March 23, 2025
VPOTUS 005.5 - John Gaillard (President Pro Tempore)

Tenure of Office: November 25, 1814 - March 3, 1817
With the death of VP Elbridge Gerry, the Senate had to choose someone from their ranks who could preside over them so that they could carry out business for the next two and a half years. Luckily, they knew a guy who was already familiar with the view from the rostrum. Join us to learn more about John Gaillard of South Carolina's rise in politics and what he got up to in his lengthy tenure as President Pro Tem. Sources used for this episode can be found at https://www.presidenciespodcast.com.
Sources used for this episode:
- Adams, Louisa Catherine Johnson. “To John Adams, 3 December 1820,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/99-03-02-3863. [Last Accessed: 5 Sep 2024]
- “Dr Theodore Samuel Gaillard (1796-1855).” Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19508164/theodore_samuel_gaillard [Last Accessed: 5 Sep 2024]
- “Edwin Samuel Gaillard (1796-1834).” Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/50295961/edwin_samuel_gaillard [Last Accessed: 5 Sep 2024]
- “Gaillard, John 1765-1826.” Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/G000005 [Last Accessed: 5 Sep 2024]
- Gannon, Kevin M. “Gaillard, John.” South Carolina Encyclopedia. [4 Aug 2022] https://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/gaillard-john/ [Last Accessed: 11 Jun 2024]
- Hamilton, Paul. “To James Madison, 3 August 1810,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/03-02-02-0570. [Original source: The Papers of James Madison, Presidential Series, vol. 2, 1 October 1809–2 November 1810, ed. J. C. A. Stagg, Jeanne Kerr Cross, and Susan Holbrook Perdue. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1992, pp. 458–459.] [Last Accessed: 5 Sep 2024]
- “Hunt, Theodore Gaillard 1805-1893.” Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/H000977 [Last Accessed: 5 Sep 2024]
- “John Gaillard (1735-1800).” Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/155536210/john_gaillard [Last Accessed: 5 Sep 2024]
- “John Gaillard (1765-1826).” Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18227/john-gaillard [Last Accessed: 5 Sep 2024]
- “Judith Peyre Gaillard (1746-1789).” Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/155536282/judith_gaillard [Last Accessed: 5 Sep 2024]
- Lehré, Thomas. “To James Madison, 4 December 1812 (Abstract),” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/03-05-02-0390. [Original source: The Papers of James Madison, Presidential Series, vol. 5, 10 July 1812–7 February 1813, ed. J. C. A. Stagg, Martha J. King, Ellen J. Barber, Anne Mandeville Colony, Angela Kreider, and Jewel L. Spangler. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2004, p. 479.] [Last Accessed: 5 Sep 2024]
- “Mary Lord Gaillard (1773-1799).” Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19508287/mary_gaillard. [Last Accessed: 5 Sep 2024]
- Monroe, James. “To James Madison, 10 September 1819,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/04-01-02-0463. [Original source: The Papers of James Madison, Retirement Series, vol. 1, 4 March 1817 – 31 January 1820, ed. David B. Mattern, J. C. A. Stagg, Mary Parke Johnson, and Anne Mandeville Colony. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2009, pp. 511–513.] [Last Accessed: 5 Sep 2024]
- “25 Nov 1814.” Senate Journal, 13th Congress (1813-1815). https://www.congress.gov/browse/13th-congress. [Last Accessed: 5 Sep 2024]
- “3 Mar 1817.” Senate Journal, 14th Congress (1815-1817). https://www.congress.gov/browse/14th-congress. [Last Accessed: 5 Sep 2024]
- “27 Feb 1826.” Senate Journal, 19th Congress (1825-1827). https://www.congress.gov/browse/19th-congress. [Last Accessed: 5 Sep 2024]
- Troup, George M, etc. “To James Madison, 9 January 1815,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/03-08-02-0434. [Original source: The Papers of James Madison, Presidential Series, vol. 8, July 1814–18 February 1815 and supplement December 1779–18 April 1814, ed. Angela Kreider, J. C. A. Stagg, Mary Parke Johnson, Anne Mandeville Colony, and Katherine E. Harbury. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015, pp. 496–497.] [Last Accessed: 5 Sep 2024]
Featured Image: "John Gaillard," courtesy of Wikipedia