US statesman and diplomat, born in New York City, New York, USA. He practised law before entering the First Continental Congress (1774). Originally opposed to outright independence, he changed his view after the Declaration of Independence (1776). He wrote New York's first constitution (1777) and served as president of the Second Continental Congress (17789) before becoming ambassador to Spain, but was unsuccessful in his attempt to persuade Spain to recognize American independence. In conjunction with Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, he negotiated and signed the Treaty of Paris (1783) which ended the American Revolution. He then served as secretary of foreign affairs (17839) and as the first chief justice of the Supreme Court (178995). In 1794 he negotiated and signed Jay's Treaty with Great Britain. He also served as governor of New York (17951801) before retiring to his farm in Bedford, NY.
| John Jay | |
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| 1st Chief Justice of the United States | |
|---|---|
| In office | |
| October 19, 1789 – June 29, 1795 | |
| Preceded by | None |
| Succeeded by | John Rutledge |
| Born |
December 12, 1745 New York, New York |
| Died |
May 17, 1829 Westchester County, New York |
John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American politician, statesman, revolutionary, diplomat, writer, and a jurist. Considered one of the "founding fathers" of the United States, Jay served in the Continental Congress, and was elected President of that body in 1778. Jay served on the U.S. Supreme Court as the first Chief Justice of the United States from 1789 to 1795. In 1794 he negotiated the Jay Treaty with the British. A leader of the new Federalist party, Jay was elected Governor of New York state, 1795-1801.
Early life
John Jay was born on December 12, 1745 to a wealthy family of merchants in New York City. Jay had numerous rich and prominent ancestors and relatives including his maternal grandfather Jacobus Van Cortlandt.
Jay attended King's College, (Columbia College) and began the practice of law in 1768 in partnership with his relative by marriage, Robert Livingston. A successful lawyer, Jay also engaged in land speculation. His first public role came as secretary to the New York committee of correspondence, where he represented the conservative faction that was interested in protecting property rights and in preserving the rule of law while resisting British violations of American rights. Events such as the burning of Norfolk, Virginia, by British troops in January 1776 pushed Jay to support independence. Thus Jay evolved into first a moderate, and then an ardent Patriot, once he realized that all the colony's efforts at reconciliation with Britain were fruitless, and that the struggle for independence which became the American Revolution was inevitable and necessary.
Roles in the American Revolution
Having established a reputation as a “reasonable moderate” in New York, Jay was elected to serve as delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses which debated whether the colonies should declare independence. Jay's views became more radical as events unfolded; he became an ardent Patriot and was influential in moving New York towards independence.
Jay did not attend the Continental Congress as it debated the independence; There he was quite busy:
He served in the New York Provincial Congress and drafted the first state constitution. He served as the first chief justice of the New York Supreme Court from April 1777 to December 1778.Diplomat
Once he returned to America , Jay was chosen its President from December 10, 1778 to September 27, 1779. In many ways, John Jay played an indispensable role as a american Patriot during the Revolutionary War and afterwards. As one of the most scholarly and dedicated of the “founders” of the United States, he was one of the three or four most important diplomats in “winning the peace.”
Abolition of Slavery
Jay founded the New-York Society for Promoting the Manumission of Slaves, and Protecting Such of Them as Have Been, or May be Liberated, in 1785. They organized boycotts against New York merchants and newspaper owners involved in the slave trade. The Society helped enact the gradual emancipation of slaves in New York in 1799, which Jay signed into law as governor; the process, the largest emancipation before 1861, was finished July 4, 1827, not long before Jay's death. Jay was pushing at an open door;
John Peronneau, John Adams, and Robert Carter III "were contemporaries whose reflections on the injustice of slavery (or at least its inexpediency) caused them to act sooner, with more rectitude and at greater cost than Jay." But "[i]f Jay was not in the vanguard of militant abolitionists, he was still a leader among men of property to recognize a wrong and move slowly and genteelly towards its eradication."
Secretary of Foreign Affairs
In 1784-89, Jay served as the first Secretary of Foreign Affairs, an office which after 1789 became Secretary of State.
Jay's heavy responsibility was not, however, matched by a commensurate level of authority, which helped to convince him that the national government under the Articles of Confederation was unworkable.
Kaminsky (2002) argues that Jay was the de facto "prime minister" with the primary goal strengthening the fledgling national government. Jay believed that both at home and abroad Americans must adhere to moral principles, among them honesty, patriotism, duty, and hard work, along with obedience to God's will. Through his domestic policies, Jay hoped to remake Congress into a House of Commons. The weakness of Congress under the Articles, however, frustrated Jay, and by 1786 he became pessimistic about America's future.
