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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.

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

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  • 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]
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  • 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.
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  • “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