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'''John Jay''' (December 23, 1745 – May 17, 1829)<ref>[[Old Style and New Style dates|Old Style]]: December 12.</ref> was an American statesman, [[Patriot (American Revolution)|patriot]], diplomat, [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Father of the United States]], [[abolitionist]], negotiator and signatory of the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris]] of 1783, second [[Governor of New York]], and the first [[Chief Justice of the United States]] (1789–1795). He directed U.S. foreign policy for much of the 1780s and was an important leader of the [[Federalist Party (United States)|Federalist Party]] after the ratification of the [[United States Constitution]] in 1788.

Jay was born into a wealthy family of merchants and New York City government officials of [[French Americans|French]] and [[Dutch Americans|Dutch descent]]. He became a lawyer and joined the New York Committee of Correspondence, organizing opposition to [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] policies in the time preceding the [[American Revolution]]. Jay was elected to the [[Second Continental Congress]], and served as [[President of the Continental Congress|President of the Congress]]. From 1779 to 1782, Jay served as the [[United States Ambassador to Spain|ambassador to Spain]]; he persuaded Spain to provide financial aid to the fledgling United States. He also served as a negotiator of the Treaty of Paris, in which Britain recognized American independence. Following the end of the war, Jay served as [[United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs|Secretary of Foreign Affairs]], directing United States foreign policy under the [[Articles of Confederation]] government. He also served as the first [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] on an interim basis.

A proponent of strong, centralized government, Jay worked to ratify the United States Constitution in New York in 1788. He was a co-author of ''[[The Federalist Papers]]'' along with [[Alexander Hamilton]] and [[James Madison]], and wrote five of the 85 essays. After the establishment of the new federal government, Jay was appointed by President [[George Washington]] the first Chief Justice of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1795. The [[Jay Court]] experienced a light workload, deciding just four cases over six years. In 1794, while serving as Chief Justice, Jay negotiated the highly controversial [[Jay Treaty]] with Britain. Jay received a handful of [[List of people who received an electoral vote in the United States Electoral College|electoral votes]] in three of the first four presidential elections, but never undertook a serious bid for the presidency.

Jay served as the [[List of Governors of New York|Governor]] of [[New York (state)|New York]] from 1795 to 1801. Long an opponent of [[slavery in the United States|slavery]], he helped enact a law that provided for the gradual emancipation of slaves, and the institution of slavery [[abolitionism in the United States|was abolished]] in New York in Jay's lifetime. In the waning days of President [[John Adams]]'s administration, Jay was confirmed by the Senate for another term as Chief Justice, but he declined the position and retired to his farm in [[Westchester County, New York]], where he died.

==Early life and education==
===Family history===
The Jays were a prominent merchant family in New York City, descended from [[Huguenot]]s who had come to New York to escape religious persecution in France. In 1685, the [[Revocation of the Edict of Nantes|Edict of Nantes had been revoked]], thereby abolishing the rights of [[Protestant]]s and the Crown confiscated their property. Among those affected was Jay's [[paternal]] grandfather, Auguste Jay. He moved from France to Charleston, South Carolina and then New York, where he built a successful merchant empire.<ref>Pellew, George: "American Statesman John Jay", p. 1. Houghton Mifflin, 1890</ref> Jay's father, Peter Jay, born in New York City in 1704, became a wealthy trader in furs, wheat, timber, and other commodities.<ref name="stahr-p1-5" />

Jay's mother was Mary Van Cortlandt, of Dutch ancestry, who had married Peter Jay in 1728 in the Dutch Church.<ref name="stahr-p1-5">{{cite book |last=Stahr |first=Walter |title=John Jay: Founding Father|publisher=Continuum Publishing Group|year=2006|isbn=978-0-8264-1879-1|pages=1–5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yYKRZ2DBDqYC&pg=PA1}}</ref> They had ten children together, seven of whom survived into adulthood.<ref name="jayuni">{{cite web|url=http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/digital/jay/biography.html|title=A Brief Biography of John Jay|publisher=Columbia University|year=2002|work=The Papers of John Jay}}</ref> Mary's father, [[Jacobus Van Cortlandt]], was born in [[New Amsterdam]] in 1658. Cortlandt served in the New York Assembly, was twice elected as [[mayor of New York City]], and also held a variety of judicial and military offices. Both Mary and his son Frederick Cortlandt married into the Jay family.

Jay was born on December 23, 1745 (following the [[Gregorian calendar]], December 12 following the [[Julian calendar]]), in New York City; three months later the family moved to [[Rye (city), New York|Rye, New York]]. Peter Jay had retired from business following a [[smallpox]] epidemic; two of his children contracted the disease and suffered blindness.<ref>Clary, Suzanne. [http://issuu.com/westonmagazinegroup/docs/upper_east_side_magazine-53/46 "From a Peppercorn to a Path Through History"]. ''Upper East Side Magazine'', Weston Magazine Publishers, Issue 53, October 2014.</ref>

===Education===
Jay spent his childhood in Rye. He was educated there by his mother until he was eight years old, when he was sent to [[New Rochelle, New York|New Rochelle]] to study under Anglican priest Pierre Stoupe.<ref>Cushman, Clare. [https://books.google.com/books?id=QKN2AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1&lpg=PA1&dq=%22john+jay%22+mother+rye+taught+him+french&source=bl&ots=OfBeY4KIu2&sig=AnC9zm63IsvPg3OqeLODdQMaFcY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=zYIEVaTkDYyjNqCugeAH&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22john%20jay%22%20mother%20rye%20taught%20him%20french&f=false The Supreme Court Justices: Illustrated Biographies, 1789–2012]. The Supreme Court Historical Society, SAGE Publications, 2012.</ref> In 1756, after three years, he would return to homeschooling in Rye under the tutelage of his mother and George Murray.

In 1760, 14-year-old Jay entered King's College, today's [[Columbia University]].<ref>"Jay, John (1745–1829)". World of Criminal Justice, Gale. Farmington: Gale, 2002. Credo Reference. Web. September 24, 2012.</ref><ref>Stahr, p. 9</ref> There he made many influential friends, including his closest, [[Robert Livingston (1746–1813)|Robert Livingston]], the son of a prominent New York aristocrat and Supreme Court justice.<ref>Stahr, [https://books.google.com/books?id=yYKRZ2DBDqYC&pg=PA12 p. 12]</ref> Jay took the same political stand as his father, a staunch [[Whiggism|Whig]].<ref>Pellew p. 6</ref> Upon graduating in 1764<ref>[http://beatl.barnard.columbia.edu/kingsv1/timeline.htm Barnard edu] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010222111109/http://beatl.barnard.columbia.edu/kingsv1/timeline.htm |date=February 22, 2001 }} retrieved August 31, 2008</ref> he became a law clerk for Benjamin Kissam (1728–1782), a prominent lawyer, politician, and sought-after instructor in the law. In addition to Jay, Kissam's students included [[Lindley Murray]].<ref name="jayuni"/>

===Entrance into law and politics===
In 1768, after [[reading law]] and being [[admitted to the bar]] of New York, Jay, with the money from the government, established a legal practice and worked there until he created his own [[law office]] in 1771.<ref name="jayuni"/> He was a member of the New York [[Committee of Correspondence]] in 1774<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/related/jay.htm|title=John Jay|publisher=www.ushistory.org|accessdate=August 21, 2008|last= |first=}}</ref> and became its secretary, which was his first public role in the revolution.

