Virtually Uncontested
James Monroe was extremely popular at the end of Madison's term in office. He was the choice for president of both Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Therefore, he easily won the nomination of the Democratic-Republicans.
Election of 1816
The Federalist party was defunct at the end of the War of 1812. However, Rufus King stepped forward to run against Monroe and his vice presidential candidate, Daniel D. Tompkins. King was supported by the remnants of the Federalist party. The campaign itself was not fierce, with little campaigning actually taking place, and Monroe won easily with 183 out of 217 electoral votes.
Election of 1820
The election of 1820 was truly unique. No candidate was named to run against President Monroe. He was the obvious choice and when the time for counting votes occurred, he received all of the electoral votes except one. This is when the term “Era of Good Feelings” arose due to the lack of partisanship.
SCANDALS & GOSSIP
Tradition had it that William Plumer did not cast his electoral vote for Monroe in the 1820 election so that Washington would be the only unanimously elected president. However, in
