View source for James A. Bayard, 1767

'''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.<ref name="CongBio">{{cite web | url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000249 | title=BAYARD, James Asheton, Sr. | publisher=United States Congress | work=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress | accessdate=5 December 2013}}</ref>

==Early life and family==
{{see also |Bayard family}}
Bayard was born in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], son of Dr. James Asheton Bayard and Ann Hodge. The Bayards descended from a sister of Dutch Director-General [[Petrus Stuyvesant]] and came to Bohemia Manor, Cecil County, Maryland in 1698. Upon the premature death of his parents, the younger James went to live with his uncle, Colonel [[John Bubenheim Bayard]], in Philadelphia. He graduated from [[Princeton College]] in 1784, studied law under General Joseph Reed and Jared Ingersoll, was admitted to the Delaware Bar in 1787, and began a practice in Wilmington, Delaware. Bayard married February 11, 1795, Ann or Nancy Bassett, the daughter of wealthy Delaware lawyer and U.S. Senator [[Richard Bassett (Delaware politician)|Richard Bassett]]. They had six children, [[Richard H. Bayard|Richard]], Caroline, [[James A. Bayard Jr.|James Jr.]], Edward, Mary, and Henry M. and lived on the southwest corner of 3rd and French Street in Wilmington.<ref name="CongBio"/>

==U.S. House of Representatives==
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 managers appointed in 1798 to conduct the impeachment proceedings against [[William Blount]], a U.S. Senator from Tennessee.<ref name="CongBio"/> 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 [[U.S. presidential election, 1800|U.S. presidential election of 1800]]. With the vote tied in the Electoral College, it was a group of Federalists led by Bayard who broke the deadlock by agreeing to allow the election of Thomas Jefferson by the House of Representatives.<ref name="TiH">{{cite web|title=Today in History – February 17|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/february-17|publisher=Library of Congress|accessdate=June 5, 2017}}</ref> When it seemed the Federalists were about to vote for [[Aaron Burr]], Bayard is believed to have followed the advice of [[Alexander Hamilton]] and persuaded his Federalist colleagues to abstain from voting. It was also believed he struck a deal with the incoming Jefferson, to refrain from the wholesale removal of Federalists from appointed positions. The young Bayard enlisted Representative [[Samuel Smith (Maryland)]] to deal with Jefferson on Federalist control of the Philadelphia and Wilmington custom offices.<ref>Ackerman, Bruce (2005). THe Failure of the Founding Fathers: Jefferson, Marshall, and the Rise of Presidential Democracy. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. p. 106. {{ISBN|0674018664}}. Borden, Morton (1954). The Federalism of James A. Bayard. pp. 91–93.</ref>  While that was never proved, Jefferson allowed the Federalist office holders to remain employed.

Just before John Adams left office as U.S. President he used the provisions of the [[Judiciary Act of 1801]] to make many "midnight" judicial appointments. Among those was Bayard's father-in-law, Richard Bassett. Resigning as Governor of Delaware Bassett took a position as a federal judge, but soon was out of work when Jefferson had the act repealed. Bayard himself declined an appointment as Minister to France offered by President John Adams in 1801.

So effective was Bayard in opposing Jefferson's government that all out effort was made by the Democratic-Republicans to unseat him in his attempt at a fourth term in 1802. [[Caesar Augustus Rodney]], nephew of the Revolutionary President of Delaware [[Caesar Rodney]], beat 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.

==U.S. Senate and Peace Commissioner==
Although 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 until his resignation on March 3, 1813.<ref name="CongBio"/>

By his own admission, it mattered little who represented Delaware, if they were a Federalist, because the party was in such a minority. 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 military and especially of the vulnerability of coastal Delaware. On June 17, 1812, he was one of 13 Senators to vote against declaring war. However, once the war began he and all Delaware Federalists wholeheartedly supported the 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. Subsequently, President James Madison offered him an appointment as Minister to Russia, but Bayard declined, believing a Federalist could hardly well-represent a Democratic-Republican administration.

Bayard was elected a member of the [[American Antiquarian Society]] in July 1815.<ref>[http://www.americanantiquarian.org/memberlistb American Antiquarian Society Members Directory]</ref>  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.

