Dec. 9, 2015 — A history lesson about President James Monroe was featured on today’s episode of News Channel 8’s “Let’s Talk Live” when host Kidd O’Shea interviewed Grateful American™ Foundation founder David Bruce Smith and Cassandra Good, the associate editor of the Papers of James Monroe at the University of Mary Washington.

O’Shea explained: “The last president who is considered a Founding Father is James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States (from 1817-1825). His image is depicted in many famous paintings from the Revolutionary War era — including the iconic image by German American artist Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze of George Washington crossing the Delaware. In fact, he said, Monroe was part of so many key activities in early America — he played significant roles in the American Revolution, the Continental Congress, the Louisiana Purchase, the War of 1812, and the Missouri Compromise — that historian Cassandra Good and others consider him “the Forrest Gump of the Revolutionary era.”

Welcome to you both!

1. David, let’s start with you. Your most recent video on your Grateful American™ TV Show features James Monroe and Cassandra Good. Why did you want to shine a spotlight on him?
2. Cassandra, tell us more about Monroe, and what makes him such an important historic figure.
3. Cassandra, you are also the author of a book called the “Founding Friendships,” which reveals numerous friendships from the first decades — including letters exchanged between Thomas Jefferson and Abigail Adams. Tell us about your book.
4. David, our last question goes to you. Each time we interview you, you share a fascinating fact about one of the Founding Fathers. Tell us something we didn’t know about James Monroe.

To learn more about James Monroe, you can visit the museum dedicated to him in Fredericksburg, VA: jamesmonroemuseum.umw.edu

And for more information about David Bruce Smith’s Grateful American™ Foundation, visit GratefulAmericanFoundation.com and GratefulAmericanTV.com.