George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe: America's First Five Presidents
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George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe: America's First Five Presidents
The American Revolution succeeded against impossible odds thanks to five extraordinary men who shaped the nation's founding. George Washington led a ragtag army to victory against the world's greatest military power. John Adams engineered the case for independence and built America's navy. Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence and doubled the nation's size with the Louisiana Purchase. James Madison crafted the Constitution and Bill of Rights. James Monroe secured America's borders and declared the Western Hemisphere off-limits to European colonization. These five presidents dedicated their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to creating a republic that would endure for centuries. Their stories reveal not just the birth of a nation, but the character, courage, and vision required to make liberty a reality.
When the American colonies declared war against Great Britain in 1775, they faced the world's greatest military power without an organized army. There were scattered local militias, but no unified fighting force. What the Americans did have was a general: George Washington. This prosperous Virginia farmer took on what seemed like a hopeless mission because he fervently believed in the cause of independence and was willing to risk everything to make it a reality.
Washington believed America could win because he had fought for the British and knew their weaknesses as well as their strengths. His military education began in 1753 at age 21, when he volunteered to deliver an ultimatum from Virginia's royal governor to French forces in the Ohio River Valley. Though military command was completely new to him, Washington displayed the intangibles of leadership: decisiveness, the ability to stay calm under pressure, and physical courage. He endured extreme hardships without complaint, nearly freezing to death and almost drowning in an icy river.
In 1754, Washington was appointed lieutenant colonel of the Virginia Regiment. Near what is now Pittsburgh, convinced the French were preparing to ambush him, he launched a pre-emptive attack. In the battle, French officer Ensign Jumonville and nine of his men were killed. The French retaliated by tracking Washington down. He made his stand at Fort Necessity, a small, hastily built enclosure. In a driving rain, the French surrounded the fort and opened fire. One hundred of Washington's men were killed or wounded before he surrendered. The surrender terms, written in French which Washington didn't understand, contained an admission that he had ordered Jumonville's assassination. The French later used this to justify their claim that the British started what became the Seven Years War in Europe, or the French and Indian War in the colonies.
In the words of English writer Horace Walpole, "the volley fired by a young Virginian in the backwoods of America set the world on fire." This was the first time Washington's name was heard in European courts. It would not be the last.
The Battle of Monongahela and Lessons in Leadership
In 1755, Washington was attached to British forces led by General Edward Braddock, who was determined to drive the French out of North America. Washington supported this goal but was appalled by the execution. Braddock's plan failed to account for the fighting prowess of the French and especially the Indians in dense forest wilderness. When they attacked at the Battle of Monongahela, the British didn't know what hit them. The enemy fired from behind trees, and the bloodshed was appalling.
Braddock was killed along with 456 of his men. Washington, who had two horses shot out from under him and four bullets pierce his clothes and hat, took charge of the remnants of the British army. His ability to stay cool under fire became legendary. The Braddock disaster seared into his mind the gravity of war, shaping his military strategy forever. He would never sacrifice his men needlessly and learned that there is no substitute for discipline. It's a myth that Washington favored sharpshooting backwoodsmen; instilling discipline was his first priority as a leader.
Twenty years after the Battle of Monongahela, John Adams stepped forward in Congress to recommend Washington as commander of the Continental Army that didn't yet exist. To Adams and many others, Washington—now 43, married, and a leading citizen of Virginia—was the obvious choice. There was only one man for the job.
Washington's Character and the Birth of a Nation
It's hard to imagine there would have been a United States of America without George Washington. He was present at the nation's birth, successfully guided it through war, and nurtured it in peace. He did this not by being a great general, potent political theorist, or clever politician—he was none of those things. Yet he was admired by generals, political theorists, and politicians alike. Why? Because he was a great man.
Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, and so many others looked up to him—literally, as he was one of the tallest men of his era at six feet three inches. Add courage, integrity, and wisdom, and you have a truly impressive figure. His courage was never in doubt; if anything, he had too much of it, bold to the point of rashness as a young man. Throughout the French and Indian War and the American Revolution, Washington was always in the thick of action. His aides struggled to keep him from surging too far ahead of his own troops. His coat was pierced four times by musket fire, horses were shot out from under him, yet amazingly—some would say miraculously—he was never wounded.
