The James Monroe Statue pictured was erected outside of Tucker Hall in 2015. Patty and Carroll Owens sponsored it as a gift from the William & Mary class of 1962. The statue was built to honor a figure they felt was a forgotten alum of William & Mary. The statue includes a frieze depicting eight major accomplishments of James Monroe including his time at William & Mary, the Battle of Trenton, his service as Governor, Senator, and Congressperson of Virginia, his role as Secretary of State and War, and his role as President of the United States.

The statue is made of bronze and was sculpted by George Kray, a William & Mary alum from the class of 1973.

James Monroe is a man notably known for his role as the fifth president of the United States. Monroe was born in Virginia in 1758 and attended William & Mary at the age of sixteen. After attending the college for only two years, Monroe left to join the Revolutionary War, aiding the American colonists in their fight for independence against British rule. Monroe fought under George Washington and was later wounded at the Battle of Trenton where he was declared by his superiors to have fought with distinction, later rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. After the war, Monroe studied law and his political career began, during which he held positions in the House of Delegates, Congress, and the Senate and served as the Secretary of State, Governor of Virginia, and President of the United States. Throughout this time, Monroe was known for resolving long standing issues between the U.S. and Britain, creating the infamous Monroe Doctrine, negotiating the Louisiana Purchase, and expanding territory from Spain. Monroe’s time as President was known as the Era of Good Feeling. After he served two terms as president, he retired and returned to Oak Hill, his plantation in northern Virginia, and participated in politics as the President of the Constitutional Convention in 1829. On July 4, 1831, James Monroe died and was buried in Richmond, Virginia.

James Monroe’s life, though celebrated by the public for his accomplishments in the ushering of a new nation, is pervaded by injustice and hypocrisy. Monroe was born into a plantation family, and in his teens after the death of his parents, he inherited 500 acres of land and the individuals Monroe's family enslaved. In 1793, Monroe, like many southern aristocrats, became a large-scale land owner. Monroe purchased 1,000 acres of land he named Highland, neighboring Jefferson's Monticello plantation north of Charlottesville, Virginia. Although the ownership of Highland did not lie under Monroe’s care the entire time Highland used enslaved labor, Monroe created the brutal conditions of slavery that continued after he was forced to forgo the property in 1826 due to outstanding debts. In addition, Monroe maintained ownership of Oak Hill, another plantation located in Loudoun County, Virginia. In 1794, Monroe and his uncle purchased the Oak Hill plantation and 4,400 acres that it accompanied. Following his uncle’s death, Monroe became the sole owner of the property.

Throughout his life, Monroe enslaved over 250 individuals, marring their lives with subjugation and unimaginable brutality that is inherent in the lives of those enslaved. Though Monroe declared himself against slavery, calling it “one of the evils still remaining,” he maintained the conditions of the people he enslaved even following his death, freeing only one manservant. Monroe did not believe in the equality of races. He saw the freedom of those enslaved to be problematic because once freed, black people would become a “public burden” for being considered part of society, disrupting the social order. Monroe instead supported colonization efforts, advocating for the government to relocate freed black peoples to Africa.

In 1800, as Governor of Virginia, Monroe oversaw the hanging of those accused of involvement in Gabriel’s Rebellion. Monroe executed the leader, Gabriel, and his 25 followers who planned a revolt with the intention of ending slavery in Virginia. On the day of the planned revolt, Gabriel and his conspirators were given away and later caught and executed. This marks yet another hypocrisy in Monroe’s character. Monroe was a man whose life was distinguished by heroic achievements during both the Revolutionary War and after. As a leader of a new nation born from the subjugation of their mother colony, Monroe understood the struggle for freedom under a colonial oppressor. But when confronted by men who desired freedom in the same vein that Monroe once gained, he instead approved of the execution of 26 men seeking liberation from an oppressive system.

Monroe also saw the removal of Indigenous peoples from their land as beneficial for both settlers and Indigenous peoples alike. Monroe believed that removing the Native peoples would “civilize” them, cull the desires of settlers who would then be given land, protect Natives from said settlers, and secure the U.S. control over the southeastern border. Monroe’s views on Indigenous Peoples has further reinforced a history of dehumanization and brutalization of Indigenous peoples at the hands of the U.S. government.

Monroe is a figure that is well-regarded and often celebrated by the public, including William & Mary’s community. There is no denial Monroe greatly contributed to early American and foreign policy, playing various political roles in the early years of this country's inception. Although, along with accomplishments, we must acknowledge James Monroe's controversies, especially when said controversies are rooted in the abhorrent dehumanization and subjugation of peoples. In weighing the lives of those memorialized, a person's morality must be questioned both inside and outside the context of history. The scales of collective human morality must recognize lines when transgressed regardless of the confines of time. With the lives of 250 individuals stripped through ineffable brutality and dehumanization at the hands of Monroe, we must ask ourselves if the weight of historical context and acclaim of contributions becomes weightless. If not, what magnitude of human suffering would ever transgress the bounds of the collective human moral?