Jay represented the conservative faction that was interested in protecting [[property rights]] and in preserving the rule of law, while resisting what it regarded as British violations of American rights.{{citation needed|date=April 2018}} This faction feared the prospect of "mob rule". He believed the British tax measures were wrong and thought Americans were morally and legally justified in resisting them, but as a delegate to the [[First Continental Congress]] in 1774,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8aYPHqTEpzo/UFvgbpWq0CI/AAAAAAAABBc/isFvjTzbMt0/s1600/Jay1.jpg|title=John Jay Nomination to the First Continental Congress}}</ref> Jay sided with those who wanted conciliation with Parliament. Events such as the burning of [[Norfolk, Virginia]], by British troops in January 1776 pushed Jay to support independence. With the outbreak of the [[American Revolutionary War]], he worked tirelessly for the revolutionary cause and acted to suppress the [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Loyalists]]. Jay evolved into first a moderate, and then an ardent [[Patriot (American Revolution)|Patriot]], because he had decided that all the colonies' efforts at reconciliation with Britain were fruitless and that the struggle for independence, which became the [[American Revolution]], was inevitable.<ref>Klein (2000)</ref>

==Marriage and family==
[[File:Jay, Mrs. John (3-4 length profile) - NARA - 532934.tif|thumb|Drawing of Sarah Jay by [[Robert Edge Pine]]]]
On April 28, 1774, Jay married Sarah Van Brugh [[Livingston family|Livingston]], eldest daughter of the [[Governor of New Jersey|New Jersey Governor]] [[William Livingston]] and his wife. At the time of the marriage, Sarah was seventeen years old and John was twenty-eight.<ref>"Urbanities: "The Education of John Jay"." City Journal. (Winter 2010): 15960 words. LexisNexis Academic. Web. Date Accessed: September 26, 2012.</ref> Together they had six children: Peter Augustus, Susan, Maria, Ann, William and Sarah Louisa. She accompanied Jay to Spain and later was with him in Paris, where they and their children resided with Benjamin Franklin at Passy.<ref>{{Appletons' |last=Jay |first=John |authorlink=John Jay (lawyer) |wstitle=Jay, John|year=1892 |inline=1}}</ref> Jay's brother-in-law Henry Brock Livingston was lost at sea through the disappearance of the [[Continental Navy]] ship ''[[USS Saratoga (1780)|Saratoga]]'' during the Revolutionary War. While in Paris, as a diplomat to France, Jay's father died. This event forced extra responsibility onto Jay. His brother and sister Peter and Anna, both blinded by smallpox in childhood,<ref name=timeline>{{cite web|last1=Du Bois|first1=John Jay|title=Jay Family Time Line|url=http://jsdubois28.com/2014/07/27/jay-family-time-line/|accessdate=February 21, 2015}}</ref> became his responsibility. His brother Augustus suffered from mental disabilities that required Jay to provide not only financial but emotional support. His brother Fredrick was in constant financial trouble, causing Jay additional stress. Meanwhile, his brother James was in direct opposition in the political arena, joining the loyalist faction of the New York State Senate at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, which made him an embarrassment to Jay's family.<ref>Morris, Richard. John Jay: The Winning of the Peace. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1980.</ref>

[[File:The Jay Estate in Rye, NY.jpg|thumb|Jay's childhood home in Rye, New York is a [[New York State Historic Site]] and Westchester County Park]]

===Jay family homes in Rye and Bedford===
Two of Jay's homes, both located in Westchester County, have been designated [[National Historic Landmark]]s.

From the age of three months old until he attended Kings College in 1760, Jay was raised in Rye, on a farm acquired by his father Peter in 1745 that overlooked [[Long Island Sound]].<ref>The Library of Congress, Local Legacies, The Jay Heritage Center http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/legacies/loc.afc.afc-legacies.200003400/</ref> After negotiating the Treaty of Paris that ended the Revolutionary War, Jay returned to his childhood home to celebrate with his family and friends in July 1784.<ref>Wilcox, Arthur Russell. [https://books.google.com/books?id=PKQsAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA36 ''The Bar of Rye Township'']. The Knickerbocker Press, New York, 1918.</ref> Jay inherited this property upon the death of his older brother Peter in 1813 after Jay had already established himself at Katonah. He conveyed the Rye property to his eldest son, [[Peter Augustus Jay (lawyer)|Peter Augustus Jay]], in 1822. This property remained in the Jay family through 1904.

What remains of the original {{convert|400|acre|km2|adj=on}} property is a {{convert|23|acre|m2|adj=on}} parcel called the [[Jay Estate]]. In the center rises the 1838 Peter Augustus Jay House, built by [[Peter Augustus Jay (lawyer)|Peter Augustus Jay]] over the footprint of his father's ancestral home, "The Locusts"; pieces of the original 18th century farmhouse were incorporated into the 19th century structure. Stewardship of the site and several of its buildings for educational use was entrusted in 1990 by the New York State Board of Regents to the [[Jay Heritage Center]].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/13/nyregion/at-the-jay-heritage-center-in-rye-young-americans.html?_r=0. Clement, Douglas P.,"At the Jay Heritage Center in Rye: Young Americans," 'The New York Times,' New York, New York, March 10, 2016]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pace.edu/LawSchool/News/lectures/jaylecture.html|title=News and Events: Pace Law School, New York Law School, located in New York 20 miles north of NY City. Environmental Law.|publisher=www.pace.edu|accessdate=August 22, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201022441/http://www.pace.edu/LawSchool/News/lectures/jaylecture.html|archive-date=December 1, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2013, the non-profit Jay Heritage Center was also awarded stewardship and management of the site's landscape which includes a meadow and gardens.<ref>[http://westchestercountyny.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_LegiFile.aspx?Frame=&MeetingID=2220&MediaPosition=&ID=5629&CssClass= Jay Property Estate Restoration/Maintenance]. Westchester County, New York, ACT-2012-173, Adopted November 26, 2012.</ref><ref>Cary, Bill. [http://www.lohud.com/story/money/real-estate/lohud-real-estate/2015/02/27/jay-gardens-rye-makeover/24061239/ Jay gardens in Rye to get $1.5 million makeover]. ''The Journal News'' (Westchester, New York), February 27, 2015.</ref>

[[File:John Jay Homestead 2007.jpg|thumb|[[John Jay Homestead State Historic Site|Jay's retirement home]] near [[Katonah, New York]] is a [[New York State Historic Site]]]]
As an adult, Jay inherited land from his grandparents and built Bedford House, located near [[Katonah, New York]] where he moved in 1801 with his wife Sarah to pursue retirement. This property passed down to their younger son [[William Jay (jurist)|William Jay]] and his descendants. It was acquired by New York State in 1958 and named "The John Jay Homestead." Today this 62 acre park is preserved as the [[John Jay Homestead State Historic Site]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.johnjayhomestead.org/|title=Friends of John Jay Homestead|publisher=www.johnjayhomestead.org|accessdate=August 24, 2008|last= |first=}}</ref>

Both homes in Rye and Katonah are open to the public for tours and programs.

==Personal views==
===Slavery===
{{main|Slavery in New York}}
{{quote box|quote=Every man of every color and description has a natural right to freedom.|source=—John Jay, February 27, 1792|width=28%|align=right}}
Jay was a slaveholder, as were many wealthy New Yorkers during the time period. However, in 1774 Jay drafted the Address to the People of Great Britain,<ref>[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Address_to_the_People_of_Great_Britain Address to the People of Great Britain]</ref> which draws upon the image of slavery and compares the British treatment of blacks to the British treatment of all the colonists.<ref>{{cite web|last=Jay|first=Jay|url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Address_to_the_People_of_Great_Britain|title=Address to the People of Great Britain|year=1774|quote=When a Nation, lead to greatness by the hand of Liberty, and possessed of all the Glory that heroism, munificence, and humanity can bestow, descends to the ungrateful task of forging chains for her friends and children, and instead of giving support to Freedom, turns advocate for Slavery and Oppression, there is reason to suspect she has either ceased to be virtuous, or been extremely negligent in the appointment of her Rulers.}}</ref> Such comparisons between British treatment of blacks and of the colonists was common.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xscuS0IXODMC&pg=PA16|last1=Kornblith|first1=Gary J.|title=Slavery and Sectional Strife in the Early American Republic, 1776–1821|date=2010|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0742550964}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bWKTiIL6mVcC&pg=PA31|last1=Gellman|first1=David N.|title=Emancipating New York: The Politics of Slavery and Freedom, 1777–1827|date=2008|publisher=LSU Press|isbn=978-0807134658}}</ref>

Jay took a more active leadership role to abolish slavery after 1777, when he drafted a state law to that purpose. It failed to gain passage, as did a second abolition law in 1785.<ref>John Jay and Sarah Livingston Jay, ''Selected Letters of John Jay and Sarah Livingston Jay'' (2005) pp. 297–99; online at [https://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0786419555&id=jzcj94inkDAC&pg=RA2-PA297&lpg=RA2-PA297&ots=Bn90cdzeso&dq=%22john+jay%22+manumission&sig=3ZXPwB2GBEa-JBqZBYaaZ9hqM5Y]</ref> Jay was "pushing at an open door"; every member of the New York legislature (but one) had voted for some form of emancipation in 1785, but they differed on what rights to give the free blacks afterward. [[Aaron Burr]] both supported this bill and introduced an amendment calling for immediate abolition.<ref>{{cite web|work=The Duel|title=Timeline of Events Leading up to the Duel|publisher=PBS|accessdate=August 25, 2008|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/duel/timeline/index.html}}</ref> Numerous slaveholders independently freed their slaves after the Revolution, but thousands were held in New York City especially.

