Samuel Lewis Southard (June 9, 1787June 26, 1842) was a prominent American statesman of the early 19th century, serving as a

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On March 25, 2025, John Phelan was confirm ...

, and the tenth

governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

. He also served as President pro tempore of the Senate, and was briefly first in the presidential line of succession.

History

The son of

Henry Southard Henry Southard (October 7, 1747 – May 22, 1842) was a United States Representative from the state of New Jersey. Southard was born in Hempstead, Long Island, New York. He moved with his parents to the Basking Ridge section of Bernards Townsh ...

and Sarah (Lewis) Southard, Henry was born in the Basking Ridge section of

Bernards Township, New Jersey Bernards Township () is a Township (New Jersey), township in Somerset County, New Jersey, Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 27,830, an increase of 1,178 (+4.4%) f ...

, on June 9, 1787. Southard's ancestors included

Anthony Janszoon van Salee Anthony Janszoon van Salee (1607–1676) was an original settler of and prominent landholder, merchant, and creditor in New Netherland, a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic located on the East Coast of what is now the United S ...

, one of the earliest settlers of

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...

(of partial

Moorish The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...

descent), and his siblings included

Isaac Southard Isaac Southard (August 30, 1783 - September 18, 1850) was an Anti-Jacksonian member of the United States House of Representatives from 1831 to 1833, representing New Jersey at-large. Early life A son of Henry Southard, Isaac Southard was born in ...

. Southard attended the Brick Academy classical school and graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1804.

Early career

After teaching in New Jersey, he worked for several years as a tutor in the

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

home of

John Taliaferro John Taliaferro (1768 – August 12, 1852) was a 19th century politician, lawyer and librarian from Virginia, serving several non-consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives in the early 19th century. Early life and education John ...

, his father's congressional colleague. While living in Virginia, Southard studied law with Francis T. Brooke and Judge Williams, both of Fredericksburg. Upon being admitted to the bar, he returned to New Jersey, and started his practice in Flemington in 1811. He was appointed law reporter by the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and ...

in 1814. Elected to the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

in 1815, Southard was appointed to the

New Jersey Supreme Court The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases cha ...

to succeed

Mahlon Dickerson Mahlon Dickerson (April 17, 1770 – October 5, 1853) was a justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, the seventh governor of New Jersey, United States Senator from New Jersey, the 10th United States Secretary of the Navy and a United States ...

shortly thereafter, and in 1820 served as a presidential elector. He was elected to a seat in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

over James J. Wilson, and was appointed to the remainder of Wilson's term After Wilson resigned. Southard served in office from January 26, 1821, to March 3, 1823, when he resigned. During this time, he was a member of the committee that produced the

Missouri Compromise The Missouri Compromise (also known as the Compromise of 1820) was federal legislation of the United States that balanced the desires of northern states to prevent the expansion of slavery in the country with those of southern states to expand ...

Navy career

President

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as presiden ...

selected Senator Southard to be Secretary of the Navy in September 1823, and he remained in office under President

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth president of the United States, serving from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diploma ...

. During these years, he also served briefly as ''ad interim''

Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

(1825) and

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

(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 The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. 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.

Political life

In 1829 Southard became

New Jersey Attorney General The attorney general of New Jersey is a member of the executive cabinet of the state and oversees the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, Department of Law and Public Safety. The office is appointed by the governor of New Jersey, confi ...

, succeeding

Theodore Frelinghuysen Theodore Frelinghuysen (March 28, 1787April 12, 1862) was an American politician who represented New Jersey in the United States Senate. He was the Whig vice presidential nominee in the election of 1844, running on a ticket with Henry Clay. ...

