Editing Caesar Rodney (section)

==American Revolution==
Rodney joined McKean as a delegate to the [[Stamp Act 1765|Stamp Act]] Congress in 1765 and was a leader of the Delaware [[Committees of correspondence|Committee of Correspondence]].<ref name=Han>{{cite book|last1=Hancock|first1=Harold B|title=County committees and the growth of independence in the three lower counties on the Delaware, 1765–1776|date=1973|pages=269–94}}</ref> He began his service in the Assembly of Delaware in the 1761/1762 session and continued in office through the 1775/1776 session. Several times he served as speaker, including the momentous day of June 15, 1776, when "with Rodney in the chair and Thomas McKean leading the debate on the floor," the Assembly of Delaware voted to sever all ties with the British Parliament and King.<ref name=Hist>{{cite book|last1=Ryden|first1=George Herbert|title=Letters to and from Caesar Rodney|date=1933|publisher=Historical Society of Delaware|page=4}}</ref>

[[File:Declaration of Independence (1819), by John Trumbull.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Declaration of Independence (Trumbull)|Declaration of Independence]]'', by [[John Trumbull]] (1818) portrays the presentation of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] to Congress. Rodney is not depicted.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanrevolution.org/deckey.html|title=Key to Declaration|work=americanrevolution.org|access-date=19 October 2015}}</ref>]]

[[File:Delaware quarter, reverse side, 1999.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Caesar Rodney on the 1999 Delaware State Quarter.]]
Rodney served in the Continental Congress along with McKean and Read from 1774 through 1776.<ref name=Dssi /> Rodney was in Dover tending to [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Loyalist]] activity in Sussex County when he received word from McKean that he and Read were deadlocked on the vote for independence. To break the deadlock, Rodney rode 70 miles through a thunderstorm on the night of July 1, 1776, arriving in Philadelphia "in his boots and spurs" on July 2, just as the voting had begun.<ref name=Hist /> He voted with McKean and thereby allowed Delaware to join eleven other states in voting in favor of the resolution of independence. The wording of the Declaration of Independence was approved two days later; Rodney signed it on August 2. Backlash in Delaware led to Rodney's electoral defeat in Kent County for a seat in the upcoming Delaware Constitutional Convention and the new Delaware General Assembly.<ref name=Hist /><ref>Wilson, Timothy James. ''"Old Offenders": Loyalists in the Lower Delmarva Peninsula, 1775–1800'', p. 197</ref>

[[File:Caesar Rodney square.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.4|[[Equestrian statue of Caesar Rodney]] on [[Rodney Square]]. (Removed from its pedestal at least temporarily on June 12, 2020. Location currently unknown.)<ref>{{Cite web|last=Greene|first=Mike Phillips, Sean|title=Wilmington's Caesar Rodney and Christopher Columbus statues come down|url=https://www.wdel.com/news/wilmingtons-caesar-rodney-and-christopher-columbus-statues-come-down/article_17d3295a-acd0-11ea-aa20-1ffff6f97c7a.html|access-date=2020-06-13|website=WDEL 101.7FM|date=12 June 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Wilmington removing, at least for now, Columbus and Caesar Rodney statues|url=https://whyy.org/articles/wilmingtons-statues-of-columbus-and-caesar-rodney-coming-down-at-least-for-now/|access-date=2020-06-13|website=WHYY|language=en-US}}</ref>]]
Upon learning of the death of his friend [[John Haslet]] at the [[Battle of Princeton]], Rodney rushed to the [[Continental Army]] to try to fill his place. Haslet was succeeded as colonel by David Hall as General [[George Washington]] returned Rodney home to be Delaware's wartime governor and major-general of Delaware militia. The regiment Haslet had built was virtually destroyed at the [[Battle of Camden]] in 1780.<ref>{{cite web|title=Delaware Military History|url=http://www.militaryheritage.org/Haslet.html|website=Military Heritage|access-date=20 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325160453/http://www.militaryheritage.org/Haslet.html|archive-date=25 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> Rodney, as major-general of the Delaware militia, protected the state from British military intrusions and controlled continued Loyalist activity, particularly in Sussex County, site of the [[1780 Black Camp Rebellion]].