Jay was the founder and president of the [[New York Manumission Society]] in 1785, which organized boycotts against newspapers and merchants involved in the slave trade, and provided legal counsel for free blacks claimed or kidnapped as slaves.<ref>Roger G. Kennedy, ''Burr, Hamilton, and Jefferson: A Study in Character'' (2000) p. 92</ref>

The Society helped enact the 1799 law for gradual emancipation of slaves in New York, which Jay signed into law as governor. "An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery" provided that, from July 4 of that year, all children born to slave parents would be free (subject to lengthy apprenticeships) and that slave exports would be prohibited. These same children would be required to serve the mother's owner until age 28 for males and age 25 for females, years beyond the typical period of indenture. The law thus defined a type of indentured servant while providing for eventual freedom for children born to slaves. It did not provide government payment of compensation to the owners. It also provided legal protection and assistance for free blacks kidnapped for the purposes of being sold into slavery.<ref>Edgar J. McManus, ''History of Negro Slavery in New York''</ref> All slaves were emancipated by July 4, 1827. The process in New York may perhaps have been the largest total emancipation in North America between 1783 and 1861.<ref>{{cite web |last=Sudderth |first=Jake |url=http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/digital/jay/JaySlavery.html|title=John Jay and Slavery|publisher=Columbia University|year=2002}}</ref><ref>Paul Finkelman, editor, [https://books.google.com/books?id=cCMbE4KKlX4C&pg=RA1-PA237&dq=new+york+law+blacks+kidnapped+slavery&hl=en&sa=X&ei=fxQOUtqQO4fB4AOh24CQCQ&ved=0CDwQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=1799&f=false Encyclopedia of African American History 1619–1895], 2006, p. 237</ref><ref>Gordon S. Wood, ''American Revolution'', p. 114</ref><ref>Peter Kolchin, ''American Slavery: 1619–1877'', New York: Hill and Wang, 1993, p. 73</ref><ref>Simon Schama, ''Rough Passage''</ref>

In the close 1792 election, Jay's antislavery work was thought to hurt his election chances in upstate New York Dutch areas, where slavery was still practiced.<ref>Herbert S. Parmet and Marie B. Hecht, ''Aaron Burr'' (1967) p. 76</ref> In 1794, in the process of negotiating the Jay Treaty with the British, Jay angered many Southern slave-owners when he dropped their demands for compensation for slaves who had been freed and transported by the British to other areas after the Revolution.<ref name="columbiajaytreaty">{{cite web|url=http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/digital/jay/jaytreaty.html|title=The Jay Treaty|publisher=www.columbia.edu|accessdate=August 22, 2008|last=Baird|first=James}}</ref> He had made a practice of buying slaves and freeing them as adults, after he judged their labors had been a reasonable return on their price. In 1798, he still owned eight slaves, the year before the emancipation act was passed.<ref name="jaypaper">{{cite web |url=http://www.johnjayinstitute.org/index.cfm?get=get.johnjaypaper |title=John Jay: An American Wilberforce? |accessdate=December 13, 2006 |last=Crippen II |first=Alan R. |year=2005|publisher=[[John Jay Institute]]}}</ref>

===Religion===
Jay was a member of the Church of England, and later of the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Protestant Episcopal Church in America]] after the American Revolution. Since 1785, Jay had been a warden of [[Trinity Church, New York]]. As Congress's Secretary for Foreign Affairs, he supported the proposal after the Revolution that the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] approve the ordination of bishops for the Episcopal Church in the United States.<ref name=jaypaper/> He argued unsuccessfully in the [[province|provincial]] convention for a prohibition against [[Catholics]] holding office.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kaminski |first=John P. |date=March 2002 |title=Religion and the Founding Fathers |journal=Annotation: The Newsletter of the National Historic Publications and Records Commission |volume=30:1 |issn=0160-8460 |url=https://www.archives.gov/nhprc/annotation/march-2002/religion-founding-fathers.html |accessdate=August 25, 2008 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080327032730/http://www.archives.gov/nhprc/annotation/march-2002/religion-founding-fathers.html |archivedate=March 27, 2008 }}</ref> While considering New York's Constitution, Jay also suggested erecting "a wall of brass around the country for the exclusion of Catholics."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/03/opinion/03davis.html|title=Opinion {{!}} The Founding Immigrants|last=Davis|first=Kenneth C.|date=2007-07-03|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-02-08|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Jay, who served as vice-president (1816–21) and president (1821–27) of the [[American Bible Society]],<ref>[http://www.wallbuilders.com/libissuesarticles.asp?id=47 "John Jay"]. [[WallBuilders]]. Retrieved May 12, 2013.</ref> believed that the most effective way of ensuring world peace was through propagation of the Christian gospel. In a letter addressed to [[Pennsylvania]] House of Representatives member [[John Murray (congressman)|John Murray]], dated October 12, 1816, Jay wrote, "''Real'' Christians will abstain from violating the rights of others, and therefore will not provoke war. Almost all nations have peace or war at the will and pleasure of rulers whom they do not elect, and who are not always wise or virtuous. Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest, of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers."<ref>{{cite book|last=Jay|first=William|title=The Life of John Jay: With Selections from His Correspondence and Miscellaneous Papers|publisher=J. & J. Harper|location=New York|year=1833|page=376|url=https://books.google.com/?id=V50EAAAAYAAJ|accessdate=August 22, 2008|isbn=978-0-8369-6858-3}}</ref> He also expressed a belief that the moral precepts of Christianity were necessary for good government, saying, "No human society has ever been able to maintain both order and freedom, both cohesiveness and liberty apart from the moral precepts of the Christian Religion. Should our Republic ever forget this fundamental precept of governance, we will then, be surely doomed."<ref>Loconte, Joseph (September 26, 2005). [http://www.heritage.org/research/lecture/why-religious-values-support-american-values "Why Religious Values Support American Values"]. [[The Heritage Foundation]]. Retrieved May 12, 2013.</ref>

==During the American Revolution==
{{quote box|quote=Those who own the country ought to govern it.|source= —John Jay<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Becker |first1=Carl|title=The Quarterly journal of the New York State Historical Association |volume=1|year=1920|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wRYzAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA2|page=2}}</ref>|width=25%|align=right}}
Having established a reputation as a reasonable moderate in New York, Jay was elected to serve as delegate to the First and Second [[Continental Congress]]es which debated whether the colonies should declare independence. Jay was originally in favor of rapprochement. He helped write the [[Olive Branch Petition]] which urged the British government to reconcile with the colonies. As the necessity and inevitability of war became evident, Jay threw his support behind the revolution and the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]]. Jay's views became more radical as events unfolded; he became an ardent separatist and attempted to move New York towards that cause.