By April 1775, when the Revolution broke out, Washington was firmly committed to American independence. He arrived in Philadelphia in May to offer his services to the Continental Congress and was quickly made commander of the new rebel army. There was one problem: there was no army to speak of, just a ragtag collection of state militias. How was Washington going to defeat the greatest military force in the world? It was a problem he struggled with for eight and a half years. That he managed to hold the army together, organize it into a disciplined fighting force, and guide it to victory was testament to his fortitude, patience, and personal bravery.
The Ultimate Act of Republican Virtue
Of Washington's integrity, one need only look at what he did when the war ended: exactly what he promised to do when it began. He resigned his military command and went home to Mount Vernon. By stepping down, Washington raised himself up as the embodiment of republican heroism. King George III reportedly asked American painter Benjamin West what Washington would likely do when peace came. West replied that Washington would probably return to his farm. The king was astounded: "If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world."
This story may be apocryphal, but the Newburgh Rebellion and how Washington handled it is not. As the Revolution wound down, a group of officers refused to give up their arms until they were paid. If they didn't get their money—which Congress didn't have—they would take control of the government. It was not an idle threat. Alexander Hamilton was in a panic. Washington, no great orator, sought to defuse their anger. They had risked everything to create a republican society, he told the officers. To abandon the cause now when victory was so close would mean all their sacrifices were in vain.
However convincing his speech may have been, it was a simple gesture that carried the day. He concluded by reading a letter from a member of Congress. Suddenly he stopped. From his pocket he pulled a pair of spectacles none of the officers had ever seen him wear. Putting them on, Washington said, "Gentlemen, you must pardon me. I have grown grey in the service of my country and now find myself going blind." He finished reading and left without another word. The gesture, sincerely offered with just the right touch of stagecraft, pierced the hearts of his men. Many were moved to tears. They immediately passed a resolution declaring their loyalty to civilian government. George Washington had saved the Revolution once again.
It wouldn't be the last time. During the writing of the Constitution and his eight years as president, Washington was repeatedly called upon to hold the fractious young nation together. He never failed to do so. We commonly refer to George Washington as the father of our country. It's hard to imagine any nation ever had a better one.
John Adams: The Colossus on the Floor
Everybody knows what happened on July 4, 1776: America was born. But three days earlier, on July 1, independence hung in the balance. There was a great case to be made not to secede from Great Britain. The colonists had no army, no navy, and almost no money. England had plenty of all three. It would have made perfect sense to bend to the will of the Crown, pay some extra taxes, and call it a day. Plenty of people in Philadelphia were prepared to make that case and could have easily prevailed.
Yet they didn't, because of the words of one man: John Adams. At a key moment when the forces against independence appeared to have the upper hand, Adams rose to his feet without notes and without preparation. He made the case for independence. By the time he sat down, the case had been won. We don't have a transcript of what he said, but Thomas Jefferson said years later that the speech was so powerful in thought and expression that it moved them from their seats. Adams was, Jefferson said, "our colossus on the floor."
If Washington was the sword of the American Revolution and Jefferson the pen, then Adams was its engine—brilliant, demanding, meticulous, but often irascible. He was not an easy man to love. At some point in his life, he irritated if not alienated everyone with whom he worked. Yet these same people would invariably come to appreciate him, including Washington and especially Jefferson, with whom he sometimes fought bitterly.
Ironically, for all his cantankerousness, his marriage to Abigail Adams stands as one of the great love stories of American history. Their correspondence spanning five decades is a vibrant, living history of the nation's early years. Abigail frankly described her husband as "short, thick, and fat," but what he lacked in good looks and physical stature he made up in intellect, personal integrity, and clarity of thought.
Adams's Revolutionary Contributions
Born in 1735 near Boston, Adams relentlessly pushed himself to rise early, work hard, and live a moral life. He strove for a life of virtue over vice. He first came to public attention in 1765 when he issued a stirring rebuke of the much-hated Stamp Act. For the next 18 years, he fought unceasingly against British tyranny and for American liberty, dedicating his life, fortune, and sacred honor to the struggle—not idle words.
