James A. Bayard Jr.

James A. Bayard Jr.

James Asheton Bayard Jr. (born November 15, 1799 in Wilmington , Delaware , †  June 13, 1880 ibid) was an American politician ( Democratic Party ) who represented the state of Delaware in the US Senate .

Life

James Bayard came from a family that produced numerous well-known politicians. His father of the same name sat from 1804 to 1813 as a federalist in the Senate, which also included his older brother Richard and later his son Thomas F. Bayard and his son Thomas . The elder Thomas Bayard was also the United States Secretary of State . His great-grandson Alexis Bayard eventually became Lieutenant Governor of Delaware.

After graduating from high school and studying law , James Bayard was inducted into the bar and began practicing in Wilmington. From 1838 to 1843 he served as the state attorney for Delaware. In 1851 he was then elected by the Delaware General Assembly to the US Senate in Washington , where he remained after two re-elections from March 4, 1851 to January 29, 1864. On that day he resigned from his mandate. During his first tenure as Senator, he chaired the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds and the Justice Committee .

Bayard was considered a conservative politician. In the run-up to the civil war , he believed that the breakaway southern states had the right to go their own way. He also emphasized the property rights of the slave owners , which is why he was critical of abolitionism . Although he was against secession of his own state from the Union, he was also in clear opposition to the war efforts of the federal government under President Abraham Lincoln . He resigned as senator because he was unwilling to take the required oath of loyalty; He condemned this as not covered by the constitution.

Than that for him in the Congress Incoming George R. Riddle died on March 29, 1867, the Bayard since been working as a lawyer in Wilmington was appointed as his successor. He also won the by-election due for the remainder of the legislative term and served a second term in the Senate from April 5, 1867 to March 3, 1869. In the impeachment proceedings against President Andrew Johnson , he voted against his impeachment . He decided not to be re-elected. Until his death in June 1880, Bayard practiced again as a lawyer in his hometown. He was buried in the Old Swedes Episcopal Church Cemetery in Wilmington.

Web links

• James A. Bayard in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• James A. Bayard junior in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• The Senators from Delaware