In 1774, at the close of the Continental Congress, Jay returned to New York.<ref name="columbiaJayNY">{{cite web|url=http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/digital/jay/jayandny.html|publisher=Columbia University|year=2002|work=The Papers of John Jay|title=Jay and New York|accessdate=August 23, 2008}}</ref> There he served on New York City's [[Committee of Sixty]],<ref>Stahr, p. 443</ref> where he attempted to enforce a non-importation agreement passed by the First Continental Congress.<ref name="columbiaJayNY"/> Jay was elected to the third [[New York Provincial Congress]], where he drafted the [[Constitution of New York, 1777]];<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.courts.state.ny.us/history/elecbook/lincoln/pg9.htm|title=The First Constitution, 1777.|work=The Historical Society of the Courts of the State of New York|publisher=New York State Unified Court System|accessdate=August 23, 2008}}</ref> his duties as a New York Congressman prevented him from voting on or signing the Declaration of Independence.<ref name="columbiaJayNY"/> Jay served on the committee to detect and defeat conspiracies, which monitored British Actions.<ref>{{cite web|last=Newcomb|first=James|work=The John Birch Society|title=Remembering John Jay, One of Our Founding Fathers|date=December 13, 2007|url=http://www.jbs.org/index.php/jbs-news-feed/689-remembering-john-jay-one-of-our-founding-fathers|access-date=August 23, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920024153/http://www.jbs.org/index.php/jbs-news-feed/689-remembering-john-jay-one-of-our-founding-fathers|archive-date=September 20, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> New York's Provincial Congress elected Jay the Chief Justice of the [[New York Supreme Court|New York Supreme Court of Judicature]] on May 8, 1777,<ref name="columbiaJayNY"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nycourts.gov/history/Gallery_C.htm#r_2|title=Portrait Gallery|publisher=New York State Unified Court System|accessdate=August 23, 2008|work=The Historical Society of the Courts of the State of New York}}</ref> which he served on for two years.<ref name="columbiaJayNY"/>

The Continental Congress turned to Jay, a political adversary of the previous president [[Henry Laurens]], only three days after Jay became a delegate and elected him President of the Continental Congress. In previous congresses, Jay had moved from a position of seeking conciliation with Britain to advocating separation sooner than Laurens. Eight states voted for Jay and four for Laurens. Jay served as [[President of the Continental Congress]] from December 10, 1778, to September 28, 1779. It was  a largely ceremonial position without real power, and indicated the resolve of the majority and the commitment of the Continental Congress.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Calvin C. Jillson|author2=Rick K. Wilson|title=Congressional Dynamics: Structure, Coordination, and Choice in the First American Congress, 1774–1789|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=82_KQwDU5eYC&pg=PA88|year=1994|publisher=Stanford University Press|page=88|isbn=9780804722933}}</ref>

==As a diplomat==
===Minister to Spain===
On September 27, 1779, Jay was appointed [[United States Ambassador to Spain|Minister to Spain]]. His mission was to get financial aid, commercial treaties and recognition of American independence. The royal court of Spain refused to officially receive Jay as the Minister of the United States,<ref name="state1">[https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/po/com/11278.htm United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission to Spain]</ref> as it refused to recognize American Independence until 1783, fearing that such recognition could spark revolution in [[Spanish Empire|their own colonies]]. Jay, however, convinced Spain to loan $170,000 to the US government.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/related/jay.htm|title=John Jay|publisher=Independence Hall Association|accessdate=August 22, 2008|last= |first=}}</ref> He departed Spain on May 20, 1782.<ref name="state1" />

===Peace Commissioner===
{{main|Treaty of Paris (1783)}}
[[File:Treaty of Paris by Benjamin West 1783.jpg|thumb|250px|''The Treaty of Paris'' in which Jay stands farthest to the left]]
On June 23, 1782, Jay reached Paris, where negotiations to end the [[American Revolutionary War]] would take place.<ref>Pellew p. 166</ref> [[Benjamin Franklin]] was the most experienced diplomat of the group, and thus Jay wished to lodge near him, in order to learn from him.<ref>Pellew p. 170</ref> The United States agreed to negotiate with Britain separately, then with France.<ref name="State">{{cite web|work=U.S. Department of State|title=Treaty of Paris, 1783|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/ar/14313.htm|publisher=The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs|accessdate=August 23, 2008}}</ref> In July 1782, the [[Earl of Shelburne]] offered the Americans independence, but Jay rejected the offer on the grounds that it did not recognize American independence during the negotiations; Jay's dissent halted negotiations until the fall.<ref name="State"/> The final treaty dictated that the United States would have [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]] fishing rights, Britain would acknowledge the United States as independent and would withdraw its troops in exchange for the United States ending the seizure of [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Loyalist]] property and honoring private debts.<ref name="State"/><ref>{{cite web|work=The University of Oklahoma College of Law|url=http://www.law.ou.edu/ushistory/paris.shtml|title=The Paris Peace Treaty of 1783|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080929085017/http://www.law.ou.edu/ushistory/paris.shtml|archivedate=September 29, 2008}}</ref> The treaty granted the United States independence, but left many border regions in dispute, and many of its provisions were not enforced.<ref name="State"/> John Adams credited Jay with having the central role in the negotiations noting he was "of more importance than any of the rest of us." <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/forgotten-founding-father/|title=What you should know about forgotten founding father John Jay|publisher=PBS Newshour|accessdate=August 25, 2017}}</ref>

Jay's peacemaking skills were further applauded by New York Mayor [[James Duane]] on October 4, 1784. At that time, Jay was summoned from his family seat in Rye to receive "the Freedom" of New York City as a tribute to his successful negotiations. <ref>{{cite newspaper|publisher=Warden & Russell's Massachusetts Sentinel|date=October 27, 1784|title=American Occurrences}}</ref>

===Secretary of Foreign Affairs===
[[File:John Jay at National Portrait Gallery IMG 4446.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Jay as he appears at the [[National Portrait Gallery (United States)|National Portrait Gallery]] in Washington, D.C.]]
Jay served as the second [[United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs|Secretary of Foreign Affairs]] from 1784 to 1789, when in September, Congress passed a law giving certain additional domestic responsibilities to the new Department and changing its name to the Department of State. Jay served as acting [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] until March 22, 1790. Jay sought to establish a strong and durable American foreign policy: to seek the recognition of the young independent nation by powerful and established foreign European powers; to establish a stable American currency and credit supported at first by financial loans from European banks; to pay back America's creditors and to quickly pay off the country's heavy War-debt; to secure the infant nation's territorial boundaries under the most-advantageous terms possible and against possible incursions by the Indians, Spanish, the French and the English; to solve regional difficulties among the colonies themselves; to secure Newfoundland fishing rights; to establish a robust maritime trade for American goods with new economic trading partners; to protect American trading vessels against piracy; to preserve America's reputation at home and abroad; and to hold the country together politically under the fledgling [[Articles of Confederation]].<ref>Whitelock p. 181</ref>

==''The Federalist Papers'', 1788==
{{quote box|quote=With equal pleasure I have as often taken notice, that Providence has been pleased to give this one connected country, to one united people; a people descended from the same ancestors, speaking the same language, professing the same religion, attached to the same principles of government, very similar in their manners and customs, and who, by their joint counsels, arms and efforts, fighting side by side throughout a long and bloody war, have nobly established their general Liberty and Independence.|source= —John Jay<ref>[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=UrEfBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA58&lpg=PA58&dq=One+United+People:+The+Federalist+Papers+and+the+National+Idea+By+Edward+Millican+jay+describes+nation&source=bl&ots=1cc75swWQ2&sig=IYLr4ZGxnKfQQqUhjScZt1F-Brc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiG34T32cfZAhXOjqQKHfpmB4YQ6AEwBXoECAEQAQ#v=onepage&q=One%20United%20People%3A%20The%20Federalist%20Papers%20and%20the%20National%20Idea%20By%20Edward%20Millican%20jay%20describes%20nation&f=false One United People: The Federalist Papers and the National Idea] - By Edward Millican</ref><ref>[https://en.m.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Jay John Jay Quotes - Federalist No. 2]</ref>|width=28%|align=right}}

Jay believed his responsibility was not matched by a commensurate level of authority, so he joined [[Alexander Hamilton]] and [[James Madison]] in advocating for a stronger government than the one dictated by the Articles of Confederation.<ref name="jayuni"/><ref name="findlawjay">{{cite web|work=Find Law|title=John Jay|url=http://supreme.lp.findlaw.com/supreme_court/justices/pastjustices/jay.html|accessdate=August 25, 2008}}</ref> He argued in his "[http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.rbc/bdsdcc.c0501 Address to the People of the State of New-York, on the Subject of the Federal Constitution]" that the Articles of Confederation were too weak and an ineffective form of government, contending:

