John Jay: Draft of the Proclamation of Neutrality

About the Author

John Jay was born in the colony of New York on December 12, 1745. Jay's paternal great-grandfather, Pierre Jay, was a Huguenot who left France for England to avoid persecution. Jay's paternal grandfather, Augustus, grew up in England but moved to the American colonies and became a successful import-export businessman. By the time John was born, John's father, Peter, was rich, retired, and married to Mary Van Cortlandt, a member of a large and powerful Dutch banking and trade family. The Jays' multinational origins and their focus on trade and comity for their livelihoods would be themes of John Jay's long career.

In 1764 Jay graduated from what was then called King's College but became Columbia University. He was admitted to the bar and began his law practice in 1768. By 1774 he had begun his political career by serving on the Committee of Fifty to select New York's delegates to the Constitutional Convention. He also married Sarah Livingston, the daughter of the New Jersey governor William Livingston. In 1776 Jay began his service as a delegate to the New York State constitutional convention, and in 1778 he began a two-year term as president of the First Continental Congress. He was also the chief justice of New York State during this period. Beginning in 1779, Jay spent three years seeking diplomatic recognition for the newly independent country of the United States of America. He focused his negotiations on the recognition of the new country, on trade and commerce, and on the establishment of alliances based on mutual commercial interests. His efforts abroad led to the execution of the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which brought formal peace between England and the United States. Although the treaty was controversial at home, where many people were still angry at England, formal peace with England was necessary for the new country to make the transition from the Revolutionary War mode to one of economic growth grounded in peaceful international relations. Upon his return home in July 1784, Jay was installed as secretary for foreign affairs. His tenure as secretary was consumed by constant negotiations over trade violations and other breaches of the Treaty of Paris by both countries. The challenges Jay dealt with as secretary led him to embrace the concept of a more powerful central government than had been established by the Articles of Confederation. Although he did not attend the Philadelphia convention, he would prove instrumental in the adoption of the new Constitution.

As one of the authors of the Federalist Papers, along with James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, Jay was instrumental in persuading the citizens of the country to adopt the new Constitution. He was also one of the primary shepherds of the document through the ratification debates in New York and is credited with swaying those delegates who were leery of a strong central government as well as those who were concerned with the power of small states under the new constitutional design. When the Constitution was approved and George Washington had become president, one of Washington's earliest acts was to nominate Jay to be chief justice of the United States. Jay's time as chief justice has perhaps been eclipsed by the length and impact of John Marshall's tenure, but Jay served during a critical time in the nation's development. He helped establish the United States as a credible trade partner and a legitimate member of the community of nations. While serving as chief justice, Jay was dispatched by President Washington in 1794 to negotiate a broad peace and trade agreement with England. While it was controversial at the time, driven by residual hostility from the war with Britain, the Jay Treaty led to an economic relationship that proved beneficial over the near and long terms. When Jay was negotiating the treaty, his allies in New York nominated him and the voters elected him governor of the state. He accepted the position in 1795 and resigned his post at the Supreme Court. Throughout Jay's long career of public service, he helped guide the United States into the international economy and helped solidify its position as a member of the community of nations.