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Dromo's Den
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[Up] [Dromo's Den] John Jay Biography JAY, John, statesman and jurist, born in New York City, Dec. 12, 1745; died May 17, 1829. He graduated from Columbia College in 1766, was admitted to the bar soon after, and became a member of the continental convention in 1774, at which time he wrote an address to the people of Great Britain. As a member of the second continental congress, he aided in making negotiations with France, and as a delegate to the New York convention assisted in preparing the state constitution, He became the chief justice of New York in 1777, was sent to Spain as minister in 1779 to secure a loan, and was instrumental in rendering valuable aid to the American cause. In 1783 he was associated with Franklin and Adams in negotiating the peace treaty with England at Paris. He was secretary of foreign affairs in 1784-89, aided Hamilton and Madison in writing the "Federalist," and was a leading advocate of the adoption of the constitution. When the New York convention assembled in 1788 to ratify the constitution, he took an efficient part in the deliberations, and the following year was appointed by President Washington as the first chief justice of the United States. In 1792 he failed in the election as a federalist candidate for governor of New York. The Jay treaty, negotiated with England, that country being represented by Lord Granville, in 1794, was unpopular in many sections of the country, and greatly weakened the federalist party. He served as governor of New York in 1795-1801. As a statesman, diplomat, and jurist he is ranked among the leaders of America, while his moral qualities and love of justice gave him high esteem, being reputed second only to Washington. The Teachers' and Pupils' Cyclopædia, Vol. II (Kansas City: Bufton Book Co., 1909) 913. |