In October 1862, he resigned his seat in the Senate to accept the position of United States Consul in Rio de Janeiro and served from 1863 to 1869.

He served as chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor (Forty-third Congress) and was not a candidate for renomination.

He had four children, including: He died in Oberlin, Ohio, on July 6, 1898 and was interred in Westwood Cemetery.

The current interior of the house presents decor and information from the 1860s, 1870s, and 1880s, and uses Monroe's commitments to education and the abolition of slavery to highlight important events in the history of the city of Oberlin.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress