Judging James Monroe National Security-9 I give James Monroe an eight because he did have a peaceful time after the War of 1812 and the nation did prosper and grow to be very healthy. This was called the ?Era of Good Feelings?. Economy-8 Although the ?Era of Good Feelings? did boost the nation?s condition, James Monroe did spend a lot of money. He spent five million dollars to buy Florida from Spain and he let speculators borrow huge sums of money to settlers and banks. This used up a lot of the nation?s money. Relationship with foreign countries-8