Editing Caesar Rodney

{{short description|American Founding Father and politician}}
{{about|the lawyer and politician from late 18th-century Delaware|his nephew, the US Attorney General|Caesar Augustus Rodney}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = 
| name                = Caesar Rodney
| honorific-suffix    = 
| image               = CaesarRodney (cropped).jpeg
| image_size          = 150
| caption             = 20th-century image; no contemporary portrait exists.<ref name="ANB">John A. Munroe. "Rodney, Caesar"; ''[[American National Biography Online]]'', February 2000.</ref>
| office              = [[List of governors of Delaware|4th President of Delaware]]
| term_start          = March 31, 1778
| term_end            = November 6, 1781
| predecessor         = [[George Read (American politician, born 1733)|George Read]]
| successor           = [[John Dickinson]]
| office2             = [[Continental Congress|Continental Congressman<br />from Delaware]]
| term_start2         = August 2, 1774
| term_end2           = November 7, 1776
| predecessor2        = 
| successor2          = 
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1728|10|7|mf=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Kent County, Delaware|Kent County]], [[Delaware Colony]]
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1784|6|26|1728|10|7}}
| death_place         = [[Kent County, Delaware|Kent County]], [[Delaware]]
| resting_place       = [[Kent County, Delaware|Kent County]], [[Delaware]]
| spouse              = 
| party               = [[Independent politician|Independent]]
| alma_mater          = 
| occupation          = 
| profession          = politician, lawyer
| signature           = C Rodney Signature.svg
| branch              = [[Delaware Army National Guard|Delaware Militia]]
| battles             = {{tree list}}
*[[American Revolutionary War]]
**[[1780 Black Camp Rebellion]]
{{tree list/end}}
| rank                = Major General
}}

'''Caesar Rodney''' (October 7, 1728 – June 26, 1784)<ref name=HouseBio>{{cite book |title=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774–2005 |last=U. S. House of Representatives |year=2005 |publisher=Joint Committee on Printing |location=Washington, D. C. |page=1828 |url=http://www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/cdocuments/hd108-222/r.pdf |access-date=July 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112212804/http://www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/cdocuments/hd108-222/r.pdf |archive-date=January 12, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> was an  American [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Father]], lawyer, and politician from [[St. Jones Neck]] in [[Dover Hundred]], [[Kent County, Delaware]]. He was an officer of the Delaware militia during the [[French and Indian War]] and the [[American Revolutionary War]], a [[Continental Congress]]man from Delaware, a signer of the [[Continental Association]] and [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]], and [[List of governors of Delaware|president of Delaware]] during most of the [[American Revolution]].

==Rodney family and early years==
{{see also |Rodney family of Delaware}}
[[File:Coat of Arms of Caesar Rodney.svg|175px|thumb|left|Coat of Arms of Caesar Rodney]]
Rodney was born on October 7, 1728, on his family's plantation, "[[Byfield Historic District|Byfield]]", on St. Jones Neck in [[East Dover Hundred]], Kent County, Delaware. Caesar was the eldest son of 2 children of Caesar and Elizabeth Crawford Rodney and grandson of William Rodney. William Rodney emigrated to the American colonies in 1681–1682, along with [[William Penn]],<ref name="Dssi">{{cite web|last1=Jackson|first1=Thomas Clark|date=2011-11-30|title=Caesar Rodney|url=http://www.dsdi1776.com/signers-by-state/caesar-rodney/|access-date=14 January 2016|website=2016 The Society of the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence}}</ref> and was speaker of the Colonial Assembly of the [[Delaware Colony|Delaware Counties]] in 1704.<ref name=Dssi /><ref name="Unvel">{{cite book |last1=Bayard |first1=Thomas |title=Proceedings on Unveiling the Monument to Caesar Rodney, and the Oration Delivered on the Occasion by Thomas F. Bayard, at Dover Delaware, October 30th, 1889 |date=30 October 1889 |publisher=Delaware Printing Company |location=Dover Delaware |page=13}}</ref> Rodney's mother was the daughter of the Rev. Thomas Crawford, Anglican rector of Christ Church at Dover.<ref name=Dssi /> Among the Rodney family ancestors were the prominent Adelmare family in [[Treviso|Treviso, Italy]],<ref name=Ital>{{cite journal|last1=McCormick|first1=David|title=Freedom's Ride|journal=Italian America|date=1 October 2014|pmid=59123|volume=2|issue=7975|pages=51|doi=10.1016/s0140-6736(76)93018-x|s2cid=36237366}}<!--|access-date=14 January 2016--></ref> as attested by genealogy studies.<ref>''The Italic Way'', Vol. XLII, p. 12, 2016</ref>