In his forties by the time of the Revolution, he didn't fight in the war. Instead, he crossed the Atlantic four times on diplomatic missions, braving winter storms, diseases such as pneumonia and dysentery, and British warships. Capture would have meant summary execution. In Europe, as befit his character, he was all business. He helped Benjamin Franklin bring the French into the war on the American side and arranged critical loans from Dutch banks. When the war ended, it was Adams, along with Franklin and John Jay, who negotiated the treaty in which England officially recognized the new United States. For all these efforts, Adams was paid virtually nothing, but fortune was never his aim. Creating a new, better, freer country than the world had ever known was all that he cared about. As one delegate to the Continental Congress said, "The man to whom the country is most indebted for the great measure of independence is Mr. John Adams."
Following the war, Adams served two terms as vice president under George Washington, then one term as the second president of the United States. Taking over for Washington was a thankless task. Everyone deferred to the great general; Adams was not granted the same courtesy. Still, the new president distinguished his time in office with two significant achievements: one marked by something he did, the other by something he did not do.
What he did was convince Congress to build a navy. Given the strong opposition to any kind of standing military, this was no mean feat. But Adams was adamant that the United States could not become a great nation without a great navy. He pushed through the legislation that made it possible.
What he did not do was get the country involved in the war in Europe. France insisted that America join it in its fight against England. France had come to America's aid during the fight for independence, the French argued—here was America's chance to repay the debt. Adams firmly declined. The infant nation was in no position to wage war for or against anyone.
As the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence approached, a 91-year-old Adams was asked to provide a toast for the upcoming celebration. He offered two words: "Independence forever." It turned out to be his last public utterance. How fitting.
Thomas Jefferson: The Mind of the Revolution
There's a reason why Thomas Jefferson's face is on our coinage, why his sculpted head is on Mount Rushmore, and why there is a magnificent memorial in his honor in Washington, D.C. As British historian Paul Johnson put it, no one did more than Jefferson to create the United States of America.
Born on April 13, 1743, in Shadwell, Virginia, Jefferson early on displayed an intellectual curiosity that would never be quenched. He devoured books on history, science, math, and philosophy while learning Latin, Greek, and French. He would eventually amass a personal library of 6,500 volumes, declaring "I cannot live without books." There was virtually no subject he didn't find fascinating and didn't try to master. Most of the time he succeeded.
He graduated from college in just two years with a plan to practice law. At age 25, he won a seat in Virginia's House of Burgesses, entering politics just as the American colonies were beginning to challenge British rule. Although Jefferson was not a gifted speaker, he was a genius with words. This gift did not go unnoticed. John Adams and Benjamin Franklin asked him to write the first draft of America's Declaration of Independence. Their confidence was richly rewarded. Jefferson's assertions that all men are created equal and that nature's God, the Creator, had granted them inalienable rights formed the cornerstones of the American experiment. Jefferson was not yet 34.
Jefferson and Hamilton: A Rivalry That Shaped America
In 1790, President Washington appointed Jefferson as the new nation's first secretary of state, one of two key posts in Washington's cabinet. The other was secretary of the treasury, to which Washington appointed Alexander Hamilton. The two became bitter rivals. Jefferson distrusted Hamilton's belief in a powerful central government. Hamilton thought Jefferson was an impractical dreamer. Both misunderstood the other, probably inevitable given their strong convictions and considerable egos.
Although it's true that Jefferson was a lofty political theorist, he was also a cunning politician. His hardball tactics angered or alienated people who had once been close allies, most notably John Adams. After defeating Adams in a contentious election in 1800, Jefferson served two terms as America's third president—a tenure historians still consider among the most consequential and successful in American history.
He reduced the scope and reach of the federal government, cutting taxes, lowering spending, and retiring half the national debt. This was the small-government Jefferson in action. But he had no problem exercising vigorous executive authority when he felt it necessary. Nowhere is this better expressed than in his greatest accomplishment as president: the acquisition of the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million, or just four cents an acre. In one fell swoop, Jefferson orchestrated a deal that doubled the size of the United States, incorporating territories of what are now 15 states while eliminating the presence of a powerful European empire from North America.
Jefferson's Complex Legacy
After completing two terms, Jefferson, following Washington's example, stepped down from office. He spent the last 17 years of his life at his beloved home Monticello, an estate he built not far from his birthplace. There he not only founded the University of Virginia but repaired his relationship with his long-lost friend John Adams. They began a fabled correspondence that continued nearly to the end of their lives.