Federalist Papers 1788
Jay did not attend the Constitutional Convention, but he joined Hamilton and Madison in aggressively arguing in favor of the creation of a new and more powerful, centralized, but nonetheless balanced system of government. Jay wrote five of these articles:
Federalist #2 Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence Federalist #3 Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence (continued) Federalist #4 Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence (continued) Federalist #5 Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence (continued) Federalist #64 The Powers of the SenateJay's essays were shaped most powerfully by his training as a lawyer and his deep grasp of the importance of the figure of the lawgiver in the tradition of republican political thought. Jay combined such elements with a Christian aesthetic vision glorifying the idea of national union, a rhetorical synthesis central to The Federalist's popular appeal in political debate.
Chief Justice
In 1789, George Washington nominated Jay as the first Chief Justice of the United States. As chief justice during 1789-95, John Jay was instrumental in establishing the internal procedures of the Supreme Court and setting legal precedents. Jay's most notable case was Chisholm v. Georgia (1793), in which Jay and the court affirmed that some of the state's sovereignty was subordinate to the United States Constitution. Jay's decision set the groundwork for judicial activism under Chief Justice John Marshall in the early 1800's.
The Jay Treaty of 1794 with Britain
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The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Washington rejected that policy and sent Jay as a special envoy to Great Britain to negotiate a new treaty; Jay remained Chief Justice. Alexander Hamilton, always a close collaborator with Jay, selected Jay and wrote the instructions. Jay achieved those goals in the Jay Treaty. Jay thought, and Washington agreed, that it was the best treaty he could negotiate, and Washington signed it. The treaty did not resolve American grievances about neutral shipping rights and impressment, Elkins and McKitrick concluded that Britain would never have agreed to the neutral rights that Jefferson and Madison sought, and that apart from Jay "no other American could have got anything nearly as good.". The Republicans denounced the treaty up and down the land, but Jay, as Chief Justice, decided not to take part in the debates. Jay complained he could travel from Boston to Philadelphia solely by the light of his burning effigies. However, led by Hamilton the new Federalist party strongly backed Jay and Washington, and won the battle of public opinion. Governor of New YorkWhile in Britain, Jay was elected governor of New York State as a Federalist. Despite Federalist nomination as governor in 1802, Jay declined and retired to the life of a gentleman farmer in Westchester County, New York. His home and part of his farm are now operated as the John Jay Homestead by the New York Department of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, and is located on NY state route 22 in Katonah, near Bedford. Jay died at home on May 15, 1829.
Jay Heritage Center (childhood home of John Jay)
John Jay Homestead State Historic Site Quotes"The people who own the country ought to govern it."TriviaThe Towns of Jay, New York and Jay, Vermont, and Jay County, Indiana are named after him. In 1964, the City University of New York's College of Police Science was officially renamed the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. James Fenimore Cooper's novel The Spy was based on the author's conversations with Jay about his service on the committee on conspiracies during the Revolution. Jay was named first among Columbia University's 250 Greatest Alumni by the Columbia Spectator. A large residence hall for undergraduates at Columbia is named for him, as well as the John Jay Award for alumni of Columbia College, and the John Jay Scholars program for exceptional students in the College. Columbia also has a John Jay professorship in classics. Columbia's most selective undergraduate merit scholarship (winners are designated John Jay Scholars) is named after him. Graffiti appearing near Jay's house after the 1794 treaty with Britain: "Damn John Jay. Damn everyone that won't damn John Jay. Damn everyone that won't put up the lights in the windows and sit up all nights damning John Jay." Securing American Independence: John Jay and the French Alliance. Praeger, 2003. The Supreme Court in the Early Republic: The Chief Justiceships of John Jay and Oliver Ellsworth. U. The Jay Treaty: Political Background of Founding Fathers (1970) (ISBN 0-520-01573-8); "John Jay, the Concept of Deference, and the Transformation of Early American Political Culture." "The Forgotten Publius: John Jay and the Aesthetics of Ratification." "John Jay and the Supreme Court." "Honor and Interest: John Jay's Diplomacy During the Confederation." John Jay and the Politics of Union." "John Jay and the Revolution." "John Jay, the Revolutionary Generation, and Slavery" New York History 2000 81(1): 91-132. John Jay: Defender of Liberty 1972. chapter on Jay Morris, Richard B. Hamilton, Madison, Jay and the Constitution 1985. John Jay: The Winning of the Peace 1980. John Jay: Founding Father. John Jay: The Making of a Revolutionary; |
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