John Jay

I wrote a thing about John Jay for my school, so I thought I might as well post it on here.

"John Jay was born on December 12, 1745, in New York City, New York. The thing that he is most famous for is being the first Chief Justice of the U.S..

He also wrote federalist papers two, three, four, five and sixty four, served as president of the Continental Congress, served as governor of New York, was Secretary of Foreign Affairs under the Articles of Confederation, and an ambassador to Spain and France.

He was educated at home until age fifteen, when he attended King's College, now Columbia University, and graduated four years later. After college, he studied and went into law. When he had the opportunity, he established his own law office.

In 1774 he married Sarah Livingston. They had six children.

His father was very loyal to England, and even when England started increasing taxes and restricting our freedom more John Jay wished to avoid separation. However, when the Revolution started, he became a staunch patriot, and declared that separation from England was inevitable.

Jay did not support slavery. He drafted state laws to abolish slavery, but they failed. Sometimes he would buy slaves and then free them when their labor had payed for their price.

“...we have the highest Reason to believe that the Almighty will not suffer Slavery & the Gospel to go Hand in Hand. It cannot, it will not be.”- John Jay

During his term as Chief Justice, he only had four cases, because the Court wasn't very big at the time. In one of them, Chisholm v. Georgia, Alexander Chisholm came to court because Georgia owed him money. This led to the eleventh amendment, and it was the first major case of the court.

Jay was a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church of America.

"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."

Jay died on May seventeenth, 1829, in Bedford, New York. His wife had died in 1802."

John Jay

Sarah Jay