Caesar Rodney, Delaware

Caesar Rodney was one of the many signers of the Declaration of Independence. He was a prominent man in Delaware during the time of the American Revolution and was born in 1728, died in 1784, and was from a “politically distinguished family.” He also put forward legislation that forbid any more importation of slaves and after many years, people finally began to support this notion. Caesar Rodney was an influential leader in campaigning for independence in Delaware and passionately believed in it. He famously said, “The Continuing to Swear Allegiance to the power that is cutting our throats…. is Certainly Absurd.” His desire for independence was so strong, that on July 2, 1776 Caesar Rodney rode to Philadelphia on horseback through the rain to break a tie within the Delaware delegation in the vote for independence. In March 1778, Rodney was chosen as president of the Delaware State and eventually a new test act was created, which “tested the loyalty of citizens by requiring them to qualify as voters by taking an oath of allegiance to the state government.” Caesar Rodney was a good leader for Delaware and did his part to help better the state. As a political leader, Rodney was said to have stemmed “the tide of revolution by avoiding heavy demands on the populace, and by implementing political programs that were designed to curry favor with the populace.” Rodney wanted to please the people of Delaware and he wanted to show them that independence was in fact a positive move. After some time, “he and his fellow whigs maneuvered Delaware toward independence and revolution against the wishes of the majority.” Besides participating in the Second Continental Congress, Rodney was also involved politically in many areas such as, “high sheriff of Kent County from 1755 to 1756, justice of the peace, judge of all lower courts, captain in the Kent County Militia in 1756, superintendent of the printing of Delaware currency in 1759, a member of the state assembly from 1762 to 1769, and an associate justice of the Delaware Supreme Court from 1769 to 1777.” Clearly, Caesar Rodney was very involved with his state of Delaware and put a lot of political effort into establishing its independence.


Susannah MacKinnon