Amidst the catastrophic events following the [[Battle of Brandywine]] and the British occupation of [[Wilmington, Delaware|Wilmington]] and Philadelphia, a new General Assembly was elected in October 1777. First, it promptly put Rodney and McKean back into the Continental Congress. Then, with state President [[John McKinly]] in captivity and President George Read completely exhausted, they elected Rodney as President of Delaware on March 31, 1778. The office did not have the authority of a modern governor in the United States, so Rodney's success came from his popularity with the General Assembly, where the real authority lay, and from the loyalty of the [[Delaware National Guard|Delaware militia]], which was the only means of enforcing that authority. Via his distant Italian heritage, one source has identified Rodney as the first Italian-American governor of a U.S. state.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Frank J.|last=Cavaioli|title=Italian-American Governors|journal=Italian Americana|volume=25|number=2|pages=133–159}}</ref>

Meanwhile, Rodney scoured the state for money, supplies and soldiers to support the national war effort. Delaware Continentals had fought well in many battles from the [[Battle of Long Island]] to the [[Battle of Monmouth]], but in 1780 the army suffered its worst defeat at the [[Battle of Camden]] in South Carolina. The regiment was nearly destroyed and the remnant was so reduced it could only fight with a Maryland regiment for the remainder of the war. Rodney had done much to stabilize the situation, but his health was worsening, and he resigned his office on November 6, 1781, just after the conclusive [[Siege of Yorktown|Battle of Yorktown]].

Rodney was elected by the Delaware General Assembly to the [[United States Congress]] under the [[Articles of Confederation]] in 1782 and 1783 but was unable to attend because of ill health. However, two years after leaving the state presidency he was elected to the 1783/84 session of the Legislative Council and, as a final gesture of respect, the council selected him to be their speaker. His health was now in rapid decline and even though the Legislative Council met at his home for a short time, he died before the session ended.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|- bgcolor="#cccccc"
! colspan="12" style="background: #ccccff;" |'''[[Delaware General Assembly]]''' <br /> <small> ''(sessions while President)''</small>
|-
!'''Year'''
!'''Assembly'''
!
!'''Senate Majority'''
!'''Speaker'''
!
!'''House Majority'''
!'''Speaker'''
|-
|1777/78
|[[Delaware General Assembly|2nd]]
|
| {{Party shading/Federalist}} |''Non-partisan''
| {{Party shading/Federalist}} |[[George Read (American politician, born 1733)|George Read]]
|
| {{Party shading/Federalist}} |''Non-partisan''
| {{Party shading/Federalist}} |Samuel West
|-
|1778/79
|[[Delaware General Assembly|3rd]]
|
| {{Party shading/Federalist}} |''Non-partisan''
| {{Party shading/Federalist}} |[[Thomas Collins (governor)|Thomas Collins]]
|
| {{Party shading/Federalist}} |''Non-partisan''
| {{Party shading/Federalist}} |Simon Kollock
|-
|1779/80
|[[Delaware General Assembly|4th]]
|
| {{Party shading/Federalist}} |''Non-partisan''
| {{Party shading/Federalist}} |John Clowes
|
| {{Party shading/Federalist}} |''Non-partisan''
| {{Party shading/Federalist}} |Simon Kollock
|-
|1780/81
|[[Delaware General Assembly|5th]]
|
| {{Party shading/Federalist}} |''Non-partisan''
| {{Party shading/Federalist}} | John Clowes
|
| {{Party shading/Federalist}} |''Non-partisan''
| {{Party shading/Federalist}} |Simon Kollock
|}[[File:CloseUpConstitutionNames.JPG|thumb|The [[Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence]] in Washington, D.C., Rodney's depicted signature is at the upper left]]