While James Monroe is responsible for a large body of correspondence, this is the first time an editor has focused principally on his written communications while serving as President George Washington's minister to France. The format of the selected letters, as Monroe wrote them, is preserved whenever possible, and they are presented for the interest of a general readership as well as for students of military, diplomatic, or political history.The addressees are identified, particularly those who have been lost to history, and, where indicated, explanatory notes are provided to assist the reader in placing the correspondence in its particular historical, political, or conceptual context. Readers are encouraged to arrive at their own conclusions as to the intention of a specific piece of correspondence.