The Man - John Jay

	John Jay High School / Science & Engineering Academy
	John Jay - The Man

John Jay
(1745-1829)

More about John Jay:
ushistory.org
United States Senate

John Jay's
New York
Homestead

John Jay - The Man
(1745-1829)

     American statesman and jurist, the first chief justice of the United States.

     Jay was born in New York City and educated at King's College (now Columbia University). He was admitted to the bar in 1768. He represented the point of view of the American merchants in protesting British restrictions on the commercial activities of the colonies, and he was elected to the Continental Congress in 1774 and again in 1775. He drafted the first constitution of New York State and was appointed Chief Justice of the state in 1777. In the following year he was again elected to the Continental Congress and was chosen its president. In Paris in 1782 he was one of the commissioners who negotiated the Treaty of Paris with Great Britain, ending the American Revolution.

     From 1784 to 1789 Jay was secretary for foreign affairs. The ineffectiveness of the Articles of Confederation led him to become a proponent of a strong national government. With Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, Jay wrote the series of articles known as The Federalist, which urged ratification of the U.S. Constitution. In 1789 President George Washington appointed Jay chief justice. In 1794, when war with Britain threatened due to controversies over the Treaty of Paris, Jay was appointed by Washington to negotiate a settlement. He went to Great Britain and concluded the agreement known as Jay's Treaty.

     On his return to the U.S. Jay discovered that during his absence he had been elected governor of New York State. He resigned from the Court and served as governor from 1795 to 1801. He spent the rest of his life in retirement.