==Death and legacy==
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 (Delaware politician)|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|Thomas F. Bayard Sr.]] and great grandfather of another, [[Thomas F. Bayard Jr.]].<ref name="CongBio"/>

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

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

<br/>
{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |Public Offices
|-
! '''Office'''
! '''Type'''
! '''Location'''
! '''Began office'''
! '''Ended office'''
! '''notes''' 
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Masonic}}
|[[U.S. House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]]
|[[Legislature]]
|[[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]]
|March 4, 1797
|March 3, 1799
|
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Masonic}}
|[[U.S. House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]]
|[[Legislature]]
|[[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]]
|March 4, 1799
|March 3, 1801
|
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Masonic}}
|[[U.S. House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]]
|[[Legislature]]
|[[Washington, D.C.|Washington]]
|March 4, 1801
|March 3, 1803
|
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Masonic}}
|[[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]]
|[[Legislature]]
|[[Washington, D.C.|Washington]]
|January 15, 1805
|March 3, 1805
|<ref>elected to fill vacancy caused by resignation of William H. Wells</ref>
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Masonic}}
|[[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]]
|[[Legislature]]
|[[Washington, D.C.|Washington]]
|March 4, 1805
|March 3, 1811
|
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Masonic}}
|[[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]]
|[[Legislature]]
|[[Washington, D.C.|Washington]]
|March 4, 1811
|March 3, 1813
|
|}

{|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/Federalist}}
|1797–1799
|[[5th United States Congress|5th]]
|[[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House]]
|[[Federalist Party (United States)|Federalist]]
|[[John Adams]]
|
|[[Delaware's At-large congressional district|''at-large'']]
|-{{Party shading/Federalist}}
|1799–1801
|[[6th United States Congress|6th]]
|[[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House]]
|[[Federalist Party (United States)|Federalist]]
|[[John Adams]]
|
|[[Delaware's At-large congressional district|''at-large'']]
|-{{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}}
|1801–1803
|[[7th United States Congress|7th]]
|[[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House]]
|[[Democratic-Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|[[Thomas Jefferson]]
|
|[[Delaware's At-large congressional district|''at-large'']]
|-{{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}}
|1803–1805
|[[8th United States Congress|8th]]
|[[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]]
|[[Democratic-Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|[[Thomas Jefferson]]
|
|[[Classes of United States Senators|''class 2'']]
|-{{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}}
|1805–1807
|[[9th United States Congress|9th]]
|[[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]]
|[[Democratic-Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|[[Thomas Jefferson]]
|
|[[Classes of United States Senators|''class 2'']]
|-{{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}}
|1807–1809
|[[10th United States Congress|10th]]
|[[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]]
|[[Democratic-Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|[[Thomas Jefferson]]
|
|[[Classes of United States Senators|''class 2'']]
|-{{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}}
|1809–1811
|[[11th United States Congress|11th]]
|[[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]]
|[[Democratic-Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|[[James Madison]]
|
|[[Classes of United States Senators|''class 2'']]
|-{{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}}
|1811–1813
|[[12th United States Congress|12th]]
|[[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]]
|[[Democratic-Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|[[James Madison]]
|
|[[Classes of United States Senators|''class 2'']]
|}