Byfield was an 849-acre farm worked by enslaved labor.<ref>Delaware Public Archives, Sheriff's sale April 9, 1791 confirms acreage but does not include mention of enslaved persons associated with the property.</ref> The Rodneys were, by the standards of the day, prosperous members of the local [[gentry]].  The farm earned sufficient income from the sale of wheat and barley to the [[Philadelphia]] and [[West Indies]] markets to provide enough cash and leisure to allow members of the family to participate in the social and political life of Kent County.<ref name="Dssi" /> At Rodney's death, he enslaved 18 people. His will manumitted three of advanced age upon his death, and held the others to a manumission schedule he devised.<ref>Public Archives picture of Caesar Rodney's will</ref> 

Caesar was educated when he was 13 or 14 years old. He attended The Latin School, part of the academy and the [[College of Philadelphia]] (now known as University of Pennsylvania) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Latin School and the College of Philadelphia, 1751–1791 &#124; Department of Classical Studies|url=https://www.classics.upenn.edu/department-history/latin-school-and-college-philadelphia-1751%E2%80%931791}}</ref> until his father's death. Caesar was the only one of the Rodney children to receive anything approaching a formal education.<ref name="Deck" /> Caesar Rodney's father died in 1746, and Caesar's guardianship was entrusted to Delaware Supreme Court Justice [[Nicholas Ridgely (born 1694)|Nicholas Ridgely]] by the Delaware Orphan's Court.<ref name="Dssi" />

==Professional and political career==
[[Thomas Rodney]] described his brother at this time as having a "great fund of wit and humor of the pleasing kind, so that his conversation was always bright and strong and conducted by wisdom..."<ref name="Deck">{{cite book|last1=Decker|first1=Ann|title=The coalition of the two brothers : Caesar and Thomas Rodney and the making of the American Revolution in Delaware|date=7 December 2005|publisher= Theses and Dissertations. Paper 918.|location=Lehigh University|page=19}}</ref> He lived as a bachelor, was generally esteemed and was indeed very popular. He had professed his love and affection for several Delaware ladies at various times but was never a successful suitor.<ref name="Dssi" />  Accordingly, he easily moved into the political world formerly occupied by his father and guardian.

At age twenty-seven in 1755, he was elected sheriff of Kent County and served the maximum three years allowed.<ref name=Dssi /> This was a powerful and financially rewarding position, in that it supervised elections and chose the grand jurors who set the county tax rate. After serving his three years, he was appointed to a series of positions including Register of Wills, Recorder of Deeds, Clerk of the Orphan's Court, Justice of the Peace, and judge in the lower courts. During the French and Indian War, he was commissioned captain of the [[Dover Hundred]] company in Col. John Vining's regiment of the Delaware militia.<ref name=Mar>{{cite book|last1=Marchi|first1=Daniel H|title=Past Future Power Belongs to the Reserved Power Clause|date=30 October 2013|publisher=AuthorHouse|page=364}}</ref> They never saw active service. From 1769 through 1777, he was an associate justice of the [[Delaware Supreme Court|Supreme Court of the Lower Counties]].

Eighteenth-century Delaware was politically divided into loose factions known as the "Court Party" and the "Country Party."<ref name=Mar /> The majority Court Party was generally Anglican, strongest in Kent and [[Sussex County, Delaware|Sussex]] Counties, worked well with the colonial proprietary government, and was in favor of reconciliation with the British government. The minority Country Party was largely [[Ulster Scots people|Ulster-Scot]], centered in [[New Castle County, Delaware|New Castle County]], and quickly advocated independence from the British. In spite of being members of the Anglican Kent County gentry, Rodney and his brother Thomas increasingly aligned themselves with the Country Party, a distinct minority in Kent County.<ref name=Mar /> As such, he generally worked in partnership with [[Thomas McKean]] from New Castle County and in opposition to [[George Read (American politician, born 1733)|George Read]].

==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]]

== Death and legacy ==
Rodney was tormented throughout his life by asthma, and his adult years were plagued by a facial cancer. He experienced expensive, painful, and futile medical treatments for the cancer.<ref name="Dssi" /> Caesar wore a green scarf to hide his disfigured face.<ref name="Deck" /> He died from the disease after eight years.<ref name="Dssi" /> His body is buried at an unmarked grave on his beloved farm, "Poplar Grove" (known as "Byfield" today). While there is a marker that appears to be a gravestone for Caesar Rodney at Christ Episcopal Church, this is merely a monument. Many sources cite that he is buried there; however, most Delaware historians believe that the remains of one of Rodney's unidentified relatives is buried there instead.<ref name="Dssi" /> Rodney actually is buried in an unmarked grave in his family's unmarked plot on their former 800-acre farm east of [[Dover Air Force Base]].<ref name="Delonline">{{cite news|last1=brown|first1=robin|date=24 April 2007|title=Where is Caesar Rodney really buried?|publisher=Gannett Company|agency=Delaware online newspaper|url=http://archive.delawareonline.com/article/20070424/NEWS12/704240394/Where-Caesar-Rodney-really-buried-|url-status=dead|access-date=14 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151211151305/http://archive.delawareonline.com/article/20070424/NEWS12/704240394/Where-Caesar-Rodney-really-buried-|archive-date=11 December 2015}}</ref>

The [[Caesar Rodney School District]] in Delaware is named after him.<ref>{{cite web|title=The District 1915-1940's|url=https://www.crk12.org/domain/843|publisher=[[Caesar Rodney School District]]|accessdate=2021-06-16}}</ref>

== Positions held ==
[[File:Rodney NSHC.jpg|right|upright|thumb|200px|''[[Caesar Rodney (Baker)|Caesar Rodney]]'', by [[Bryant Baker]], is exhibited in the [[National Statuary Hall Collection]]]]
Elections were held October 1 and members of the General Assembly took office on October 20 or the following weekday. The State Legislative Council was created in 1776 and its Legislative Councilmen had a three-year term. State Assemblymen had a one-year term. The whole General Assembly chose the Continental Congressmen for a one-year term and the State President for a three-year term. The county sheriff also had a three-year term. Associate Justices of the state Supreme Court were also selected by the General Assembly for the life of the person appointed.

