Aaron Ogden

Aaron Ogden

Aaron Ogden (born December 3, 1756 in Elizabeth , Province of New Jersey , † April 19, 1839 in Jersey City , New Jersey ) was an American politician .

Life

Early life

The youngest son of Robert Ogden and Phebe Hatfield received his academic training at what is now Princeton University , where he graduated in 1773. He then worked for two years, until 1775, as a teacher at a primary school in Barber (New Jersey).

From 1775 Ogden fought as a soldier in the American Revolutionary War . His brother Matthias Ogden (1754–1791), who was two years older than him, initially served as lieutenant colonel . During the course of the war, Aaron Ogden himself was promoted several times, from lieutenant to captain and finally to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Ogden was wounded at the Battle of Yorktown in the fall of 1781.

After the war, Ogden began studying law , which he was able to successfully complete in 1784 with his admission to the bar . He then began practicing as a lawyer in his native Elizabeth. In 1785 he was appointed Essex County District Attorney , an office Ogden held for 18 years until 1803.

Political career

A member of the Federalists' Party, Ogden first attracted attention in 1796 when he was one of the 71 electors who elected John Adams as the 2nd President of the United States. But it would be another five years before he was elected as his successor to the United States Senate after the resignation of US Senator James Schureman . Ogden, who took office on February 28, 1801, served for two years until March 3, 1803.

After that, Ogden withdrew from politics for almost a decade. In 1803 he was elected Treasurer of his university, Princeton University, an office that Ogden held for 36 years, until his death.

In 1812 Ogden announced his candidacy for governor of New Jersey, successfully ousting Joseph Bloomfield , incumbent of the Democratic Republican Party . The new governor took office on October 29, 1812, but held it exactly one year to the day, until October 29, 1813. After unsuccessful re-election, he turned his back on the life of a politician. Most recently, US President James Madison wanted to appoint Ogden as Secretary of War in 1813, but the latter refused.

Entrepreneur

After retiring as a politician founded Ogden with his business partner Daniel Dod a small shipping company of steamships between Elizabeth and New York City wrong. However, Ogden soon ran into problems when Fulton-Livingston , another shipping company, declared a monopoly in the waters of New York. In New Jersey there was also Thomas Gibbons, another shipowner who also saw his supremacy in New Jersey in danger. The case landed in 1824 under the name Gibbons v. Ogden before the Supreme Court . Ogden lost the case because Fulton-Livingston and Gibbons had already established themselves as shipowners before him. As a result, Ogden went bankrupt in the mid-1820s.

He then moved to Jersey City in 1829, where he spent the last 10 years of his life. He died at the age of 82.

Private life

Aaron Ogden was married to Elizabeth Chetwood since October 27, 1787; the couple had seven children, five daughters and two sons.

Ogden's nephew Daniel Haines was a member of the Democratic Party from 1843 to 1845 and from 1848 to 1851 also governor of New Jersey.

Web links

• Aaron Ogden in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Aaron Ogden in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• Aaron Ogden in the National Governors Association (English)