Statesman; born in
Philadelphia, July 28, 1767; of
Huguenot descent; was graduated at
Princeton in 1784; studied law under
Gen. Joseph Reed; was admitted to the bar in 1787, and, settling in
Delaware, soon acquired a high reputation as a lawyer.
Mr. Bayard was a member of Congress from 1797 to 1803, and a conspicuous leader of the Federal party.
In 1804 he was elected to the United States Senate, in which he distinguished himself in conducting the impeachment of
Senator Blount.
He was chiefly instrumental in securing the election of
Jefferson over
Burr in 1800; and made, in the House of Representatives, in 1802, a powerful defence of the existing judiciary system, which was soon overthrown.
He was in the Senate when war was declared against
Great Britain in 1812.
In May, 1813, he left the
United States on a mission to
St. Petersburg, to treat for peace with Great
Britain under
Russian mediation.
The mission was fruitless.
In January, 1814, he went to
Holland, and thence to
England.
At
Ghent, during that year, he, with
J. Q. Adams,
Clay,
Gallatin, and
Russell, negotiated a treaty of peace with
England.
He was preparing to go to
England as a commissioner under the treaty, when an alarming illness seized him, and He returned home early in 1815.
He died soon after his arrival, Aug. 6.
