James A. Bayard (politician, born 1767)

James Asheton Bayard Sr.
Caesar A. Rodney
Personal details
Born	James Asheton Bayard (1767-07-28)July 28, 1767 Federalist
Spouse	Ann (Nancy) Bassett
Children	6, including Richard and James
Parent(s)	James Asheton Bayard Ann Hodge
Residence(s)	Wilmington, Delaware
Alma mater	Princeton University
Profession	Lawyer
Signature

James Asheton Bayard Sr. (July 28, 1767 – August 6, 1815) was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, Delaware. He was a member of the Federalist Party, who served as U.S. Representative from Delaware and U.S. Senator from Delaware.^[1]

Bayard was born in

Bayard was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1796, and served there for three terms, from March 4, 1797, until March 3, 1803. While in the U.S. House, "he was distinguished as an orator and constitutional lawyer and became a leader of the party in the house." He especially distinguished himself as one of the impeachment managers appointed in 1798 in the impeachment proceedings against William Blount, a U.S. Senator from Tennessee.^[1] Blount was accused of inciting the Creeks and Cherokees to help the British take New Orleans from the Spanish. While the U.S. House impeached him, under Bayard's leadership, the United States Senate dropped the charges in 1799 on the grounds that no further action could be taken beyond his dismissal. This set an important precedent for the future with regard to the limitations on actions which could be taken by U.S. Congress against its members and former members.

Bayard also played an important part in the

So effective was Bayard in opposing Jefferson's administration that an all-out effort was made by the Democratic-Republicans to defeat him in his attempt at a fourth term in 1802. Caesar Augustus Rodney, nephew of the Revolutionary President of Delaware Caesar Rodney, defeated Bayard by 15 votes. However, two years later, in 1804, the result was reversed with Bayard besting Rodney. In the best Delaware tradition, the two remained friends throughout their electoral rivalry.

Although re-elected to the U.S. House in 1804, Bayard never returned there, because before the term began, on November 13, 1804, he was elected by the Delaware General Assembly as U.S. Senator, filling the vacancy caused by the resignation of William H. Wells. He began a term of his own the following March 1805, was reelected six years later in 1810, and served in the Senate until his resignation on March 3, 1813.^[1]

By his admission, it mattered little who represented Delaware, given the smallness of the state; if the two senators and one representative happened to be all Federalists, all the better, since the party was in a considerable minority by the decade of the 1800s. Like most of his party, Bayard opposed "Mr. Madison's War" as the War of 1812 was sometimes scornfully called, but like the Democratic-Republicans, he was outraged at the British actions on the high seas and recognized the need for action. As the possibility of war became more likely, he urged caution, thinking of the lack of preparedness of the army and navy and especially of the vulnerability of coastal Delaware. On June 17, 1812, he was one of 13 senators to vote against declaring war on Britain. However, once the war began he and all Delaware Federalists wholeheartedly supported the war effort, avoiding the suspicion of treason earned by Federalists in New England.

Because of that support, he was the only Federalist appointed as one of the peace commissioners who eventually negotiated the Treaty of Ghent. Resigning his Senate seat, he went to Europe and played a major role in the negotiations that ended the War of 1812 when the treaty was signed in December 1814. John Quincy Adams, head of the American negotiating team, praised Bayard:

Of the five members of the American mission, the Chevalier [Bayard] has the most perfect control of his temper, the most deliberate coolness; and it is the more meritorious because it is real self-command. His feelings are as quick and his spirits as high as those of any one among us, but he certainly has them more under government.^[6]

Subsequently, President James Madison offered him an appointment as Minister to Russia, but Bayard declined, believing a Federalist could hardly represent a Democratic-Republican administration.

Bayard was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in July 1815.^[7] His disposition on membership is unknown, as no known correspondence confirms or denies his interest, and his death was only a few weeks after his election, and a few days after his return from Europe.

After spending several months in Europe, Bayard returned home in the summer of 1815. During the trip, he developed an inflamed throat and became critically ill. He lived only five days after his return and died at Wilmington. He was originally buried on Bohemia Manor, in Cecil County, Maryland. In 1842 his remains were removed, along with those of his father-in-law, Richard Bassett, and reburied in the Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery in Wilmington. Bayard was the father of two U.S. Senators, Richard H. Bayard and James A. Bayard Jr., grandfather of another, Thomas F. Bayard Sr. and great-grandfather of another, Thomas F. Bayard Jr.^[1]

He was sometimes known as The Chevalier, the Goliath of his Party, and High Priest of the Constitution.

Elections were held on the first Tuesday of October. U.S. Representatives took office on March 4 and have a two-year term. The General Assembly chose the U.S. Senators for six years which also began on March 4. In this case, he was initially completing the existing term, the vacancy caused by the resignation of William H. Wells.