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Returning to Virginia, he married Eliza Kortright, of Dutch stock, by whom he had two daughters, plus a son who died in infancy. He attended the Annapolis Convention in 1786 but was not selected as a delegate to the [[Constitutional Convention]] of 1787. He worried that the proposed Constitution would be dangerous to the sovereignty of Virginia, and joined the "anti-Federalist" opposition. Like most opponents he wanted a [[Bill of Rights]], and once that was promised he supported the new government.  In 1788 he ran against [[James Madison]] for the new national Congress, but was overwhelmingly defeated. In 1791 Monroe was chosen by the legislature to fill an unexpired term in the U.S. Senate. There he joined the Jeffersonian faction, later to become the [[Democratic-Republican Party]], which opposed the [[Federalist Party]] and the policies of Tresury Secretary [[Alexander Hamilton]]

Returning to Virginia, he married Eliza Kortright, of Dutch stock, by whom he had two daughters, plus a son who died in infancy. He attended the Annapolis Convention in 1786 but was not selected as a delegate to the [[Constitutional Convention]] of 1787. He worried that the proposed Constitution would be dangerous to the sovereignty of Virginia, and joined the "anti-Federalist" opposition. Like most opponents he wanted a [[Bill of Rights]], and once that was promised he supported the new government.  In 1788 he ran against [[James Madison]] for the new national Congress, but was overwhelmingly defeated. In 1791 Monroe was chosen by the legislature to fill an unexpired term in the U.S. Senate. There he joined the Jeffersonian faction, later to become the [[Democratic-Republican Party]], which opposed the [[Federalist Party]] and the policies of Tresury Secretary [[Alexander Hamilton]]

==Diplomacy==

==Diplomacy==

==Retirement and Legacy==

==Retirement and Legacy==

Turning the presidency over to Adams on March 4, 1825, Monroe retired to his plantation, operated by slaves and an overseer, in Loudoun County, Virginia. Tobacco farming was unprofitable and he struggled to get out of debt.  Elected to Virginia's constitutional convention in 1829, he opposed the widening of the franchise but took little part in the debates over other questions. With land preices depressed Monroe could not pay his debts and he lost all his real estate. In declining health, he moved in with his daughter in New York City in 1830, where he died on July 4, 1831.  He was universally mourned.

Turning the presidency over to Adams on March 4, 1825, Monroe retired to his plantation, operated by slaves and an overseer, in Loudoun County, Virginia. Tobacco farming was unprofitable and he struggled to get out of debt.  Elected to Virginia's constitutional convention in 1829, he opposed the widening of the franchise but took little part in the debates over other questions. With land preices depressed Monroe could not pay his debts and he lost all his real estate. In declining health, he moved in with his daughter in New York City in 1830, where he died on July 4, 1831.  He was universally mourned.

Monroe lacked the charisma of Washington, and the brilliance of Jefferson and Madison. He was an energetic and able administrator and a harmonizer of conflicting viewpoints. His great achievement was to calm the political waters.  He lived a simple but energetic life devoted almost entirely to the public affairs of his nation and his state. He kept his religious beliefs very strictly private, and historians do not know what they were.

Monroe lacked the charisma of Washington, and the brilliance of Jefferson and Madison. He was an energetic and able administrator and a harmonizer of conflicting viewpoints. His great achievement was to calm the political waters.  He lived a simple but energetic life devoted almost entirely to the public affairs of his nation and his state. He kept his religious beliefs very strictly private, and historians do not know what they were.