Samuel L. Southard

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Samuel L. Southard

Samuel Lewis Southard (born June 9, 1787 in Basking Ridge , New Jersey , † June 26, 1842 in Fredericksburg , Virginia ) was an American politician and governor of the state of New Jersey from 1832 to 1833 . From 1821 to 1823 and from 1833 until his death he represented his state in the US Senate ; from 1823 to 1829 he was Secretary of the Navy under Presidents James Monroe and John Quincy Adams .

Early years

Samuel Southard came from a well-known family of politicians. His father Henry Southard was a member of the US House of Representatives between 1801 and 1820, with one interruption . His brother Isaac was also a member of Congress in Washington, DC from 1831 to 1832 . Samuel first attended the public schools in his home country and then studied at Princeton College , now Princeton University, until 1804 . He then studied law in Virginia until 1809. He earned the necessary money as a teacher. After his admission to the bar, he returned to New Jersey, where he worked as a lawyer in Flemington in 1811 .

Political rise

Southard was then a member of the Democratic Republican Party . In 1814 he was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly . Between 1815 and 1820 he was a judge on the New Jersey Supreme Court . After the resignation of James J. Wilson , Southard was named as his successor as Class 1 Senator in Congress. There he represented the interests of his state between January 26, 1821 and March 3, 1823. In 1823 he was appointed Secretary of the Navy by President James Monroe to his cabinet . He held this office until 1829 under his successor John Quincy Adams. During these years he was also acting Minister of Finance and War of the USA for a short time. As Minister of the Navy, he procured land for the construction of hospitals. At that time the first dry docks in the area of ​​the Kriegsmarine were built. Southard was committed to the exploration of the Pacific Ocean. During his tenure, the Navy's staff grew by 50 percent. At the same time, the range of the fleet was significantly increased.

Governor and senator

Upon his return to New Jersey, he became Attorney General of his state. He held this office from 1829 to 1832. He was now a member of the new Whig Party , whose candidate he was elected governor in 1832. However, he only held this office between October 26, 1832 and February 27, 1833. During this time he promoted the expansion of the railways and waterways. After he was re-elected to the US Senate, he resigned from the office of governor in February 1833. He resumed his old seat in Congress, replacing Mahlon Dickerson . After re-election in 1838, he remained in the Senate until his death in 1842. There he was Chairman of the Committee for Maritime Affairs and, as President pro tempore, temporarily Chairman of the Senate. In this capacity he would have been the successor to the President under the law at the time , if the latter had failed, since Vice President John Tyler himself became President after the death of President William Henry Harrison and there was still no provision for the appointment of a new Vice President.

At the end of his political career, his health deteriorated. He died in June 1842. He had a child with his wife, Rebecca Harrow.

According to him, Cape Southard in Wilkes Land named in Antarctica.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ President Pro Tempore on senate.gov, accessed June 18, 2020
personal data
SURNAME Southard, Samuel L.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Southard, Samuel Lewis (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician and governor of the state of New Jersey (1832–1833)
DATE OF BIRTH June 9, 1787
PLACE OF BIRTH Basking Ridge , New Jersey
DATE OF DEATH June 26, 1842
Place of death Fredericksburg , Virginia