A new Madison presidency episode is now available!
Oct. 6, 2024

SATT 029 - Benjamin W Crowninshield

SATT 029 - Benjamin W Crowninshield

Tenure of Office: January 16, 1815 - September 30, 1818

A merchant from Massachusetts, Benjamin Crowninshield assumed office as Secretary of the Navy in the latter days of the War of 1812. Join me and my special guest, April from the Door Key Podcast, as we explore the life and career of this member of the Madison and Monroe administrations and determine whether his legacy earns him a seat at the table of the Cabinet All-Stars. Sources used for this episode can be found at https://www.presidenciespodcast.com.

Note: There is a discussion of a potential non-consensual sexual encounter around the 31 minute mark to around the 36 minute mark.

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Seat At The Table

Special thanks to April of the Door Key Podcast for joining me for this episode!

  • Ammon, Harry. James Monroe: The Quest for National Identity. Charlottesville, VA and London: University Press of Virginia, 1999 [1971].
  • Bacon, Louisa Crowninshield. Reminiscences. Salem, MA: Newcomb & Gauss, 1922. https://archive.org/details/reminiscences00bacogoog [Last Accessed: 6 Oct 2024]
  • “Benjamin Williams Crowninshield (1772-1851).” Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6844018/benjamin-williams-crowninshield [Last Accessed: 6 Oct 2024]
  • CQ Press. Guide to U.S. Elections, Volume II: Fifth Edition. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Inc, 2005.
  • “Crowninshield, Benjamin Williams, 1772-1851.” Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/C000946 [Last Accessed: 6 Oct 2024]
  • Cunningham, Noble E, Jr. The Presidency of James Monroe. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1996.
  • Dangerfield, George. The Era of Good Feelings. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co, 1952.
  • “George Crowninshield Sr. (1734-1815).” Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/215401568/george-crowninshield [Last Accessed: 6 Oct 2024]
  • Gutzman, Kevin R C. The Jeffersonians: The Visionary Presidencies of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2022.
  • Ketcham, Ralph. James Madison: A Biography. Charlottesville, VA and London: University Press of Virginia, 1994 [1971].
  • Leiner, Frederick C. The End of Barbary Terror: America’s 1815 War Against the Pirates of North Africa. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
  • “Mary Boardman Crowninshield (1778-1840).” Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/97970678/mary-crowninshield [Last Accessed: 6 Oct 2024]
  • “Mary Derby Crowninshield (1737-1813).” Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/215401882/mary-crowninshield [Last Accessed: 6 Oct 2024]
  • McGrath, Tim. James Monroe: A Life. New York: Penguin Random House, 2020.
  • McKee, Christopher. A Gentlemanly and Honorable Profession: The Creation of the U.S. Naval Officer Corps, 1794-1815. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1991.
  • Mooney, Chase C. William H. Crawford: 1772-1834. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1974.
  • “Our History - The Brookhouse Home.” Brookhouse Home. https://brookhousehome.com/history/ [Last Accessed: 6 Oct 2024]
  • Skaggs, David Curtis, and Gerald T Altoff. A Signal Victory: The Lake Erie Campaign, 1812-1813. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1997.

Featured Image: "Benjamin Crowninshield" by Ulysses Dow Tennery after John Vanderlyn [c. 1901], courtesy of Wikipedia

April Nordyke