John Dennis (1771–1806)

John Dennis ( born December 17, 1771 Worcester County, Maryland; † August 17, 1806 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ) was an American politician. Between 1797 and 1805 he represented the state of Maryland in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Career

John Dennis was the father of the eponymous Congressman John Dennis (1807-1859) and an uncle of Littleton Purnell Dennis (1786-1834), who also belonged to the U.S. House of Representatives. He attended the common schools and the Washington Academy and Yale College. After a subsequent law degree in 1793 and its recent approval as a lawyer, he began to work in Somerset County in this profession. At the same time he proposed as a member of the Federalist Party, a political career. He was first elected for two terms in the House of Representatives from Maryland.

In the congressional elections of 1796 Dennis was selected in the eighth electoral district of Maryland in the time which meets even in Philadelphia U.S. House of Representatives, where he became the successor of William Vans Murray on March 4, 1797. After three re- elections, he was able to complete in Congress until March 3, 1805 four legislative sessions. During his time as a congressman, the territory of the United States has been considerably enlarged in 1803 by the Louisiana Purchase. In 1804, the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified. In 1798 John Dennis was one of the deputies, who were entrusted with the implementation of a impeachment of U.S. Senator William Blount of Tennessee. Also worth mentioning is the move of the Congress and the government to the federal capital, Washington DC in 1800.

After the end of his time in the U.S. House of Representatives John Dennis did not occur in a political phenomenon. He died on August 17, 1806 in Philadelphia.