The 605 documents presented in Volume 7 of The Papers of James Monroe date from April 1814, the midpoint of Monroe's term as secretary of state under President James Madison, to March 1817, just prior to his inauguration as president. Volume 7 opens in the midst of the War of 1812, documenting Monroe's role as military adviser to President Madison during an ill-fated defense of Washington in August 1814, his appointment as secretary of war in September 1814, and his return to the State Department in March 1815, when he began the work of normalizing relations with the European nations after...