. In 1832, the state legislature elected him Governor over

Peter D. Vroom Peter Dumont Vroom (December 12, 1791 – November 18, 1873), an American Democratic Party politician, served as the ninth governor of New Jersey (serving two terms in office; from 1829–1832 and 1833–1836) and as a member of the Uni ...

by a vote of 40 to 24. In 1833, he was again elected to the U.S. Senate. During the next decade, he was a leader of the Whig Party and attained national prominence as chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs. As President pro tempore of the Senate, he was first in the presidential line of succession after the death of

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was the ninth president of the United States, serving from March 4 to April 4, 1841, the shortest presidency in U.S. history. He was also the first U.S. president to die in office, causin ...

and the accession of Vice President

John Tyler John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States, serving from 1841 to 1845, after briefly holding office as the tenth vice president of the United States, vice president in 1841. He was elected ...

to the presidency. Failing health forced Southard to resign from the Senate in 1842. He died in

Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 27,982. It is south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond, Virginia, R ...

, on June 26, 1842. Southard was buried in Washington's

Congressional Cemetery The Congressional Cemetery, officially Washington Parish Burial Ground, is a historic and active cemetery located at 1801 E Street in Washington, D.C., in the Hill East neighborhood on the west bank of the Anacostia River. It is the only American ...

Societies

During the 1820s, Southard was a member of the prestigious society,

Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences The Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences (1816–1838) was a literary and science institution in Washington, D.C., founded by Dr. Edward Cutbush (1772–1843), a naval surgeon. Thomas Law had earlier suggested of such a s ...

, who counted among their members former presidents

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

and John Quincy Adams and many prominent men of the day, including well-known representatives of the military, government service, medical and other professions. In 1839, he was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

Legacy

The destroyer , (later DMS-10), 1919–1946, was named in his honor. There is also a public park in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, named after him. There is also a street named after him in Key West, FL as well as Southard Street in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...

References

Sources

* *''Dictionary of American Biography''. *Birkner, Michael. ''Samuel L. Southard: Jeffersonian Whig.'' Rutherford, N.J.:

Fairleigh Dickinson University Fairleigh Dickinson University () is a private university with its main campuses in New Jersey, located in Madison / Florham Park and in Teaneck / Hackensack. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University offers more than 100 degree prog ...

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.
"Samuel L. Southard Papers (1783-1893),(bulk 1802-1846), Finding Aid C0250"
consisting of 170 boxes and 73.6 lineal feet of original documents of financial and personal affairs, including correspondence from

Charles Muir Campbell Charles Muir Campbell (September 1, 1795 – October 12, 1874) was a Scotland, Scottish businessman in early Princeton, New Jersey, an early pioneer farmer in Illinois, and he spent the remainder of his life in Springfield, Illinois, where he was a ...

of Princeton, NJ. Most boxes are organized by year and subject. Access to these documents is via

Princeton University Library Princeton University Library is the main library system of Princeton University. With holdings of more than 7 million books, 6 million microforms, and 48,000 linear feet of manuscripts, it is among the largest libraries in the world by number of ...

, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Manuscripts Division.

External links

New Jersey Governor Samuel Lewis Southard

National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American Politics of the United States, political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 U.S. state, states, Territories of the United States, territories ...

Samuel Lewis Southard
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 Politics of the United States, American political figures and List of United States political families, political families, along with other informa ...

* * Th
Samuel L. Southard Papers concerning the Quaker Separation
held a
Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College
, - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Southard, Samuel L. 1787 births 1842 deaths People from Bernards Township, New Jersey People from Flemington, New Jersey American people of Dutch descent American Presbyterians United States secretaries of the navy Monroe administration cabinet members John Quincy Adams administration cabinet members Democratic-Republican Party United States senators from New Jersey National Republican Party United States senators from New Jersey Whig Party United States senators from New Jersey New Jersey Democratic-Republicans New Jersey National Republicans New Jersey Whigs Presidents pro tempore of the United States Senate Governors of New Jersey National Republican Party state governors of the United States New Jersey attorneys general Members of the New Jersey General Assembly Justices of the Supreme Court of New Jersey Politicians from Fredericksburg, Virginia Politicians from Somerset County, New Jersey Princeton University alumni Burials at the Congressional Cemetery 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century United States senators 19th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature Members of the American Philosophical Society