{|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'''
!'''%'''
|-
|[[United States House elections, 1796|1796]]
|[[U.S. House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]]
|
|{{Party shading/Federalist}} |James A. Bayard
|{{Party shading/Federalist}} |[[Federalist Party (United States)|Federalist]]
|{{Party shading/Federalist}} |2,292
|{{Party shading/Federalist}} |56%
|
|{{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}} |William Peery
|{{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}} |[[Democratic-Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|{{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}} |1,783
|{{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}} |44%
|-
|[[United States House elections, 1798|1798]]
|[[U.S. House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]]
|
|{{Party shading/Federalist}} |James A. Bayard
|{{Party shading/Federalist}} |[[Federalist Party (United States)|Federalist]]
|{{Party shading/Federalist}} |2,792
|{{Party shading/Federalist}} |61%
|
|{{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}} |[[Archibald Alexander (Delaware)|Archibald Alexander]]
|{{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}} |[[Democratic-Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|{{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}} |2,142
|{{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}} |39%
|-
|[[United States House elections, 1800|1800]]
|[[U.S. House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]]
|
|{{Party shading/Federalist}} |James A. Bayard
|{{Party shading/Federalist}} |[[Federalist Party (United States)|Federalist]]
|{{Party shading/Federalist}} |2,674
|{{Party shading/Federalist}} |53%
|
|{{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}} |[[John Patten (American politician)|John Patten]]
|{{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}} |[[Democratic-Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|{{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}} |2,340
|{{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}} |47%
|-
|[[United States House elections, 1802|1802]]
|[[U.S. House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]]
|
|{{Party shading/Federalist}} |James A. Bayard
|{{Party shading/Federalist}} |[[Federalist Party (United States)|Federalist]]
|{{Party shading/Federalist}} |3,406
|{{Party shading/Federalist}} |50%
|
|{{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}} |[[Caesar A. Rodney]]
|{{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}} |[[Democratic-Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|{{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}} |3,421
|{{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}} |50%
|-
|[[United States House elections, 1804|1804]]
|[[U.S. House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]]
|
|{{Party shading/Federalist}} |James A. Bayard
|{{Party shading/Federalist}} |[[Federalist Party (United States)|Federalist]]
|{{Party shading/Federalist}} |4,398
|{{Party shading/Federalist}} |52%
|
|{{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}} |[[Caesar A. Rodney]]
|{{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}} |[[Democratic-Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|{{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}} |4,038
|{{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}} |48%
|}

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite book |last = Hoffecker |first = Carol E |authorlink = |coauthors = |year = 2004 |title = Democracy in Delaware |publisher = Cedar Tree Books |location = Wilmington, DE |isbn = 1-892142-23-6}}
*{{cite book |last = Martin |first = Roger A. |authorlink = |coauthors = |year = 1995 |title = Memoirs of the Senate |publisher = Roger A. Martin |location = Newark, DE |id =}}
*{{cite book |last = Martin |first = Roger A. |authorlink = |coauthors = |year = 2003 |title = Delawareans in Congress |publisher = Roger A. Martin |location = Middletown, DE |isbn = 0-924117-26-5}}
*{{cite book |last = Munroe |first = John A. |authorlink = |coauthors = |year = 2004 |title = The Philadelawareans |publisher = University of Delaware Press |location = Newark |isbn = 0-87413-872-8}}
*{{cite book |last = Munroe |first = John A. |authorlink = |coauthors = |year = 1954 |title = Federalist Delaware 1775-1815 |publisher = Rutgers University |location = New Brunswick, NJ|id =}}
*{{cite book |author=Munroe, John A. |title=History of Delaware |publisher=University of Delaware Press |year=1993 |isbn=0-87413-493-5}}

==External links==
*[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000249 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress ]
*[http://www.russpickett.com/history/sentbio.htm#bayard1 Delaware's Members of Congress]
*{{FAG|7503341}}
*[http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/bay-bazzle.html#R9M0IOYEF The Political Graveyard]
*{{Cite Appletons'|wstitle=Bayard, James Asheton|year=1900 |short=x |notaref=x}}

==Places with more information==
*[[Delaware Historical Society]]; [https://web.archive.org/web/19961231010053/http://hsd.org/ website]; 505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161
*[[University of Delaware]]; [http://www.lib.udel.edu/ Library website]; 181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831–2965

{{s-start}}
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{{US House succession box |
 state=Delaware|
 district=AL |
 before=[[John Patten (American politician)|John Patten]] |
 after=[[Caesar A. Rodney]] |
 years=1797–1803
}}
{{s-par|us-sen}}
{{U.S. Senator box
|state=Delaware
|class=2
|before=[[William H. Wells]]
|years=1804–1813
|after=[[William H. Wells]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{USSenDE}}
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{{Government of Delaware}}
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{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayard, James A., I}}
[[Category:1767 births]]
[[Category:1815 deaths]]
[[Category:Bayard family|James A., I]]
[[Category:18th-century American Episcopalians]]
[[Category:19th-century American Episcopalians]]
[[Category:Burials at Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery]]
[[Category:People from Wilmington, Delaware]]
[[Category:Princeton University alumni]]
[[Category:Delaware lawyers]]
[[Category:Delaware Federalists]]
[[Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Delaware]]
[[Category:United States senators from Delaware]]
[[Category:Federalist Party United States senators]]
[[Category:People of colonial Delaware]]
[[Category:Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Politicians from Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Members of the American Antiquarian Society]]