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=8 style="background: #ccccff;" | Public offices
|-
! '''Office'''
! '''Type'''
! '''Location'''
! '''Began office'''
! '''Ended office'''
! '''Notes'''
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Administration}}
|[[Sheriff]]
|[[Executive (government)|Executive]]
|[[Dover, Delaware|Dover]]
|October 1, 1755
|October 1, 1756
|[[Kent County, Delaware|Kent County]]
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Administration}}
|[[Sheriff]]
|[[Executive (government)|Executive]]
|[[Dover, Delaware|Dover]]
|October 1, 1756
|October 1, 1757
|[[Kent County, Delaware|Kent County]]
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Administration}}
|[[Sheriff]]
|[[Executive (government)|Executive]]
|[[Dover, Delaware|Dover]]
|October 1, 1757
|October 2, 1758
|[[Kent County, Delaware|Kent County]]
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Administration}}
|[[Justice of the Peace]]
|[[Judiciary]]
|[[New Castle, Delaware|New Castle]]
|1759
|1769
|[[Delaware Court of Common Pleas|Court of Common Pleas]]
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Jacksonian}}
|[[Delaware House of Representatives|Assemblyman]]
|[[Legislature]]
|[[New Castle, Delaware|New Castle]]
|October 20, 1761
|October 20, 1762
|
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Jacksonian}}
|[[Delaware House of Representatives|Assemblyman]]
|[[Legislature]]
|[[New Castle, Delaware|New Castle]]
|October 20, 1762
|October 20, 1763
|
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Jacksonian}}
|[[Delaware House of Representatives|Assemblyman]]
|[[Legislature]]
|[[New Castle, Delaware|New Castle]]
|October 20, 1763
|October 20, 1764
|
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Jacksonian}}
|[[Delaware House of Representatives|Assemblyman]]
|[[Legislature]]
|[[New Castle, Delaware|New Castle]]
|October 20, 1764
|October 20, 1765
|
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Masonic}}
|Delegate
|[[Legislature]]
|[[New York, New York|New York]]
|October 7, 1765
|October 19, 1765
|[[Stamp Act Congress]]<ref>Members of the Delaware Assembly acted unofficially in selecting these delegates as the assembly was not in session.</ref>
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Jacksonian}}
|[[Delaware House of Representatives|Assemblyman]]
|[[Legislature]]
|[[New Castle, Delaware|New Castle]]
|October 20, 1765
|October 20, 1766
|
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Jacksonian}}
|[[Delaware House of Representatives|Assemblyman]]
|[[Legislature]]
|[[New Castle, Delaware|New Castle]]
|October 20, 1766
|October 20, 1767
|
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Jacksonian}}
|[[Delaware House of Representatives|Assemblyman]]
|[[Legislature]]
|[[New Castle, Delaware|New Castle]]
|October 20, 1767
|October 20, 1768
|
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Jacksonian}}
|[[Delaware House of Representatives|Assemblyman]]
|[[Legislature]]
|[[New Castle, Delaware|New Castle]]
|October 20, 1768
|October 20, 1769
|
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Jacksonian}}
|[[Judge|Associate Justice]]
|[[Judiciary]]
|[[New Castle, Delaware|New Castle]]
|1769
|1777
|[[Delaware Supreme Court|Supreme Court]]
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Jacksonian}}
|[[Delaware House of Representatives|Assemblyman]]
|[[Legislature]]
|[[New Castle, Delaware|New Castle]]
|October 20, 1769
|October 20, 1770
|[[Speaker (politics)|Speaker]]
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Jacksonian}}
|[[Delaware House of Representatives|Assemblyman]]
|[[Legislature]]
|[[New Castle, Delaware|New Castle]]
|October 20, 1770
|October 20, 1771
|[[Speaker (politics)|Speaker]]
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Jacksonian}}
|[[Delaware House of Representatives|Assemblyman]]
|[[Legislature]]
|[[New Castle, Delaware|New Castle]]
|October 20, 1771
|October 20, 1772
|
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Jacksonian}}
|[[Delaware House of Representatives|Assemblyman]]
|[[Legislature]]
|[[New Castle, Delaware|New Castle]]
|October 20, 1772
|October 20, 1773
|
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Jacksonian}}
|[[Delaware House of Representatives|Assemblyman]]
|[[Legislature]]
|[[New Castle, Delaware|New Castle]]
|October 20, 1773
|October 20, 1774
|
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Masonic}}
|Delegate
|[[Legislature]]
|[[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]]
|August 2, 1774
|March 16, 1775
|[[Continental Congress]]
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Jacksonian}}
|[[Delaware House of Representatives|Assemblyman]]
|[[Legislature]]
|[[New Castle, Delaware|New Castle]]
|October 20, 1774
|October 20, 1775
|
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Masonic}}
|Delegate
|[[Legislature]]
|[[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]]
|March 16, 1775
|October 21, 1775
|[[Continental Congress]]
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Jacksonian}}
|[[Delaware House of Representatives|Assemblyman]]
|[[Legislature]]
|[[New Castle, Delaware|New Castle]]
|October 20, 1775
|June 15, 1776
|[[Speaker (politics)|Speaker]]
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Masonic}}
|Delegate
|[[Legislature]]
|[[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]]
|October 21, 1775
|November 7, 1776
|[[Continental Congress]]
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Masonic}}
|Delegate
|[[Legislature]]
|[[York, Pennsylvania|York]]
|December 17, 1777
|June 27, 1778
|[[Continental Congress]] (did not serve)
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Masonic}}
|Delegate
|[[Legislature]]
|[[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]]
|July 2, 1778
|January 18, 1779
|[[Continental Congress]] (did not serve)
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Jacksonian}}
|[[List of governors of Delaware|State President]]
|[[Executive (government)|Executive]]
|[[Dover, Delaware|Dover]]
|March 31, 1778
|November 6, 1781
|
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Masonic}}
|Delegate
|[[Legislature]]
|[[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]]
|February 2, 1782
|February 1, 1783
|[[Continental Congress]] (did not serve)
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Masonic}}
|Delegate
|[[Legislature]]
|[[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]]
|February 1, 1783
|June 21, 1783
|[[Continental Congress]] (did not serve)
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Masonic}}
|Delegate
|[[Legislature]]
|[[Princeton, New Jersey|Princeton]]
|June 30, 1783
|November 4, 1783
|[[Continental Congress]] (did not serve)
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Masonic}}
|Delegate
|[[Legislature]]
|[[Annapolis, Maryland|Annapolis]]
|November 26, 1783
|April 8, 1784
|[[Continental Congress]] (did not serve)
|-{{Party shading/Anti-Jacksonian}}
|[[Delaware Senate|Councilman]]
|[[Legislature]]
|[[Dover, Delaware|Dover]]
|October 20, 1783
|June 26, 1784
|
|}

<br />
{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |Delaware General Assembly service
|-
! '''Dates'''
! '''Assembly'''
! '''Chamber'''
! '''Majority'''
! '''Governor'''
! '''Committees'''
! '''District'''
|-{{Party shading/Federalist}}
|1783/84
|[[Delaware General Assembly|8th]]
|[[Delaware Senate|State Council]]
|''Non-partisan''
|[[Nicholas Van Dyke (politician, born 1738)|Nicholas Van Dyke]]
|[[Speaker (politics)|Speaker]]
|[[Kent County, Delaware|''Kent at-large'']]
|}

