uneventful term in office, largely focusing on his California real estate deals and constituent services. He participated in only one House debate, speaking in favor of recodification of martial law aboard Navy vessels. He argued that traditional flogging led to a "well-ordered, well-disciplined ship," but that summary courts-martial should supersede the captain's power to punish at sea. He lost re-election in 1852 and returned home to focus on his property interests. Governor of New Jersey (1854–57) 1853 election In 1853, Price was recruited to run for Governor on the Democratic ticket. Whig critics attacked him for his ties to the "Joint Companies," a name given to the conglomerate formed by the merger of the Delaware and Raritan Canal Company with the Camden & Amboy Railroad, and his residence in California, which some argued disqualified him from office. The Democratic campaign focused on an opposition to monopoly and a general promise of "reform." Price was elected by a reduced but substantial margin. Term in office Price was elected by a reduced he became the father of the public school system of New Jersey. He established a ferry from Weehawken to New York and engaged in the quarrying business and in the reclamation of lands along the Hackensack River. Later career Price was a delegate to the Peace Conference of 1861 held in Washington, D.C. in an effort to devise means to prevent the impending Civil War. Death Price died in Oakland, New Jersey on June 7, 1894. He was buried in the Reformed Cemetery, in Mahwah, New Jersey. References Notes External links Biography of Rodman M. Price, New Jersey State Library New Jersey Governor Rodman McCauley Price, National Governors Association Rodman McCamley Price, The Political Graveyard Dead Governors of New Jersey bio for Rodman McCamley Price Guide to the Rodman M. Price Papers at The Bancroft Library 1816 births 1894 deaths Democratic Party governors of New Jersey People from Newton, New Jersey Princeton University alumni United States Navy officers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey American Presbyterians American people of Welsh descent Lawrenceville School alumni Burials in New Jersey 19th-century American politicians Military personnel from New Jersey