Remarkably—if one is so inclined, one might even say providentially—Jefferson and Adams died on the same day: July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the signing of Jefferson's Declaration of Independence.
Thomas Jefferson was a complex man who must be judged in the context of his time. This is best understood in his relationship to slavery. He grew up in a world that took slave ownership for granted. He owned slaves as his father had before him. Yet he abhorred the very idea of slavery. On numerous occasions, he acknowledged that he violated his fundamental belief that all men are created equal. Yet it's also true that Jefferson pointed the way out of that heinous institution. For this we are forever in his debt.
Abraham Lincoln knew this. Of the Declaration of Independence, Lincoln wrote that Thomas Jefferson "gave liberty not alone to the people of this country, but hope to the world for all future time."
James Madison: The Father of the Constitution
From the time he joined the Continental Congress in 1780 through his second term as the fourth president of the United States, James Madison was in the middle of everything. When it came to the Constitution, he understood it better than any single person because nobody contributed more to its creation. When it came to selling that document to the American people, he made the most persuasive arguments. When ten amendments—the Bill of Rights—were needed to seal the deal, he wrote those too.
Diminutive in stature at just over five feet tall, he was a giant in every other respect. As a writer, theorist, and most importantly political pragmatist, he was a deep thinker who got things done. And no one worked harder to get those things done.
James Madison was born in 1751 to a prosperous family in the Virginia Piedmont. Like his mentor, neighbor, and best friend Thomas Jefferson, he was well educated in the classics and spoke multiple languages. His home state sent him as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1780 at age 29. There he saw firsthand how bad a national government could be: slow, corrupt, self-interested. He resolved to do something about it.
He wasn't alone. George Washington and others pushed for a new social compact, a document that would truly bind the divergent interests of the various states—no easy feat. Their efforts paid off in May 1787 when a new constitutional convention was convened in Philadelphia. Even though he was one of the younger delegates, Madison took a lead role not because he was so ambitious but because he was so knowledgeable. He attended every session, gave more speeches than anyone, took meticulous notes, and drafted the plan that delegates used as the framework for the new Constitution.
The Federalist Papers and the Bill of Rights
Writing the document was hard enough; selling it to the American people would prove even harder. A group known as the Anti-Federalists began flooding newspapers with essays warning that the plan would destroy liberty rather than save it. Madison and New York lawyer Alexander Hamilton came to the Constitution's defense in a series of essays known as the Federalist Papers. The two men were a dynamic duo. Hamilton did the lion's share of writing, but Madison's submissions arguably had the most impact. He carefully explained the system of checks and balances that would define the new government.
The Federalists carried the day—just barely—and the Constitution was ratified. Madison wasn't yet 40 and still a bachelor. That changed when he met Dolley Payne, a lively young widow 17 years his junior. She transformed the solitary workaholic Madison into one of the great dinner party hosts of the era. This proved invaluable to his political career.
Madison's Presidency and the War of 1812
After serving as Thomas Jefferson's secretary of state and supervising the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from the French, doubling the size of the United States, Madison was the obvious choice to become the fourth president. But there was trouble on the horizon. Great Britain, which had never fully reconciled itself to its defeat in the Revolutionary War, continued to harass the new nation at every turn. It seized American goods at sea and even forced American sailors to work for the Royal Navy.
By June 1812, Madison had had enough. He asked Congress to declare war against Great Britain for continued abuses of American rights. So began the War of 1812. It was a disaster—one of the rare times Madison failed to think through an important policy decision. The United States simply wasn't prepared for war, certainly not one against the mightiest power on earth. At the low point in the conflict, Madison had to flee the White House or risk capture. In the chaos, Dolley famously saved the priceless Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington by having it ripped from its frame.
Eventually, American forces found their footing, winning three decisive victories at Plattsburgh, Baltimore, and New Orleans. The two sides agreed to peace terms that essentially amounted to a draw, but to the American people it was a glorious victory. Madison had guided them to it. The young nation had demonstrated once and for all that the United States could not be pushed around. The War of 1812 has rightly been remembered as America's second war for independence.