Bemis, S. Flagg. "James Monroe." Encyclopedia Britannica, June 30, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Monroe.

This encyclopedia source provides a biography on James Monroe including his

notable achievements.

Costello, Matthew. “The Enslaved Households of President James Monroe.” White House History. The White House Historical Association, February 25, 2020. https://www.whitehousehistory.org/the-enslaved-households-of-president-james-monroe

This website gives in depth and cited information about James Monroe’s relationship with slavery. It includes contradictions within Monroe’s beliefs in his views of slavery. In addition, it discusses Monroe’s reaction to Gabriel’s rebellion and his handling of that when he was Governor of Virginia.

Fennell, Christopher. “Ash-Lawn Highland, Albemarle County.” An Account of James Monroe’s Land Holdings. University of Virginia, September 2, 2012. http://www.histarch.illinois.edu/highland/ashlawn1.html

This source provides information about James Monroe’s Highland estate in terms of land size, Highland’s sale, and eventual ownership of Highland to William & Mary.

Gawalt, Gerard W. “James Monroe, Presidential Planter.” The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 101, no. 2 (1993): 251–72. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4249353.

This source was published by the Virginia Historical Society. It provides information pertaining to James Monroe’s slave-labored estates including Highland and Oak Hill plantations. It goes into detail about James Monroe’s properties including acreage, crops, and numbers of those Monroe enslaved. It includes a short biography of Monroe and his achievements and includes an extensive history of Monroe's land ownership.

Kimball, Lori, and Wayne Saffer. “References to James Monroe’s Slaves With a Focus on Loudoun County Virginia.” LeesburgVA, January 2012. https://www.leesburgva.gov/home/showdocument?id=8851

This source is a composite transcribed list of the enslaved that James Monroe owned in Loudoun County Virginia. This pertains to his ownership of enslaved peoples at primarily his Oak Hill plantation. It includes the age of those enslaved, the location in which they were enslaved, occupation (if recorded), source, source date, source location, value of those enslaved (if recorded), and notes.

Preston, Daniel. “James Monroe: Life After The Presidency.” The Miller Center, UVA. November 21, 2021. https://millercenter.org/president/monroe/life-after-the-presidency.

This source provides a brief biography of James Monroe’s life after his presidency. It includes information leading up to Monroe’s death including what he did in his retirement such as, acting member of the BOV for UVA, president of Virginia Constitutional Convention, and resolving debts.

Richardson, James D, The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents. [no place]: Project Gutenberg, 2004. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/10919/10919-h/10919-h.htm

This EBook provides a transcript of Monroe’s correspondence. It includes Special Messages to the Senate and House of Representatives. This source is primarily used for the information it provides about James Monroe’s address to the Senate and House of Representatives on January 27, 1825. Monroe discusses what measures are to be taken towards Indigenous tribes including the removal of them from their land.

Wall, Jennifer P, "President Monroe statue to be dedicated on William & Mary Campus." News & Media. William & Mary, April 21, 2015. https://www.wm.edu/news/stories/2015/president-monroe-statue-to-be-dedicated-on-william--mary-campus.php

This souce provides information found in the 'The Surface' section of this webiste that pertains to specific quotes by Taylor Reevley and Carroll Owens. This website also describes the location of the statue and its sponsors.

“A Brief Biography of James Monroe.” James Monroe Highland, accessed November 21, 2021. https://highland.org/discover-monroe/

This source provides information pertaining to James Monroe’s life. It includes James Monroe’s inheritance, military service, marriage, education, notable achievements, and attributes. This website is moderately referenced due to its concise and extensive information about Monroe.

“Highland and Slavery.” James Monroe Highland, accessed November 21, 2021. https://highland.org/highland-and-slavery/

This website provides information about James Monroe’s plantation, Highland. It includes James Monroe’s beliefs of slavery and his ideas of race. This source tells the role of Highland in Slavery in the historical context of institutionalized slavery.

“Approximate Boundary of Spence Monroe’s Property.” The Monroe Foundation, accessed November 21, 2021.

http://monroefoundation.org/joomla/images/stories/birthplace/birthplaceboundary.pdf

This source includes information about the plantation property where James Monroe was born. It includes details about his land inheritance and land size Monroe inherited from his father Spence Monroe.