James Asheton Bayard (1767-1815), American lawyer and statesman, born in Philadelphia. He graduated from Princeton College in 1784, studied law, and settled permanently in Wilmington, Delaware. He became leader of the Federalist Party and served (1797-1803) in the U.S. House of Representatives. After the indecisive presidential contest of 1800 between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, the House became responsible for the decision. Bayard was influential in securing the choice of Jefferson. From 1805 to 1813 Bayard was a U.S. senator from Delaware. In 1814 he was a member of the commission that negotiated the Treaty of Ghent with Britain, which ended the War of 1812.