- During the election of 1816, James Monroe stood in a commanding position for the Democratic-Republican nomination as Madison's equal. He encountered opposition, however, as some people disagreed at the idea of yet another President from Virginia—of the first four Presidents, three had been from the Commonwealth.
- Monroe's main opponent was William H. Crawford, a former senator from Georgia who had also served in Madison's cabinet. Although Crawford had a lot of support in Congress, he lacked a national popularity
- Monroe had a great deal of support throughout the entire country
- Crawford kept from waging a full campaign for the nomination for fear of upsetting Monroe and losing the possibility of a cabinet seat following a Monroe victory.
- When Republicans in Congress chose their presidential nominee, they chose Monroe by a vote of 65-54. They also nominated New York Governor Daniel D. Tompkins as their vice president nominee
- He was known as the "last framer of the Constitution"
- Supporters made him out to be the man who had fought alongside General Washington and as the last of the Revolutionary generation to be President of the United States.
- Monroe won the vast majority of the electoral votes in 16 states. The total Electoral College vote came in at 183 for Monroe and 34 for the Federalist nominated King.
- Without a Republican or Federalist nominee Monroe ran unopposed in the 1820 election, in which he received every electoral vote except one