<blockquote>The Congress under the Articles of Confederation may make war, but are not empowered to raise men or money to carry it on—they may make peace, but without power to see the terms of it observed—they may form alliances, but without ability to comply with the stipulations on their part—they may enter into treaties of commerce, but without power to [e]nforce them at home or abroad ... —In short, they may consult, and deliberate, and recommend, and make requisitions, and they who please may regard them.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/bdsdcc:@field(DOCID+@lit(bdsdccc0501))|title=Extract from an Address to the people of the state of New-York, on the subject of the federal Constitution.|publisher=The Library of Congress|accessdate=August 23, 2008}}</ref></blockquote>

Jay did not attend the [[Constitutional Convention (United States)|Constitutional Convention]] but joined Hamilton and Madison in aggressively arguing in favor of the creation of a new and more powerful, centralized but balanced system of government. Writing under the shared pseudonym of "Publius,"<ref>[http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/1751.htm WSU] retrieved August 31, 2008</ref> they articulated this vision in ''[[The Federalist Papers]]'', a series of eighty-five articles written to persuade New York state convention members to ratify the proposed [[Constitution of the United States]].<ref>{{cite web|publisher=The Library of Congress|url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/federalist.html|title=The Federalist Papers|work=Primary Document in American History|accessdate=August 21, 2008}}</ref> Jay wrote the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixty-fourth articles. The second through the fifth are on the topic "Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence." The sixty-fourth discusses the role of the Senate in making foreign treaties.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/jay.htm|title=Federalist Papers Authored by John Jay|work=Foundingfathers.info|accessdate=August 21, 2008}}</ref>

==Jay court==
{{see also|Jay Court}}
In September 1789, Jay declined [[George Washington]]'s offer of the position of Secretary of State (which was technically a new position but would have continued Jay's service as Secretary of Foreign Affairs). Washington responded by offering him the new title, which Washington stated "must be regarded as the keystone of our political fabric," as [[Chief Justice of the United States]], which Jay accepted. Washington officially nominated Jay on September 24, 1789, the same day he signed the [[Judiciary Act of 1789]] (which created the position of Chief Justice) into law.<ref name="findlawjay"/> Jay was unanimously confirmed by the [[United States Senate|US Senate]] on September 26, 1789; Washington signed and sealed Jay's commission the same day. Jay swore his oath of office on October 19, 1789.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://judiciary.senate.gov/nominations/SupremeCourt/SupremeCourtHistory.cfm |title=The Supreme Court of the United States – History |publisher=United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary |accessdate=October 18, 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805012349/http://judiciary.senate.gov/nominations/SupremeCourt/SupremeCourtHistory.cfm |archivedate=August 5, 2011 }}</ref> Washington also nominated [[John Rutledge]], [[William Cushing]], [[Robert H. Harrison|Robert Harrison]], [[James Wilson]], and [[John Blair Jr.]] as [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States|Associate Judges]].<ref name="society">{{cite web|url=http://www.supremecourthistory.org/02_history/subs_history/02_c01.html|title=The Jay Court&nbsp;... 1789–1793|work=The Supreme Court Historical Society|accessdate=August 21, 2008 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080516013839/http://supremecourthistory.org/02_history/subs_history/02_c01.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = May 16, 2008}}</ref> Harrison declined the appointment, however, and Washington appointed [[James Iredell]] to fill the final seat on the Court.<ref>Lee Epstein, Jeffrey A. Segal, Harold J. Spaeth, and Thomas G. Walker, The Supreme Court Compendium 352 (3d ed. 2003).</ref> Jay would later serve with [[Thomas Johnson (jurist)|Thomas Johnson]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://law.jrank.org/pages/7836/Johnson-Thomas.html|title=Thomas Johnson|work=Law Library – American Law and Legal Information|accessdate=August 22, 2008}}</ref> who took Rutledge's seat,<ref name="society2">{{cite web|url=http://www.supremecourthistory.org/myweb/fp/courtlist.htm|title=Appointees Chart|work=The Supreme Court Historical Society|accessdate=August 22, 2008 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080421142758/http://www.supremecourthistory.org/myweb/fp/courtlist.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = April 21, 2008}}</ref> and [[William Paterson (judge)|William Paterson]], who took Johnson's seat.<ref name="society2"/> While Chief Justice, Jay was elected a Fellow of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] in 1790.<ref name=AAAS>{{cite web|title=Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter J|url=http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterJ.pdf|publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences|accessdate=July 28, 2014}}</ref> Jay served as Circuit Justice for the [[United States circuit court|Eastern Circuit]] from the Spring of 1790, until the Spring of 1792.<ref name=FJC>{{FJC Bio|1168|nid=1382771|name=John Jay<!--(1745–1829)-->}}</ref> He served as Circuit Justice for the Middle Circuit from the Spring of 1793, until the Spring of 1794.<ref name=FJC/>

The Court's business through its first three years primarily involved the establishment of rules and procedure; reading of commissions and admission of attorneys to the bar; and the Justices' duties in "riding circuit," or presiding over cases in the [[circuit courts]] of the various federal judicial districts. No convention then precluded the involvement of Supreme Court Justices in political affairs, and Jay used his light workload as a Justice to participate freely in the business of Washington's administration.

Jay used his circuit riding to spread word throughout the states of Washington's commitment to neutrality and published reports of French minister [[Edmond-Charles Genet]]'s campaign to win American support for France. However, Jay also established an early precedent for the Court's independence in 1790, when Treasury Secretary [[Alexander Hamilton]] wrote to Jay requesting the Court's endorsement of legislation that would assume the debts of the states. Jay replied that the Court's business was restricted to ruling on the constitutionality of cases being tried before it and refused to allow it to take a position for or against the legislation.<ref>[http://www.leftjustified.com/leftjust/lib/sc/ht/fed/jbio.html John Jay], ''Leftjustified.com''</ref>

===Cases===
{{quote box|quote=[T]he people are the sovereign of this country, and consequently ... fellow citizens and joint sovereigns cannot be degraded by appearing with each other in their own courts to have their controversies determined. The people have reason to prize and rejoice in such valuable privileges, and they ought not to forget that nothing but the free course of constitutional law and government can ensure the continuance and enjoyment of them. For the reasons before given, I am clearly of opinion that a State is suable by citizens of another State.|source= —John Jay in the court opinion of ''[[Chisholm v. Georgia]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://supreme.justia.com/us/2/419/case.html|title=Chisholm v. Georgia, 2 U. S. 419 (1793) (Court Opinion)|work=Justia & Oyez|accessdate=August 21, 2008}}</ref>
|width=300px
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}}
The Court heard only four cases during Jay's Chief Justiceship.

Its first case did not occur until early in the Court's third term, with ''[[West v. Barnes]]'' (1791). The Court had an early opportunity to establish the principle of [[judicial review in the United States]] with the case, which involved a [[Rhode Island]] state statute permitting the lodging of a debt payment in [[paper currency]]. Instead of grappling with the constitutionality of the law, however, the Court unanimously decided the case on procedural grounds, strictly interpreting statutory requirements.<ref name="society"/>

In ''[[Hayburn's Case]]'' (1792), the Jay Court made no decision other than to continue the case later, and in the meantime, Congress changed the law. The case was about whether a federal statute could require the courts to decide whether petitioning [[veterans]] of the [[American Revolution]] qualified for pensions, a non-judicial function. The Jay Court wrote a letter to President Washington to say that determining whether petitioners qualified was an "act&nbsp;... not of a judicial nature"<ref name="hayburnopinion">{{cite web|work=Justia and Oyez|title=Hayburn's Case, 2 U. S. 409 (1792)|url=http://supreme.justia.com/us/2/409/case.html|accessdate=August 22, 2008}}</ref> and that because the statute allowed the [[legislative branch]] and the [[executive branch]] to revise the court's ruling, the statute violated the [[separation of powers under the United States Constitution|separation of powers]] of the [[Constitution of the United States|US Constitution]].<ref name="hayburnopinion"/><ref>{{cite journal |last=Pushaw Jr. |first=Robert J. |journal=Georgetown Law Journal|publisher=Bnet|volume=87|page=473|date=November 1998|title=Book Review: Why the Supreme Court Never Gets Any "Dear John" Letters: Advisory Opinions in Historical Perspective: Most Humble Servants: The Advisory Role of Early Judges. By Stewart Jay|url=https://litigation-essentials.lexisnexis.com/webcd/app?action=DocumentDisplay&crawlid=1&doctype=cite&docid=87+Geo.+L.J.+473&srctype=smi&srcid=3B15&key=f9b5ca2a2d4c0a5abbd7bd66130f993c|accessdate=September 24, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|work=Novelguide.com|url=http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/dah_04/dah_04_01862.html|title=Hayburn's Case|accessdate=August 22, 2008}}</ref>

