Self-educated, he moved to Illinois in 1827, settled in Galena, and was employed there in various capacities in his father's lead mines.

As a result of the Act of March 3, 1839,[2] the position of Iowa Territory's Delegate to the U.S. House would become vacant on October 27, 1840, and Dodge was elected to fill it.

Under the leadership of Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas, that bill eventually became the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which Dodge supported forcefully.

But in a failed effort to defeat Harlan by uniting Democrats and nationalist Whigs behind a single candidate, Dodge dropped out after the fourth ballot.

[3] Dodge served in the Senate until February 22, 1855, when President Franklin Pierce appointed him to the post of minister to Spain.

His home in Burlington, Iowa is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Augustus Caesar Dodge House.

[11] Also, Augustus C. Dodge is numbered among the honored pioneers of Des Moines County, and during his life was among the most noted men.