias once they had been called into the service of the United States. Monroe assumed the presidency in 1817, and his two terms in office were quite successful, with the result that the office regained some of the luster it had lost during Madison's indecisive and apprehensive eight years in office.
Keywords: unitary executive structure, James Monroe, James Madison, administrative hierarchy, military matters, state militias
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