In the spring of 1817, Madison retired to Montpelier, his estate in the Virginia Piedmont, having dedicated roughly 40 years to politics. When he started his career, the United States wasn't even a nation. When he finished, it was well on its way to becoming a world power. Many patriots contributed to the country's success, but few if any did as much as James Madison.
James Monroe: The Expansion President
On December 26, 1776, 18-year-old James Monroe lay dying outside of Trenton, New Jersey. A musket ball had penetrated his left shoulder, severing a major artery. The opening months of the Revolutionary War had been a disaster for the American side. General George Washington desperately needed a victory. He launched a surprise attack against British mercenaries camped at Trenton. Monroe led the vanguard to secure the roads in and out of town.
If the fate of the Revolution rested on the Battle of Trenton, the Battle of Trenton rested on Monroe's success. Monroe accomplished his mission. Washington and the Americans had their victory, but it looked like it was going to cost Monroe his life. Fortunately, a local doctor got to him and stopped the bleeding. That doctor saved the life of a man who went on to play a critical role in the first 50 years of the new American nation.
James Monroe had humbler beginnings than many of the other founders. Both parents died by the time he was 16, leaving him responsible for his four siblings and the family farm. He was only able to attend the College of William and Mary with help from an uncle. He didn't stay long, however, joining Washington's army at the outset of the Revolution.
Monroe's Political Rise and the Louisiana Purchase
After his time in the army, Monroe returned to Virginia to study law but soon turned his attention to politics. He represented Virginia in the Continental Congress, where he met his wife Elizabeth, daughter of a prominent New York City merchant. They married after a short courtship. It was a genuine love match and one of the great romances of the founding era.
During this time, Monroe also developed a close friendship with fellow Virginian James Madison. But the friends found themselves on opposite sides of the critical issue of the day: the fate of the new Constitution. In one of the least appreciated but most important episodes in American history, Madison and Monroe ran against each other in the first congressional election in 1789. Monroe opposed the Constitution because it lacked a guarantee of fundamental rights like freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Madison believed those rights were already secured by limits on government in the Constitution.
Madison won the election, but Monroe won the argument. Madison recognized that a Bill of Rights would be needed for the Constitution to be broadly accepted by the people.
After serving terms as a senator and governor of Virginia, Monroe was sent to France by President Thomas Jefferson to buy the city of New Orleans from French Emperor Napoleon. But to Monroe's surprise, Napoleon offered not just New Orleans but the entire Louisiana Territory. Monroe had a problem: he didn't have any authorization to make such a large purchase. He decided to make it anyway, doubling the size of the United States. Had Monroe done nothing else, his place in American history would have been secure. But his greatest contributions were still ahead.
Monroe's Presidency and the Era of Good Feelings
In the War of 1812, President Madison relied more on Monroe than anybody. Monroe served as both secretary of state and acting secretary of war, working tirelessly for days on end, often with little sleep. Monroe helped Madison stave off disaster and achieve a negotiated peace with Great Britain. When Madison's second term ended, Monroe was the natural choice to replace him. He won the 1816 election decisively and became the fifth president of the United States.
Perhaps more than any founder, Monroe had a vision for America as a growing, expanding nation. He negotiated with the British to demilitarize the Great Lakes, establishing America's northern border and setting the stage for future American ownership of the Oregon Territory in the west. In the south, he acquired Florida from Spain in exchange for settling some outstanding claims. He signed the Missouri Compromise, which defused a major domestic crisis that threatened to split the country. The compromise drew a line across the country: new states above the line would be free states, and new states below the line would be slave states. Instead of civil war, this time became known as the Era of Good Feelings.
Monroe won re-election in 1820 unopposed. His most enduring accomplishment came in his second term: the doctrine that bears his name. The Monroe Doctrine declared that the United States would not permit European powers to colonize the Western Hemisphere. In doing so, he put the world on notice that the young nation was now a major power.
While Monroe did as much as any president to secure America's prosperous future, he had less success securing his own. He left the White House deeply in debt, most of it expenses he had incurred on the government's behalf. Monroe was forced to sell almost everything he owned and live with his daughter in New York City. He died in 1831 and, like Adams and Jefferson before him, on the Fourth of July. We're lucky he didn't perish on that roadside in Trenton.
