USA Presidential Facts (James Monroe 1817-1825)

1. Did you know teenage James Monroe was a hero at the Battle of Trenton ? (The 18-year-old lieutenant was sent across the Delaware River by Washington to scout, and he nearly died after being shot during the fight.)

2. Did you know Monroe was the first president to travel by way of steamboat ? (This occasion occurred while on his goodwill tour of the Southern States. He also took a tour of the Northern States, making him the first president since Washington to travel so widely among the states.)

3. Did you know Monroe was the first U.S. president to have an outdoor inauguration ?

4. Did you know Monroe was able to buy Florida for $5 million ? (Monroe had started talks with Spain about Florida while he was James Madison's secretary of state in 1815. After violence in the region and a flurry of diplomacy, John Quincy Adams helped negotiate a deal for Monroe where the U.S. would pay off damage claims made by Spain during the violence. The U.S. got Florida and promised that it would recognize Spain's sovereignty over Texas.)

5. Did you know by the time his two-term presidency ended, Monroe had served his country for 50 years, holding more elected public offices than any president before or after him ?