SATT 032.1 - William Wirt Part One
Tenure of Office: November 13, 1817 - March 4, 1829
After a childhood marred by tragedy and drunken nights of Shakespearean recitations in a state of undress as a young adult, William Wirt went on to become one of the most well respected lawyers of the Early Republic, serving as legal counsel in some of the highest-profile cases of the time including the trial of George Wythe's alleged murderer and the treason trial of Aaron Burr. Why then isn't he better known in the modern day? Join me and my special guest, Howard Dorre of Plodding Through the Presidents, as we try to answer that question! Sources used for this episode can be found at https://www.presidenciespodcast.com.
Special thanks to Howard of the Plodding Through the Presidents podcast for joining me for this episode!
The following sources were used for all three parts of the William Wirt episode:
- Cunningham, Noble E, Jr. The Presidency of James Monroe. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1996.
- Dorre, Howard. Plodding Through the Presidents. 2013-2025. https://www.ploddingthroughthepresidents.com/.
- Elder, Robert. Calhoun: American Heretic. New York: Basic Books, 2021.
- Glassner, Gregory K. Adopted Son: The Life, Wit & Wisdom of William Wirt, 1772-1834. Madison County, VA: Kurt-Ketner Publishing Co, 1997.
- Jabour, Anya. Marriage in the Early Republic: Elizabeth and William Wirt and the Companionate Ideal. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998.
- Landry, Jerry. The Presidencies of the United States. 2017-2025. https://www.presidenciespodcast.com.
- “MIldred Gilmer Wirt (1772-1799).” Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/12906731/mildred_wirt. [Last Accessed: 17 Oct 2024]
- Mooney, Chase C. William H. Crawford: 1772-1834. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1974.
- Perkins, Bradford. Castlereagh and Adams: England and the United States, 1812-1823. Berkeley, CA and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 1964.
- Robert, Joseph C. “William Wirt, Virginian.” The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. 80:4 [Oct 1972] 387-441.
- Traub, James. John Quincy Adams: Militant Spirit. New York: Basic Books, 2017 [2016].
- “William Wirt (1772-1834).” Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/12957/william-wirt. [Last Accessed: 17 Oct 2024]
Featured Image: "William Wirt" by Cephas Thompson [c. 1809-1810], courtesy of Wikipedia
