Representative Alexander Ogle

Alexander Ogle (August 10, 1766 – October 14, 1832) was an American politician who served as a Jackson Democrat member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania’s 8th congressional district from 1817 to 1819. Born in the Province of Maryland during the colonial era, he came of age in the years surrounding the American Revolution, a period that shaped the emerging political institutions and partisan alignments in which he would later participate. Details of his early family life and upbringing are sparse, but his later public career reflects the trajectory of a man who rose from the post-Revolutionary generation to play a role in the political development of Pennsylvania and the young republic.

Ogle’s formal education is not extensively documented, which was not uncommon for public figures of his generation, many of whom combined limited formal schooling with self-education and practical experience. He likely received the basic classical and practical instruction typical of late eighteenth-century America, preparing him for involvement in local affairs, landholding, and public service. His move into political life suggests that he was regarded within his community as a capable and informed citizen, able to navigate the evolving political landscape of the early United States.

Before entering national office, Ogle became active in Pennsylvania politics at a time when the early party system was taking shape out of the broader Republican tradition associated with Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Identified in contemporary terms as a member of the Republican Party representing Pennsylvania, he aligned with the political forces that emphasized states’ rights, agrarian interests, and a more democratic participation in government. His political identity would later be associated with the Jacksonian movement, reflecting the continuity between the earlier Jeffersonian Republican coalition and the emerging Jackson Democrat faction that championed broader popular involvement and skepticism of entrenched elites.

Ogle was elected to the Fifteenth Congress as a representative of Pennsylvania’s 8th congressional district, serving a single term in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1817, to March 3, 1819. During this one term in office, he contributed to the legislative process at a moment when the nation was adjusting to the aftermath of the War of 1812 and entering what would later be called the “Era of Good Feelings.” As a Jackson Democrat member and a Republican representative from Pennsylvania, he participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his constituents in a period marked by debates over internal improvements, westward expansion, and the balance of power between the federal government and the states. Although the specific details of his committee assignments and sponsored legislation are not extensively recorded, his service placed him among the cohort of lawmakers who helped guide the country through a formative stage of its political development.

After leaving Congress in 1819, Ogle remained identified with the Jacksonian wing of American politics as it coalesced into a more distinct Democratic Party in the 1820s and early 1830s. His continued association with Jacksonian principles underscored his support for a more expansive democracy and a political order responsive to the broader electorate, particularly in Pennsylvania, where such ideas found a receptive audience among farmers, frontier communities, and emerging local leaders. His post-congressional years likely involved ongoing engagement in state and local affairs, reflecting the common pattern of early American politicians who moved between national and regional responsibilities.

Alexander Ogle died on October 14, 1832, in the midst of the Jacksonian era to which he had been ideologically connected. His life spanned from the colonial period through the Revolution and the establishment of the federal government to the rise of mass democracy under Andrew Jackson. Remembered as a Jackson Democrat member of Congress and a Republican representative from Pennsylvania, Ogle’s single term in the U.S. House of Representatives stands as his principal national achievement, marking his role in representing Pennsylvania’s 8th congressional district and contributing to the legislative and democratic processes of the early United States.