As the new nation began after the passage of the Constitution,
the political structure quickly began to fragment along ideological lines.
Monroe fell into what came to be known as the Anti-Federalist party.
He largely opposed the strong, centralized federal government forwarded
by people like Alexander Hamilton, the head of the Federalist party.
Thus, when Virginia formed its congressional districts, it raised
more than a few eyebrows when the district that included the home
county of James Madison–one of the leading federalists–also included
the home of James Monroe. Monroe did not want to run against his
old friend Madison, but he felt that public service was a duty
and so, if requested to run, he could hardly turn down the position.
Madison, for his part, understood this and never held it against
Monroe. In the end it barely mattered, for Madison won handily;
within a few days of the election, the correspondence of the two
men began anew.
In the spring of 1790, Monroe lost another race–one that
he didn't even know he was in. The Governor's Council had voted
to appoint an interim senator and Monroe lost by a single vote. Thomas Jefferson and
other anti-federalists were not pleased with the vote and later
urged Monroe to run in his own right in the fall elections. Even
without the support of Patrick Henry, perhaps the dean of Virginia's
anti-federalists, Monroe won the senate race easily. In December
1790, he was seated in the Senate, in Philadelphia, which would
remain the seat of government for another decade.
Monroe threw himself into the work of the Senate; in the
first session of the body, he and ten others held nearly every
important committee assignment and even chaired a committee considering
a proposal by Virginia to grant pensions and bounties to men who served
in the Revolution.
During this time, the Senate was much lower-key than the House,
where the true political battles raged, battles like the Bank of
the United States. In general, Monroe supported states' rights
and opposed the foreign policy of President George Washington–policies
that Monroe felt were too easy on the British. He opposed the appointment
of Gouverneur Morris as Minister to France and although Morris
was eventually confirmed, the tight confirmation made Washington
realize the power Monroe wielded. On several future appointments,
Washington cleared them with Monroe first.
In between legislative sessions, Monroe journeyed home
to Virginia and worked at his law office in Fredericksburg. Their
two children kept Monroe and his wife Elizabeth busy, and Monroe
also made numerous trips around the state meeting with other politicians.
He was a star on the rise.
Over the course of the spring and summer of 1793, Monroe's
life would take a decidedly new twist. To Monroe, Washington's
foreign policy had taken a serious turn–his proclamation of neutrality appeared
to be an end move towards an anti-French policy. The growing troubles
between Britain and France threatened to draw the weak America
into a war it was ill-equipped to fight. Nevertheless, Monroe condemned
the policy, one to which he had not originally objected, as an
unconstitutional attempt to prevent Congress from declaring war.
However, no one could clearly articulate the nation's stance towards
France. Finally, word leaked out that the minister from France
himself was planning to equip a privateer in violation of Washington's
orders. When the privateer sailed, in direct violation of Washington's
decision, Washington asked for the minister to be recalled. Monroe,
who favored friendly relations with France, found himself thrust
into the middle and his efforts and that of other Anti-Federalists
helped ensure more favorable treatment.
Monroe showed a key political nature during his time in
the Senate. When the Federalists successfully ejected Albert Gallatin,
an anti-federalist from Pennsylvania, because Gallatin had not
been a U.S. citizen for the required nine years, Monroe led the
fight in support of the Pennsylvania senator–only to lose by a
vote of fourteen to 12. Monroe brooded quietly and waited several
months for revenge. When Kensey Johns, a Federalist from Delaware,
arrived to be seated in the body, Monroe rose and objected that
since the state legislature had convened a session in between Johns's
appointment by the governor and Johns's arrival in Philadelphia,
the governor had no right to make such an interim appointment.
The matter was referred to a committee that determined Monroe was right–Johns
could not be seated.
Towards the end of 1793, Monroe again found himself swept
up in the American- French affairs. Gouverneur Morris had been recalled,
and Washington now looked to appoint a new minister. After a brief
flirtation with several other candidates, Washington settled on
Monroe as the new emissary. Ironically, after leading so many controversial
fights over presidential appointments, Monroe's appointment sailed
through the Senate with hardly an ill-word. Within a fortnight,
Monroe rode for Baltimore to sail to France. The relations between
the two countries were much too fragile to take time to return
to Virginia and settle his affairs.
