Caesar A. Rodney

Infobox Officeholder
honorific-prefix =
name = Caesar A. Rodney
honorific-suffix =


imagesize =
small

office = U. S. Senator from Delaware
term_start = January 10 1822
term_end = January 29 1823
predecessor = Outerbridge Horsey [this seat was vacant from March 4 1821 until January 23, 1822.]
successor = Thomas Clayton [this seat was vacant from January 29 1823 until January 8, 1824.]
office2 = U. S. Representative from Delaware
2nd "at-large"
term_start2 = March 4 1821
term_end2 = January 24 1822
predecessor2 = Willard Hall
successor2 = Daniel Rodney
office3 = U.S. Attorney General
term_start3 = January 20 1807
term_end3 = December 5 1811
predecessor3 = John Breckinridge
successor3 = William Pinkney
office4 = U. S. Representative from Delaware
"at-large"
term_start4 = March 4 1803
term_end4 = March 3 1805
predecessor4 = James A. Bayard, Sr.
successor4 = James M. Broom
birth_date = birth date|1772|1|4|mf=y
birth_place = Wilmington, Delaware
death_date = death date and age|1824|06|10|1772|01|04
death_place = Buenos Aires, Argentina
spouse = Susan Hunn
party = Democratic-Republican
residence = Wilmington, Delaware
alma_mater = University of Pennsylvania
occupation =
profession = lawyer
religion =

Caesar Augustus Rodney (January 4 1772 – June 10 1824) was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly, as well as a U.S. Representative from Delaware, U.S. Senator from Delaware, U.S. Attorney General, and U.S. Minister to Argentina. He was the nephew of Caesar Rodney, the signer of the Declaration of Independence who is depicted on the Delaware state quarter.

Early life and family

Rodney was born January 4 1772, in Dover, Delaware, son of Thomas Rodney and Elizabeth Fisher. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1789, he studied law under Joseph B. McKean in Philadelphia and was admitted to the bar in 1793. He practiced law in Wilmington and New Castle, Delaware, for the next three years. Rodney married Susan Hunn, the daughter of Captain John Hunn and their home was "Cool Springs", located in Wilmington.

Jeffersonian legislator

Rodney served six terms in the Delaware House of Representatives, from the 1797 session through the 1802 session. There he became one of the leaders of the Jeffersonian party, now known as the Democratic-Republican Party. Encouraged by Jefferson to compete for the U.S. House against the staunch Federalist James A. Bayard, Rodney ran and won a lively campaign by fifteen votes. While in the U.S. House, he was a member of the Committee on Ways and Means, and established a national reputation as one of the managers appointed in January 1804 to prepare the articles of impeachment against John Pickering, judge of the United States District Court for New Hampshire. Pickering was charged with conduct unbecoming a judge, and his acquittal was viewed as strengthening the independence of the judiciary. In December of the same year, Rodney led another such case against Samuel Chase Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

After serving one term in the U.S. House from March 4 1803 until March 3 1805, he was defeated for reelection in 1804 by Bayard, by nearly as close a vote. The two men, always vigorous political opponents, remained good friends throughout their tumultuous political careers.

Private Practice

While Mr. Rodney spent most of his legal career in public service, he took on at least one notable case as a private advocate during the year before his appointment as Attorney General. In 1806, Mr. Rodney made an appearance before the Mayor's Court of Philadelphia to defend the Philadelphia Cordwainers against a common law charge of conspiracy. The conspiracy charge was instituted by retail shoe merchants, based on attempts by the journeyman shoe- and boot- makers to organize for the purpose of setting their wages and hours. Sadly, Mr Rodney was unsuccessful in attaining an acquittal for the workers, so that the progress of organized labor was delayed for more than a half-century in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Attorney General

On January 20 1807 U.S. President Thomas Jefferson named Rodney his U.S. Attorney General and he served in that office for the remainder of Jefferson's term and for nearly three years in U.S. President James Madison's first term. As Attorney General, Rodney participated as a member of the prosecution during the second treason trial of former Vice-President Aaron Burr. He resigned December 5 1811, unhappy about being passed over for a U.S. Supreme Court appointment. During the War of 1812, he was captain of a rifle corps which became the Delaware 1st Artillery. They served at Fort Union in Wilmington, on the Canadian frontier, and assisted in the defense of Baltimore in 1814.

Later career

Rodney returned to politics serving in the State Senate for three sessions from 1815 through 1817. In 1820 he was again elected to the U.S. House, serving from March 4 1821 until January 24 1822, when he resigned upon being elected to the U.S. Senate. He served there only a year as well, resigning January 29 1823 to accept a diplomatic appointment. During that brief year Rodney was Federalist dominated Delaware's only Democratic-Republican U.S. Senator ever.

