Jonathan Dayton in Alien and Sedition Acts

Basic Information

Name: Jonathan Dayton

Nickname: Not Ohio

Born: October 16, 1760

Died: October 9, 1824

Nationality: American

Hometown: Elizabethtown, New Jersey

WORK & EDUCATION

Occupation: Captain in the Continental Army, New Jersey Senate, New Jersey General Assembly, Senator from (you guessed it) New Jersey, House of Representatives (still Jersey), Speaker of the House of Representatives

Education: Princeton

FAMILY & FRIENDS

Parents: Elias, Hannah

Siblings: Jane, Elias, Mary, William

Spouse: Susan

Children: Susan, Elias, Molly, Hannah

Friends: John Adams, The Marquis de Lafayette, Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr (maybe)

Foes: Thomas Jefferson, James Madison


Analysis

Dayton was the Federalist Speaker of the House when the Alien and Sedition Acts were made law, so the documents carry his signature. He was pretty reliably Federalist in what he supported—dude was a good team player.

Dayton fought in the Revolutionary War, signing up at fifteen years old. It's important to remember that occasionally, history is terrifying. He served honorably, was captured and released, and fought at Yorktown. By the age of nineteen, he was a Captain.

Weirdly for a political ally of Hamilton's, Dayton was also a friend to Aaron Burr. He wanted to go with Burr on his ill-fated trip to conquer Spanish lands in the Southwest for a new empire. Dayton was charged with treason, but exonerated. Needless to say, his political career did not survive. (Source)

Let's be honest. That's better than a lot of people who associated with Burr turned out.