Samuel L. Southard

Infobox US Cabinet official
name = Samuel Lewis Southard


image_width = 220px
order = 7th
title = United States Secretary of the Navy
term_start = September 16, 1823
term_end = March 4, 1829
predecessor = Smith Thompson
successor = John Branch
order2 = 10th
title2 = Governor of New Jersey
term_start2 = October 26, 1832
term_end2 = February 27, 1833
predecessor2 = Elias P. Seeley
successor2 = John Branch
title3 = United States Senator from New Jersey (Class 1)
term_start3 = January 26, 1821
term_end3 = March 3, 1823
predecessor3 = Joseph McIlvaine
successor3 = Mahlon Dickerson
term_start4 = March 4, 1833
term_end4 = June 26, 1842
predecessor4 = Mahlon Dickerson
successor4 = William L. Dayton
birth_date = birth date|1787|6|9|mf=y
birth_place = Basking Ridge, New Jersey, U.S.
death_date = death date and age|1842|6|26|1787|6|9|mf=y
death_place = Fredericksburg, Virginia, U.S.
party = Democratic-Republican, National Republican, Whig
spouse = Rebecca Harrow
profession = Politician, Lawyer, Teacher
religion = Presbyterian

Samuel Lewis Southard (June 9, 1787ndash June 26, 1842) was a prominent U.S. statesman of the early 19th century, serving as a U.S. Senator, Secretary of the Navy, and the 10th Governor of New Jersey.

The son of Henry Southard and brother of Isaac Southard, he was born in Basking Ridge, New Jersey and graduated from Princeton University in 1804. After teaching school in New Jersey, he worked for several years as a tutor in Virginia and studied law there. Upon being admitted to the bar, he returned to New Jersey, where he was appointed law reporter by the New Jersey Legislature in 1814. Elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 1815, Southard was appointed to the New Jersey Supreme Court shortly thereafter, and in 1820 served as a presidential elector. He was chosen to fill the seat in the United States Senate vacated by the resignation of James J. Wilson, and served in office from January 26, 1821, to March 3, 1823. During this time, he was a member of the committee that produced the Missouri Compromise.

President James Monroe selected Senator Southard to be Secretary of the Navy in September 1823, and he remained in office under President John Quincy Adams. During these years, he also served briefly as "ad interim" Secretary of the Treasury (1825) and Secretary of War (1828). Southard proved to be one of the most effective of the Navy's early Secretaries. He endeavored to enlarge the Navy and improve its administration, purchased land for the first Naval Hospitals, began construction of the first Navy dry docks, undertook surveys of U.S. coastal waters and promoted exploration in the Pacific Ocean. Responding to actions by influential officers, including David Porter, he reinforced the American tradition of civilian control over the military establishment. Also on Southard's watch, the Navy grew by some 50% in personnel and expenditures and expanded its reach into waters that had not previously seen an American man-of-war.

In 1829, after leaving his Navy post, Samuel Southard became New Jersey Attorney General. After briefly serving as Governor of New Jersey in 1832-33, he re-entered the U.S. Senate. During the next decade, he was a leader of the Whig Party and a figure of national political importance. As President pro tempore of the Senate, he became Acting Vice President from April 4, 1841 to May 31, 1842 after the death of William Henry Harrison and his Vice President John Tyler becoming President. Failing health forced his resignation from the Senate in 1842. Samuel Southard died in Fredericksburg, Virginia on June 26 of that year. He was interred in the Congressional Cemetery.

The destroyer "USS Southard" (DD-207), (later DMS-10), 1919–1946, was named in his honor.

External links

* [http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.29fab9fb4add37305ddcbeeb501010a0/?vgnextoid=1ed34fc0d5049010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD&vgnextchannel=e449a0ca9e3f1010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD New Jersey Governor Samuel Lewis Southard] , National Governors Association
* [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/southall-spain.html#R9M0JDGUU Samuel Lewis Southard] at The Political Graveyard
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6654589 Samuel Lewis Southard] at Find A Grave

ources

*PD-NHC
*"Dictionary of American Biography".
*Birkner, Michael. "Samuel L. Southard: Jeffersonian Whig." Rutherford, N.J.: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1984.
*Ershkowitz, Herbert. "Samuel L. Southard: A Case Study of Whig Leadership in the Age of Jackson." "New Jersey History" 88 (Spring 1970): 5-24.

U.S. Senator box
before= James J. Wilson
state= New Jersey
class=1
years= January 26, 1821–March 3, 1823
after= Joseph McIlvaine
alongside=Mahlon DickersonU.S. Senator box
before= Mahlon Dickerson
state = New Jersey
class=1
years= March 4, 1833–June 26, 1842
after= William L. Dayton
alongside=Theodore Frelinghuysen, Garret D. Wall, Jacob W. Millersuccession box
before= Smith Thompson
title= United States Secretary of the Navy
years= 1823–1829
after= John Branchsuccession box
title=President pro tempore of the United States Senate
before=William R. King
years=March 11,1841 – May 31,1842
after=Willie Person Mangum