==In popular culture==
Caesar Rodney appears in the [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] musical ''[[1776 (musical)|1776]]'' and its [[1776 (film)|film adaptation]]. He is portrayed as an elderly man suffering severely from facial cancer, and he has to be taken home by fellow Delaware delegate [[Thomas McKean]]. Later, [[John Adams]] sends McKean back to Delaware to bring back Rodney to break the deadlock over independence between pro-independence McKean and anti-independence [[George Read (American politician, born 1733)|George Read]]. He is portrayed in the musical by [[Robert Gaus]] and in the film by [[William Hansen (actor)|William Hansen]]. Caesar Rodney also appears in HBO's [[John Adams (miniseries)|John Adams]]. He is played by Tim Parati.

==See also==
* [[Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence]]

==Notes==
<references />

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |title = History of the State of Delaware, 3 vols. |last = Conrad |first = Henry C. |publisher = Wickersham Company |location = Lancaster, Pennsylvania |year = 1908 }}
* {{cite book |title = Gentleman as Well as a Whig |last = Scott |first = Jane Harrington |year = 2000 |publisher = University of Delaware Press |location = Newark, Delaware |isbn = 0-87413-700-4}}
* {{cite book |title = Democracy in Delaware |last= Hoffecker |first= Carol E. |publisher= Cedar Tree Books |location= Wilmington, Delaware |year= 2004 |isbn= 1-892142-23-6}}
* {{cite book |title = History of Delaware Through its Governors |last= Martin |first= Roger A. |publisher= McClafferty Press |location= Wilmington, Delaware |year= 1984 }}
* {{cite book |title = Memoirs of the Senate |last= Martin |first= Roger A. |publisher= Roger A. Martin |location= Newark, Delaware |year= 1995 }}
* {{cite book |title = Philadelawareans |last= Munroe |first= John A. |publisher= University of Delaware Press |location= Newark, Delaware |year= 2004 |isbn= 0-87413-872-8}}
* {{cite book |title = Federalist Delaware 1775–1815 |last= Munroe |first= John A. |publisher= Rutgers University |location= New Brunswick, New Jersey |year= 1954 }}
* {{cite book |title = Biographical Directory of American and Revolutionary Governors 1607–1789 |last = Racino |first = John W. |year = 1980 |publisher = Meckler Books |location = Westport, CT |isbn = 0-930466-00-4}}
* {{cite book |title = History of Delaware 1609–1888. 2 vols |last= Scharf |first= John Thomas |publisher= L. J. Richards & Co |location= Philadelphia |year= 1888 |isbn= 0-87413-493-5}}
* {{cite book |title = Delaware Continentals, 1776–1783 |last = Ward |first = Christopher L. |publisher = Historical Society of Delaware |location = Wilmington, Delaware |year = 1941 |isbn = 0-924117-21-4}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=R000376 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051126225307/http://www.hsd.org/DHE/DHE_who_Rodney.htm Rodney] at the [[Historical Society of Delaware]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050428130412/http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/declaration/bio40.htm Biographical sketch] at the [[National Park Service]]

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef | before = [[George Read (American politician, born 1733)|George Read]]}}
{{s-ttl | title = [[List of governors of Delaware|President of Delaware]] | years = 1778–1781}}
{{s-aft | after = [[John Dickinson]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{Continental Association}}
{{United States Declaration of Independence}}
{{Governors of Delaware}}
{{American Revolutionary War|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodney, Caesar}}
[[Category:1728 births]]
[[Category:1784 deaths]]
[[Category:American people of English descent]]
[[Category:American people of Italian descent]]
[[Category:American slave owners]]
[[Category:18th-century American Episcopalians]]
[[Category:People from Kent County, Delaware]]
[[Category:Delaware militiamen in the American Revolution]]
[[Category:Militia generals in the American Revolution]]
[[Category:Delaware lawyers]]
[[Category:Delaware Federalists]]
[[Category:Delaware state senators]]
[[Category:Governors of Delaware]]
[[Category:Continental Congressmen from Delaware]]
[[Category:Signers of the United States Declaration of Independence]]
[[Category:18th-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:Independent state governors of the United States]]
[[Category:Delaware independents]]
[[Category:Delaware sheriffs]]
[[Category:People from colonial Delaware]]
[[Category:Rodney family (Delaware)]]
[[Category:Signers of the Continental Association]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in Delaware]]
[[Category:Founding Fathers of the United States]]
[[Category:Speakers of the Delaware General Assembly]]