By the time Thomas Jefferson, America's third president, retired from the presidency he was in debt. Lucky for him, his supporters got together and raised over $100 000 to allow Jefferson to live out his days in peace at Monticello.
James Monroe, the nation's 5th president and the man behind the Missouri Compromise and Monroe Doctrine, wasn't so lucky. Despite being a great president for two terms between 1817-1825, no one stepped up for Monroe. In fact, John Jacob Astor, the richest man in America at the time, demanded repayment of a debt owed.
Meanwhile, Major General Lafayette, a French citizen who assisted and served America brilliantly during the revolutionary war (and the French revolution), was gifted $200 000 plus land by Congress.
Life. She just ain't fair, eh?
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