In 1817 Rodney was appointed by President James Monroe to lead a commission to investigate whether the newly formed South American republics should be recognized. He strongly advocated such recognition and, with John Graham, published his findings in 1819 as "Reports on the Present State of the United Provinces of South America." This report is thought to have contributed much to the thinking behind the policy that eventually became expressed as the Monroe Doctrine. It also resulted in Rodney's 1823 appointment as United States Minister Plenipotentiary to the United Provinces of La Plata, now known as Argentina. He remained at this posting until his death.

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
-bgcolor=#cccccc!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |Delaware General Assembly "service"
-! Dates! Assembly! Chamber! Majority! Governor! Committees! District
-Party shading/Federalist
1797
21st
State House
Federalist
Gunning Bedford, Sr.|
New Castle "at-large"
-Party shading/Federalist
1798
22nd
State House
Federalist
Daniel Rogers|
New Castle "at-large"
-Party shading/Federalist
1799
23rd
State House
Federalist
Richard Bassett|
New Castle "at-large"
-Party shading/Federalist
1800
24th
State House
Federalist
Richard Bassett|
New Castle "at-large"
-Party shading/Federalist
1801
25th
State House
Federalist
James Sykes|
New Castle "at-large"
-Party shading/Federalist
1802
26th
State House
Federalist
David Hall|
New Castle "at-large"
-Party shading/Federalist
1815
39th
State Senate
Federalist
Daniel Rodney|
New Castle "at-large"
-Party shading/Federalist
1816
40th
State Senate
Federalist
Daniel Rodney|
New Castle "at-large"
-Party shading/Federalist
1817
41st
State Senate
Federalist
John Clark|
New Castle "at-large"
###@@@KEYEND@@@###

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
-bgcolor=#cccccc!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |United States Congressional "service"
-! Dates! Congress! Chamber! Majority! President! Committees! Class/District
-Party shading/Democratic-Republican
1803-1805
8th
U.S. House
Democratic-Republican
Thomas Jefferson|
"at-large"
-Party shading/Democratic-Republican
1821-1823
17th
U.S. House
Democratic-Republican
James Monroe|
2nd "at-large"
-Party shading/Democratic-Republican
1821-1823
17th
U.S. Senate
Democratic-Republican
James Monroe|
class 1
###@@@KEYEND@@@###

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
-bgcolor=#cccccc!colspan=12 style="background: #ccccff;" |Election results
-!Year!Office!!Subject!Party!Votes!%!!Opponent!Party!Votes!%
-
1802
U.S. Representative|
Party shading/Democratic-Republican |Caesar A. Rodney
Party shading/Democratic-Republican |Democratic-Republican
Party shading/Democratic-Republican |3,421
Party shading/Democratic-Republican |50%|
Party shading/Federalist |James A. Bayard
Party shading/Federalist |Federalist
Party shading/Federalist |3,406
Party shading/Federalist |50%
-
1804
U.S. Representative|
Party shading/Democratic-Republican |Caesar A. Rodney
Party shading/Democratic-Republican |Democratic-Republican
Party shading/Democratic-Republican |4,038
Party shading/Democratic-Republican |48%|
Party shading/Federalist |James A. Bayard
Party shading/Federalist |Federalist
Party shading/Federalist |4,398
Party shading/Federalist |52%
###@@@KEYEND@@@###

Notes

References

*Commonwealth v. Pullis ("The Philadelphia Cordwainers' Case"), Mayor's Court of Philadelphia (1806)
*cite book |title = History of the State of Delaware |last= Conrad |first= Henry C. |coauthors= |work= |publisher= Wickersham Company |location= Lancaster, Pennsylvania |pages= |year= 1908 |id=
*
*
*
*
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*cite book |title = History of Delaware 1609-1888. 2 vols |last= Scharf |first= John Thomas |coauthors= |work= |publisher= L. J. Richards & Co |location= Philadelphia |pages= |year= 1888 |id= ISBN 0-87413-493-5
*

External links

*CongBio|R000377
* [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/rodgers-rodriguez.html#R9M0JB71D Caesar A. Rodney at the "The Political Graveyard"]
* [http://www.russpickett.com/history/sentbio.htm#rodney1 Caesar A. Rodney at "Delaware's Senators"]

Places with more information

* [http://www.hsd.org/ Historical Society of Delaware] , 505 Market St., Wilmington, Delaware [phone]
* [http://www.lib.udel.edu/ University of Delaware Library] , 181 South College Ave., Newark, Delaware [phone]