Caesar Augustus Rodney

{{See also|Rodney family of Delaware}}

Rodney was born in Dover in the Delaware Colony, son of Thomas Rodney and Elizabeth Fisher. He was the nephew of Caesar Rodney, the signer of the Declaration of Independence who is depicted on the Delaware state quarter. 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.

Rodney served six terms as State Representative, 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 impeachment managers appointed in January 1804 to prepare and prosecute the articles of impeachment in the impeachment proceedings 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 served as an impeachment manager in 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.

While 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, he 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. Rodney was unsuccessful in attaining an acquittal for the workers.

File:Caesar A Rodney US.jpg

On January 20, 1807, U.S. President Thomas Jefferson named Rodney his U.S. Attorney General. He served in that office for the remainder of Jefferson's term and for nearly three years in 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. Rodney 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.

Rodney returned to politics, serving in the Delaware 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 Delaware's only Democratic-Republican U.S. Senator ever.

Along with John Graham and Theodorick Bland, Rodney was selected by President James Monroe in 1817 for a special diplomatic mission to South America, the South American Commission of 1817–1818.{{cite book |last1=Rasmussen |first1=Wayne D. |editor1-first=James |editor1-last=Gerber |editor2-last=Lei Guang |title=Agriculture and Rural Connections in the Pacific, 1500–1900 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E1d5L9tXXq0C |series=The Pacific World: Lands, Peoples and History of the Pacific, 1500–1900 |volume=13 |year=2006 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing Company |location=Burlington, Vermont |isbn=978-0-7546-3978-7 |pages=53–62 |chapter=Diplomats and Plant Collectors: The South American Commission, 1817–1818 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E1d5L9tXXq0C&pg=PA53 }} Rodney was appointed to lead the commission to investigate whether the newly formed South American republics should be recognized. He strongly advocated such recognition and, with 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 the Río de la Plata, now known as Argentina. He remained at this posting until his death.

Rodney died June 10, 1824, in Buenos Aires, and was buried there in the Victoria district British Cemetery. His remains were moved to a crypt at St. John's Cathedral in Buenos Aires. The crypt is at the peristyle of the entrance of the cathedral.{{Cite web |url=http://www.cementeriobritanico.org/# |title=Historias, Instituciones, Personajes |access-date=November 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131209110630/http://www.cementeriobritanico.org/# |archive-date=December 9, 2013 |url-status=dead }}

File:Catedral_Anglicana_de_San_Juan_Bautista,_Buenos_Aires_001.JPG at Buenos Aires, it reads "In memory of the Most Excellent Mister C. A. Rodney. The first Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States of North America close to the Argentine Republic. The Government of Buenos Aires, Decree of June 10, 1824 – Placed on February 28, 1832."]]

Elections were held the first Tuesday of October. Members of the General Assembly took office on the first Tuesday of January. State Representatives were elected for one year. U.S. Representatives took office March 4 and have a two-year term. The General Assembly chose the U.S. Senators, who also took office March 4, but for a six-year term. In this case the General Assembly failed to fill the position for nearly a year.

class=wikitable style="text-align: center;" align="center"
colspan=8 style="background: #ccccff;" |Public offices
Office ! Type ! Location ! Began office ! Ended office ! notes
{{Party shading/Anti-Jacksonian}} |State Representative |Legislature |Dover |January 3, 1797 |January 2, 1798 |
{{Party shading/Anti-Jacksonian}} |State Representative |Legislature |Dover |January 2, 1798 |January 1, 1799 |
{{Party shading/Anti-Jacksonian}} |State Representative |Legislature |Dover |January 1, 1799 |January 7, 1800 |
{{Party shading/Anti-Jacksonian}} |State Representative |Legislature |Dover |January 7, 1800 |January 6, 1801 |
{{Party shading/Anti-Jacksonian}} |State Representative |Legislature |Dover |January 6, 1801 |January 5, 1802 |
{{Party shading/Anti-Jacksonian}} |State Representative |Legislature |Dover |January 5, 1802 |January 4, 1803 |
{{Party shading/Anti-Masonic}} |U.S. Representative |Legislature |Washington, D.C. |March 4, 1803 |March 3, 1805 |
{{Party shading/Anti-Masonic}} |U.S. Attorney General |Executive |Washington, D.C. |January 20, 1807 |December 5, 1811 |
{{Party shading/Anti-Jacksonian}} |State Senate |Legislature |Dover |January 3, 1815 |January 6, 1818 |
{{Party shading/Anti-Masonic}} |U.S. Representative |Legislature |Washington, D.C. |March 4, 1821 |January 22, 1822 |
{{Party shading/Anti-Masonic}} |U.S. Senator |Legislature |Washington, D.C. |January 10, 1822 |January 29, 1823 |
{{Party shading/Anti-Masonic}} |Resident Minister |Executive |Buenos Aires |January 29, 1823 |June 10, 1824 |Argentina

class=wikitable style="text-align: center;" align="center"
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

class=wikitable style="text-align: center;" align="center"
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 |Republican |Thomas Jefferson | |at-large
{{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}} |1821–1823 |17th |U.S. House |Republican |James Monroe | |2nd at-large
{{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}} |1821–1823 |17th |U.S. Senate |Republican |James Monroe | |class 1

class=wikitable style="text-align: center;" align="center"
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}} |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}} |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%

{{reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• 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. |publisher=Wickersham Company |location=Lancaster, Pennsylvania |year=1908 }}
• {{Cite book |last=Martin |first=Roger A. |year=1995 |title=Memoirs of twenty-two years in the Delaware State Senate |publisher=Roger A. Martin |location=Newark, Del. |oclc=34016846 }}
• {{Cite book |last=Martin |first=Roger A. |year=2003 |title=Delawareans in Congress |publisher=Roger A. Martin |location=Middletown, Del. |isbn=0-924117-26-5 |oclc=56794580 }}
• {{Cite book |last=Munroe |first=John A. |year=1954 |title=Federalist Delaware 1775–1815 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |location=New Brunswick, N.J. |oclc=1867660 }}
• {{Cite book |last=Read |first=William T. |year=1853 |title=Biographical Sketch of Caesar Augustus Rodney |publisher=C. P. Johnson |location=Wilmington, Del. |oclc=13813351 }}
• {{Cite book |last=Ryden |first=George Herbert |year=1943 |title=Biographical Sketches of Caesar Rodney (the Signer) Thomas Rodney and Caesar A. Rodney |publisher=Public Archives Commission |location=Dover, Del. |oclc=8230494 }}
• {{Cite book |title=History of Delaware 1609–1888. 2 vols |last=Scharf |first=John Thomas |publisher=L. J. Richards & Co |location=Philadelphia |year=1888 |isbn=0-87413-493-5}}
• {{Cite book |last=Wilson |first=W. Emerson |year=1969 |title=Forgotten Heroes of Delaware |publisher=Deltos Publishing Company |location=Cambridge, Mass. |oclc=56456 }}

{{refend}}

• [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=R000377 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]
• [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/rodgers-rodriguez.html#R9M0JB71D The Political Graveyard]

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{{US House succession box |state= Delaware |district=AL|before= N/A|after= N/A|years=March 4, 1821 – January 24, 1822

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{{s-ttl|title=Senator from Delaware|years=1822–1823}}

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| title=U.S. Minister to Argentina

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodney, Caesar Augustus}}

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