Diligent and Durable: Samuel Southard and the Politics of the Early Republic Part One
Tenure of Office: September 16, 1823 - March 4, 1829
Rising from his beginnings as a young New Jersey jurist to become Secretary of the Navy under James Monroe, Samuel L. Southard emerged as a "diligent and durable" figure in American political history. With my special guests, Rob and Jamie of Totalus Rankium, we explore how Southard utilized family connections to end up involved in high-stakes political maneuvering that turned this "restless spirit" into a cornerstone of the executive branch on the eve of John Quincy Adams’s inauguration.
Sources used for this episode can be found at https://www.presidenciespodcast.com.
Special thanks to Rob and Jamie of Totalus Rankium for joining me for this episode!
Sources used for both parts of the Samuel L Southard episode:
- Birkner, Michael. Samuel L. Southard: Jeffersonian Whig. Cranbury, NJ; London; and Mississauga, ON: Associated University Presses, 1984.
Cunningham, Noble E, Jr. The Presidency of James Monroe. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1996.
Landry, Jerry. The Presidencies of the United States. 2017-2026. https://www.presidenciespodcast.com.
Mooney, Chase C. William H. Crawford: 1772-1834. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1974.
“Samuel Lewis Southard (1787-1842).” Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6654589/samuel-lewis-southard. [Last Accessed: 10 Feb 2026]
- Traub, James. John Quincy Adams: Militant Spirit. New York: Basic Books, 2016.
Featured Image: "Samuel L. Southard," courtesy of Wikipedia
