James Monroe (28 April, 1758 – 4 July, 1831) was the 5th President of the United States (1817–1825). Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation.

After studying law under Thomas Jefferson from 1780 to 1783, he served as a delegate in the Continental Congress. He took an active part in the new government, and in 1790 he was elected to the Senate of the first United States Congress, where he joined the Jeffersonians. He gained experience as an executive as the Governor of Virginia and rose to national prominence as a diplomat in France, when he helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. During the War of 1812, Monroe held the critical roles of Secretary of State and Secretary of War under President James Madison.