Benjamin A. Bidlack | |
|---|---|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania | |
| In office March 4, 1841 – March 3, 1845 | |
| Preceded by | David Petrikin |
| Succeeded by | Owen D. Leib |
| Constituency | 15th district (1841–1843) 11th district (1843–1845) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Benjamin Alden Bidlack September 8, 1804 Paris, New York, U.S. |
| Died | February 6, 1849 (aged 44) Bogota, Republic of New Granada |
| Political party | Democratic |
Benjamin Alden Bidlack (September 8, 1804 – February 6, 1849) was an American politician, diplomat, and attorney who served as a member of the US House of Representatives and was later appointed chargé d'affaires to New Granada. While serving in New Granada he negotiated an agreement later known as the Mallarino–Bidlack Treaty. This treaty was the only instance in the nineteenth-century where the United States committed to defend the sovereignty of a Latin American state at the request of that state. The pact helped pave the way for the construction of the Panama Canal.