The Founders’ Curse

James Monroe’s Struggle against Political Parties

 

By Brook Poston

 

James Monroe, fifth President of the United States (1817–1825) and the last President from the Founding Fathers, hated political parties, even writing that he “always considered their existence as the curse of the country.” Yet his career saw the rise, fall, and rebirth of American political parties.

 

In The Founders’ Curse, historian Brook Poston tells the story of Monroe’s decision to help create the Jeffersonian Republican party, his efforts to destroy the Federalists and eliminate the need for parties, and the role he played in their rebirth as various parties developed after the battle to succeed his presidency in 1824.

 

July 2024 | Hardback 248 pages | ISBN 9781421448886 | Price £54.00

 

https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/53793/founders-curse