In ''[[Chisholm v. Georgia]]'' (1793), the Jay Court had to decide if the state of Georgia was subject to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the federal government.<ref name="chisholmoyez">{{cite web|work=The Oyez Project|title=Chisholm v. Georgia, 2 U.S. 419 (1793)|url=https://www.oyez.org/cases/1792-1850/1793/1793_0/|accessdate=August 21, 2008}}</ref> In a 4–1 ruling (Iredell dissented, and Rutledge did not participate), the Jay Court ruled in favor of [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Loyalists]] of two [[South Carolina]] whose land had been seized by Georgia. That ruling sparked debate, as it implied that old debts must be paid to Loyalists.<ref name="society"/> The ruling was overturned when the [[Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution|Eleventh Amendment]] was ratified, which stated that a state could not be&nbsp;sued by a citizen of another state or foreign country.<ref name="jayuni"/><ref name="society"/> The case was brought again to the Supreme Court in ''[[Georgia v. Brailsford (1794)|Georgia v. Brailsford]]'', and the Court reversed its decision.<ref>{{cite web|title=Georgia v. Brailsford, Powell & Hopton, 3 U.S. 3 Dall. 1 1 (1794)|work=Oyez & Justia|url=http://supreme.justia.com/us/3/1/index.html|accessdate=August 21, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://jay.thefreelibrary.com/|work=The Free Library|publisher=Farlex|title=John Jay (1745–1829)|accessdate=August 21, 2008}}</ref> However, Jay's original Chisholm decision established that states were subject to [[judicial review]].<ref name="chisholmoyez"/><ref>Johnson (2000)</ref>

In ''[[Georgia v. Brailsford (1794)|Georgia v. Brailsford]]'' (1794), the Court upheld jury instructions stating "you [jurors] have&nbsp;... a right to take upon yourselves to&nbsp;... determine the law as well as the fact in controversy." Jay noted for the jury the "good old rule, that on questions of fact, it is the province of the jury, on questions of law, it is the province of the court to decide," but that amounted to no more than a presumption that the judges were correct about the law. Ultimately, "both objects [the law and the facts] are lawfully within your power of decision."<ref>''We the Jury'' by Jefferey B Abramson, pp. 75–76</ref><ref>Mann, ''Neighbors and Strangers'', pp. 71, 75</ref>

==1792 campaign for Governor of New York==
In 1792, Jay was the [[United States Federalist Party|Federalist]] [[New York gubernatorial elections|candidate]] for governor of New York, but he was defeated by [[Democratic-Republican Party|Democratic-Republican]] [[George Clinton (vice president)|George Clinton]]. Jay received more votes than George Clinton; but, on technicalities, the votes of [[Otsego County, New York|Otsego]], [[Tioga County, New York|Tioga]] and [[Clinton County, New York|Clinton]] counties were disqualified and, therefore, not counted, giving George Clinton a slight plurality.<ref>{{cite book|first=John|last=Jenkins|url=https://books.google.com/?id=Gm04AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA42#PPA44,M1|title=History of Political Parties in the State of New-York|accessdate=August 25, 2008|publisher=Alden & Markham|year=1846}}</ref> The State constitution said that the cast votes shall be delivered to the [[Secretary of State of New York|secretary of state]] "by the sheriff or his deputy"; but, for example, the Otsego County Sheriff's term had expired, so that legally, at the time of the election, the office of Sheriff was vacant and the votes could not be brought to the State capital. Clinton partisans in the State legislature, the State courts, and Federal offices were determined not to accept any argument that this would, in practice, violate the constitutional right to vote of the voters in these counties. Consequently, these votes were disqualified.<ref>{{cite web |last=Sullivan |first=Dr. James |url=http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ny/state/his/bk12/ch3/pt2.html |title=The History of New York State |publisher=Lewis Historical Publishing Company |year=1927 |accessdate=August 20, 2008 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080610063704/http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ny/state/his/bk12/ch3/pt2.html |archivedate=June 10, 2008 }}</ref>

==Jay Treaty==
{{main|Jays Treaty}}
[[File:Jay's-treaty.jpg|thumb|150px|The [[Jay Treaty]]]]
Relations with Britain verged on war in 1794. British exports dominated the US market, and American exports were blocked by British trade restrictions and tariffs. Britain still occupied northern forts that it had agreed to surrender in the Treaty of Paris. Britain's [[Impressment#Conflict with the United States|impressment]] of American sailors and seizure of naval and military supplies bound to enemy ports on neutral ships also created conflict.<ref name="statejaytreaty">{{cite web|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/nr/14318.htm|title=John Jay's Treaty, 1794–95|work=U.S. Department of State|publisher=The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs|accessdate=August 25, 2008}}</ref> Madison proposed a trade war, "A direct system of commercial hostility with Great Britain," assuming that Britain was so weakened by its war with France that it would agree to American terms and not declare war.<ref>Elkins and McKitrick, p. 405</ref>

Washington rejected that policy and sent Jay as a special envoy to Great Britain to negotiate a new treaty; Jay remained Chief Justice. Washington had [[Alexander Hamilton]] write instructions for Jay that were to guide him in the negotiations.<ref name="Kafer p. 87">Kafer p. 87</ref> In March 1795, the resulting treaty, known as the [[Jay Treaty]], was brought to [[Philadelphia]].<ref name="Kafer p. 87"/> When Hamilton, in an attempt to maintain good relations, informed Britain that the United States would not join the [[Denmark|Danish]] and [[Sweden|Swedish]] governments to defend their neutral status, Jay lost most of his leverage. The treaty eliminated Britain's control of northwestern posts<ref name="earlyamerica">{{cite web|url=http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/jaytreaty/|work=Archiving Early America|title=Jay's Treaty|accessdate=August 25, 2008}}</ref> and granted the US "[[most favored nation]]" status.<ref name="statejaytreaty"/> The US agreed to restricted commercial access to the British West Indies.<ref name="statejaytreaty"/>

The treaty did not resolve American grievances about neutral shipping rights and impressment,<ref name="columbiajaytreaty"/> and the [[Democratic-Republican]]s denounced it, but Jay, as Chief Justice, decided not to take part in the debates.<ref>Estes (2002)</ref> The continued British impressment of American ships would be a cause of the [[War of 1812]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usahistory.com/wars/1812.htm|title=Wars – War of 1812|work=USAhistory.com}}</ref> The failure to get compensation for slaves taken by the British during the Revolution "was a major reason for the bitter Southern opposition".<ref>quoting Don Fehrenbacher, ''The Slaveholding Republic'' (2002) p. 93; Frederick A. Ogg, "Jay's Treaty and the Slavery Interests of the United States". ''Annual Report of the American Historical Association for the Year 1901'' (1902) 1:275–86 in JSTOR.</ref> Jefferson and Madison, fearing that a commercial alliance with aristocratic Britain might undercut republicanism, led the opposition. However, Washington put his prestige behind the treaty, and Hamilton and the Federalists mobilized public opinion.<ref>Todd Estes, "Shaping the Politics of Public Opinion: Federalists and the Jay Treaty Debate". ''Journal of the Early Republic'' (2000) 20(3): 393–422. {{ISSN|0275-1275}}; [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3125063 online at JSTOR]</ref> The Senate ratified the treaty by a 20–10 vote, exactly by the two-thirds majority required.<ref name="statejaytreaty"/><ref name="earlyamerica"/>

