James Monroe Papers Publications

A Comprehensive Catalogue of the Correspondence and Papers of James Monroe, a two-volume set, was published by Greenwood Press in 2000.  It contains approximately 35,800 entries describing letters and papers located in 182 libraries and archives.  The entries are accompanied by an introductory essay and an index.  The entries are arranged chronologically, and each entry gives the names of correspondents or author, the date and place of writing, a brief summary of the text, a list of names mentioned, location of originals, reference to published copies, and enclosures.  It includes letters written by and to Monroe and important documents signed by Monroe.  The catalogue does not reproduce the text of any documents and is not intended as a substitute for the originals.  Its purpose is to provide readers with a summary of the text of Monroe's papers and to guide researchers to their location.  At the same time, the catalogue provides readers with a comprehensive overview of the documentary record, allowing readers, for the first time, to examine and consider Monroe's correspondence and writings as a corpus.

A Documentary History of the Presidential Tours of James Monroe, published by Greenwood in 2002, is the first volume of The Papers of James Monroe.  This volume uses letters, diaries, newspapers, and official papers to document the three national tours that Monroe made in 1817, 1818, and 1819.  In addition to Monroe’s correspondence and speeches volume two also contains accounts of Monroe’s tours culled from newspapers, diaries, and third-person correspondence.  It also features newspaper editorial commentary on the tour gathered from newspapers across the United States.

 

The Papers of James Monroe, Volume 2: Selected Correspondence and Papers, 1776-1794 (Greenwood Press, 2006) commences with Monroe’s appointment as an officer in the Continental army in 1776 and concludes with his appointment as minister to France in May 1794.  The volume documents the beginning of Monroe’s long public career: military service during the Revolutionary War, election to the Virginia House of Delegates, member of the Executive Council of Virginia, three-year term in the Continental Congress, return to House of Delegates, delegate to the Virginia ratifying convention, and election to the U. S. Senate.  Private concerns covered in this volume include his marriage and the birth of his first child, his law practice, the acquisition of land in Virginia, Kentucky, and New York, and the beginnings of many life-long friendships, especially those with Jefferson and Madison.

The Papers of James Monroe, Volume 3: Selected Correspondence and Papers, 1794-1797 (Greenwood Press, forthcoming, 2009) documents Monroe’s tenure as minister to France.  The volume incorporates material from both American and French repositories to document Monroe’s struggle to preserve good relations between the United States and France during the critical years of the mid-1790s.  The book commences with Monroe’s appointment as minister in May 1794 and concludes with his departure from France in May 1797.  In addition to information on Monroe’s diplomacy, the volume includes Monroe’s comments on the French Revolution and other events in Europe as well as American political affairs and his personal concerns, both in Paris and at home in Virginia.

James Monroe: An Illustrated History (Pictorial Histories Publishing, 2008) uses portraits of Monroe, his family, and associates; historical paintings, prints, and drawings of events and places associated with Monroe; and modern photographs of documents, artifacts, and places (a total of 275 illustrations) to tell the story of his life.