Democratic-Republicans were incensed at what they perceived as a betrayal of American interests, and Jay was denounced by protesters with such graffiti as "Damn John Jay! Damn everyone who won't damn John Jay!! Damn everyone that won't put lights in his windows and sit up all night damning John Jay!!!" One newspaper editor wrote, "John Jay, ah! the arch traitor – seize him, drown him, burn him, flay him alive."<ref>{{cite book|last=Walter A. McDougall|first=Walter A.|title=Promised Land, Crusader State: The American Encounter with the World Since 1776|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Books|year=1997|page=29|isbn=978-0-395-90132-8|url=https://books.google.com/?id=Gr6atcdK37EC|accessdate=August 22, 2008}}</ref> Jay himself quipped that he could travel at night from Boston to Philadelphia solely by the light of his burning effigies.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/democracy/robes_jay.html |title=Biographies of the Robes: John Jay |work=Supreme Court History: The Court and Democracy |publisher=pbs.org |accessdate=June 30, 2015}}</ref>

==Governor of New York==
[[File:JJay.png|thumb|left|100px|Gubernatorial portrait of Jay]]
[[File:John Jay Certificate of Election as Gov. of NY 1795.jpg|thumb|upright|Certificate of Election of Jay as Governor of New York (June 6, 1795)]]
While in Britain, Jay was elected in May 1795, as the second governor of [[New York (state)|New York]] (succeeding [[George Clinton (vice president)|George Clinton]]) as a [[Federalist Party (United States)|Federalist]]. He resigned from the Supreme Court service on June 29, 1795, and served six years as governor until 1801.

As governor, he received a proposal from Hamilton to [[gerrymander]] New York for the presidential election of that year;{{When|date=August 2011}} he marked the letter "Proposing a measure for party purposes which it would not become me to adopt", and filed it without replying.<ref>Monaghan, pp. 419–21; {{cite journal|title=Was Alexander Hamilton a Christian Statesman |first=Douglass|last=Adair|author2=Marvin Harvey|journal=The William and Mary Quarterly|issue=3rd Ser., Vol. 12, No. 2, Alexander Hamilton: 1755–1804|date=April 1955|pages=308–29|doi=10.2307/1920511|volume=12|jstor=1920511|publisher=Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture}}</ref> President [[John Adams]] then renominated him to the Supreme Court; the Senate quickly confirmed him, but he declined, citing his own poor health<ref name="findlawjay"/> and the court's lack of "the energy, weight and dignity which are essential to its affording due support to the national government."<ref>Laboratory of Justice, The Supreme Court's 200 Year Struggle to Integrate Science and the Law, by David L. Faigman, First edition, 2004, p. 34; Smith, Republic of Letters, 15, 501</ref> After Jay's rejection of the position, Adams successfully nominated [[John Marshall]] as Chief Justice.

While governor, Jay ran in the [[1796 United States presidential election|1796 presidential election]], winning five electoral votes, and in the [[1800 United States presidential election|1800 election]], winning one vote.

==Retirement from politics==
In 1801, Jay declined both the Federalist renomination for governor and a Senate-confirmed nomination to resume his former office as Chief Justice of the United States and retired to the life of a farmer in [[Westchester County, New York]]. Soon after his retirement, his wife died.<ref>Whitelock p. 327</ref> Jay remained in good health, continued to farm and, with one notable exception, stayed out of politics.<ref>Whitelock p. 329</ref> In 1819, he wrote a letter condemning Missouri's bid for admission to the union as a slave state, saying that slavery "ought not to be introduced nor permitted in any of the new states."<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://wwwapp.cc.columbia.edu/ldpd/jay/item?mode=item&key=columbia.jay.08767|title = John Jay to Elias Boudinot|date = November 17, 1819|accessdate = |website = The Papers of John Jay|publisher = Columbia University|last = Jay|first = John}}</ref>

Midway through Jay's retirement in 1814, both he and his son [[Peter Augustus Jay (lawyer)|Peter Augustus Jay]] were elected members of the [[American Antiquarian Society]].<ref>[http://www.americanantiquarian.org/memberlistj American Antiquarian Society Members Directory]</ref>

==Death==
On the night of May 14, 1829, Jay was stricken with [[:wikt:palsy|palsy]], probably caused by a stroke. He lived for three days, dying in [[Bedford (town), New York|Bedford, New York]], on May 17.<ref>Whitelock p. 335</ref> Jay had chosen to be buried in Rye, where he lived as a boy. In 1807, he had transferred the remains of his wife Sarah Livingston and those of his colonial ancestors from the family vault in the Bowery in Manhattan to Rye, establishing a private cemetery. Today, the Jay Cemetery is an integral part of the [[Boston Post Road Historic District (Rye, New York)|Boston Post Road Historic District]], adjacent to the historic [[Jay Heritage Center|Jay Estate]]. The Cemetery is maintained by the Jay descendants and closed to the public. It is the oldest active cemetery associated with a figure from the American Revolution.

==Legacy==
[[File:John Jay Dedication & Cancellation by Rye Post Office - September 5, 1936.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Rye, New York]] Post Office Dedication Stamp and cancellation, September 5, 1936]]

===Places===
Several geographical locations within his home state of [[New York (state)|New York]] were named for him, including the colonial [[Fort Jay]] on [[Governors Island]] and [[John Jay Park]] in Manhattan which was designed in part by his great, great granddaughter [[Mary Rutherfurd Jay]]. Other places named for him include the towns of Jay in [[Jay, Maine|Maine]], [[Jay, New York|New York]], and [[Jay, Vermont|Vermont]]; [[Jay County, Indiana]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Gannett |first=Henry | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9V1IAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA168#v=onepage&q&f=false | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | year=1905 | page=168}}</ref> [[Mount John Jay]], also known as Boundary Peak 18, a summit on the border between Alaska and [[British Columbia]], Canada, is also named for him,<ref>{{Cite bcgnis|id=8103 |title=John Jay, Mount}}</ref><ref>{{Cite GNIS|1866919|Mount John Jay}}</ref> as is [[Jay Peak (Vermont)|Jay Peak]] in northern Vermont.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9V1IAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA168#v=onepage&q&f=false | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | page=168}}</ref>

===Postage===
On September 5, 1936, the Rye Post Office issued a special cancellation stamp in honor of their native son. To further commemorate the fact that Rye was Jay's hometown, the Rye Post office [[United States Post Office (Rye, New York)|United States Post Office]] led by Congresswoman [[Caroline Love Goodwin O'Day]] commissioned painter [[Guy Pene du Bois]] to create a mural for the post office's lobby, titled ''John Jay at His Home''. It was completed in 1938 during the WPA era. On December 12, 1958, the [[United States Postal Service]] released a 15¢ [[Liberty Issue]] postage stamp honoring Jay.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://usstampgallery.com/view.php?id=7776f8b9dd913610a9767b419953f947d654c1a7 |title=John Jay Commemorative Stamp |publisher=U.S. Stamp Gallery |accessdate=October 5, 2012}}</ref>

[[File:John Jay 15c 1958 issue.JPG|thumb|left|upright|Jay issue of 1958]]

===Schools===
High schools named after Jay are located in Brooklyn, NY, [[John Jay High School (Cross River, New York)|Cross River]] and [[John Jay High School (Hopewell Junction, New York)|Hopewell Junction, New York]] and [[John Jay High School (San Antonio, Texas)|San Antonio, Texas]].
Exceptional undergraduates at [[Columbia University]] are designated [[John Jay Scholars]], and one of that university's undergraduate dormitories is known as [[John Jay Hall]]. In 1964, the [[City University of New York|City University of New York's]] College of Police Science was officially renamed the [[John Jay College of Criminal Justice]].

===Literature===
John Jay's childhood home in Rye, "The Locusts" was immortalized by novelist [[James Fenimore Cooper]] in his first successful novel ''[[The Spy (Cooper novel)|The Spy]]''; this book about counterespionage during the Revolutionary War was based on a tale that Jay told Cooper from his own experience as a spymaster in [[Westchester County, New York|Westchester County]].<ref>Clary, Suzanne.[http://www.myrye.com/my_weblog/2010/11/james-fenimore-cooper-and-spies-in-rye.html James Fenimore Copper and Spies in Rye]. ''My Rye'', 2010.</ref><ref>Hicks, Paul. [http://ryerecord.com/a-little-rye-history/a-little-local-history-the-spymaster-and-the-author.html The Spymaster and the Author] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402181802/http://ryerecord.com/a-little-rye-history/a-little-local-history-the-spymaster-and-the-author.html |date=April 2, 2015 }}. ''The Rye Record,'' December 7, 2014.</ref>

===Papers===
{{main|The Selected Papers of John Jay}}
''[[The Selected Papers of John Jay]]'' is an ongoing endeavor by scholars at Columbia University's Rare Book and Manuscript Library to organize, transcribe and publish a wide range of politically and culturally important letters authored by and written to Jay that demonstrate the depth and breadth of his contributions as a nation builder. More than 13,000 documents from over 75 university and historical collections have been compiled and photographed to date.

===Portrayal in popular media===
Jay is portrayed by Tim Moyer in the 1984 TV miniseries ''[[George Washington (miniseries)|George Washington]]''. In its 1986 sequel miniseries ''[[George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation]]'' he is portrayed by Nicholas Kepros.

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|United States|Politics}}
* [[List of abolitionist forerunners]]
* [[List of Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States]]
* [[List of United States Chief Justices by time in office]]
* [[List of United States Supreme Court cases prior to the Marshall Court]]
* [[List of United States Supreme Court Justices by time in office]]
{{clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources and bibliography==
{{refbegin|2}}
* {{cite book|last=Bemis|first=Samuel F.|title=Jay's Treaty: A Study in Commerce and Diplomacy|publisher=The Macmillan Company|location=New York City|year=1923|isbn=978-0-8371-8133-2|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/jaystreatystudyi0000bemi}}
* Bemis, Samuel Flagg. "John Jay." [http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.32106006332446;view=1up;seq=225] in Bemis, ed. ''The American Secretaries of State and their diplomacy''  V.1 (1928) pp.&nbsp;193–298
* Brecher, Frank W. ''Securing American Independence: John Jay and the French Alliance.'' [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=107032616 Praeger, 2003. 327 pp.]
* Casto, William R. ''The Supreme Court in the Early Republic: The Chief Justiceships of John Jay and Oliver Ellsworth.'' U. of South Carolina Press, 1995. 267 pp.
* Combs, Jerald. A. ''The Jay Treaty: Political Background of Founding Fathers'' (1970) ({{ISBN|0-520-01573-8}}); concludes the Federalists "followed the proper policy" because the treaty preserved peace with Britain
* [[Stanley Elkins|Elkins, Stanley M.]] and Eric McKitrick, ''The Age of Federalism: The Early American Republic, 1788–1800.'' (1994), detailed political history
* Estes, Todd. "John Jay, the Concept of Deference, and the Transformation of Early American Political Culture." ''Historian'' (2002) 65(2): 293–317. {{ISSN|0018-2370}} Fulltext in Swetswise, Ingenta and Ebsco
* Ferguson, Robert A. "The Forgotten Publius: John Jay and the Aesthetics of Ratification." ''Early American Literature'' (1999) 34(3): 223–40. {{ISSN|0012-8163}} Fulltext: in Swetswise and Ebsco
* Johnson, Herbert A. "John Jay and the Supreme Court." ''New York History'' 2000 81(1): 59–90. {{ISSN|0146-437X}}
* Kaminski, John P. "Honor and Interest: John Jay's Diplomacy During the Confederation." ''New York History'' (2002) 83(3): 293–327. {{ISSN|0146-437X}}
* Kaminski, John P. "Shall We Have a King? John Jay and the Politics of Union." ''New York History'' (2000) 81(1): 31–58. {{ISSN|0146-437X}}
* {{cite book|last=Kefer|first=Peter|title=Charles Brockden Brown's Revolution and the Birth of American Gothic |location= |year=2004|pages= |isbn= |url=}}
* Klein, Milton M. "John Jay and the Revolution." ''New York History'' (2000) 81(1): 19–30. {{ISSN|0146-437X}}
* Littlefield, Daniel C. "John Jay, the Revolutionary Generation, and Slavery" ''New York History'' 2000 81(1): 91–132. {{ISSN|0146-437X}}
* Magnet, Myron. "The Education of John Jay" ''City Journal'' (Winter 2010) 20#1 [http://www.city-journal.org/2010/20_1_urb-john-jay.html online]
* Monaghan, Frank. ''John Jay: Defender of Liberty'' 1972. on abolitionism
* Morris, Richard B. ''The Peacemakers: The Great Powers and American Independence'' 1965.
* Morris, Richard B. ''Seven Who Shaped Our Destiny: The Founding Fathers as Revolutionaries'' 1973. chapter on Jay
* Morris, Richard B. ''Witness at the Creation; Hamilton, Madison, Jay and the Constitution'' 1985.
* Morris, Richard B. ed. ''John Jay: The Winning of the Peace'' 1980. 9780060130480
* Perkins, Bradford. ''The First Rapprochement; England and the United States: 1795–1805'' Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1955.
* {{cite book|last=Stahr|first=Walter|title=John Jay: Founding Father|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|location=New York & London|date=March 1, 2005|page=482|isbn=978-1-85285-444-7|url=https://books.google.com/?id=oHVLBRTz2T0C}}
* {{cite book|last=Whitelock|first=William|title=The Life and Times of John Jay |publisher=Statesman|location= |year=1887|pages=482|isbn= |url=}}

===Primary sources===
* Landa M. Freeman, Louise V. North, and Janet M. Wedge, eds. ''Selected Letters of John Jay and Sarah Livingston Jay: Correspondence by or to the First Chief Justice of the United States and His Wife'' (2005)
* Morris, Richard B. ed. ''John Jay: The Making of a Revolutionary; Unpublished Papers, 1745–1780'' 1975.
* Nuxoll, Elizabeth M., Mary A.Y. Gallagher, and Jennifer E. Steenshorne, eds. ''The Selected Papers of John Jay, Volume 1, 1760–1779'' (University of Virginia Press; 2010) 912 pages. First volume in a projected seven-volume edition of Jay's incoming and outgoing correspondence
** Nuxoll, Elizabeth M. et al. eds. ''The Selected Papers of John Jay: 1785–1788'' (University of Virginia Press; 2015) 872 pages
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{external links|date=October 2016}}
{{sisterlinks|s=Author:John Jay (1745-1829)|v=no|b=no|wikt=no|n=no|d=Q310847}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080707015130/http://www.supremecourthistory.org/02_history/subs_timeline/images_chiefs/001.html John Jay, Supreme Court Historical Society]
* [[Oyez.org|Oyez Project]] [https://www.oyez.org/justices/john_jay/ U.S. Supreme Court media on John Jay.]
* {{Gutenberg author |id=15}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=John Jay}}
* {{Librivox author |id=6222}}
* [http://metalibri.wikidot.com/authors:john-jay John Jay at MetaLibri]
* [https://www.senate.gov/vtour/jay.htm John Jay bust, by John Frazee (1790–1852), Marble, circa 1831, Size: 24" h., Catalog No. 21.00010, S-141, Old Supreme Court Chamber, U.S. Senate Collection, Office of Senate Curator.]
* [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/digital/exhibitions/constitution/essay.html Essay: John Jay and the Constitution] Online exhibition for Constitution Day 2005, based on the notes of Professor Richard B. Morris (1904–1989) and his staff, originally prepared for volume 3 of the Papers of John Jay.
* [http://www.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/cul/resolve?AVE8231 The Papers of John Jay] An image database and indexing tool comprising some 13,000 documents scanned chiefly from photocopies of original documents from the Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University in the City of New York and approximately 90 other institutions.
* [http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/nyhs/jay/ The John Jay Papers at the New York Historical Society]
* {{FJC Bio|1168|nid=1382771|name=John Jay<!--(1745–1829)-->}}

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