JOHN JAY1745-1829

Kevin Boyd

WHO WAS JOHN JAY?

King’s College class of 1764

A founding father of America

Chief justice of the united states

President of the continental congress

Governor of new York state

THE JAY FAMILY Born on December 12, 1745 in New York City, John was brought up in a

wealthy family of merchants and government officials.

His father, Peter Jay, was a highly successful and wealthy

trader of furs, timber, and other commodities. His father’s

side of the family was a line of wealthy merchants, his

paternal grandfather, Augustus Jay, had moved from France

to New York after the Edict of Nantes was revoked in 1685,

which took away the rights and property of Protestants.

Upon arriving in New York, Augustus Jay built up the

family’s merchant empire.

John’s mother, Mary Van Cortlandt, along with her brother Frederick,

married into the Jay family. Her father, Jacobus Van Cortlandt, who was

also a successful merchant, served as the 30th as well as the 33rd mayor

of New York City. The legacy of Jacobus Van Cortlandt lives on to this

day with the plot of land that he purchased up in the Bronx, now known

as Van Cortlandt Park.

THE EARLY YEARS

The Jay Family Home

In 1745, Peter Jay built the family’s home in Rye, New York, overlooking

the Long Island Sound. This served as John’s childhood home, which he

later inherited and gave to his eldest son Peter Augustus Jay.

Education

Until the age of eight years old, John was educated by private tutors, he

was then sent to New Rochelle, New York to study under Anglican priest

Pierre Stoupe. After three years in New Rochelle, John returned home in

1756 to continue his schooling under the instruction of George Murray.

The Peter Augustus Jay House, built over the foundation of his grandfather’s original home

KING’S COLLEGE

In 1760, John Jay arrived at King’s College, where he underwent the classical education of the college, gradating in 1764.

At King’s College John made many important friends, the most influential being

Robert Livingston, Jay’s closest friend. Robert was the son of Judge Robert Livingston, who was a very prominent aristocrat in the city of New York and also the Supreme Court Justice.

Robert went on to become one of our Founding Father’s, Minister of Finance, and the first Chancellor of New York.

Robert Livingston

POST KING’S COLLEGE Entrance into Law

After graduating in 1764, John went to work as a law clerk for a sought after teacher in the field of law, Benjamin Kissam.

John studied law for a few years, until in 1771 he was able to create his own law office.

Start of Political Career In 1774, he became a member of the New York Committee of

Correspondence. His first political role was when he became Secretary for the Committee.

Also in 1774, Jay was nominated to serve as a delegate of the first Continental Congress, where he initially sided with those who wished for conciliation with Parliament.

Eventually, violence acts by British troops swayed Jay to support independence, and upon the beginning of the Revolutionary War, he had become a Patriot and worked toward helping the revolutionary cause.

The first Continental Congress

PERSONAL LIFE- MARRIAGE Personal Life….

On April 28, 1774, John Jay married Sarah Van Brugh Livingston.

Leads to Professional Connections Sarah Livingston was the daughter of the Governor of New

Jersey, William Livingston.

Jay’s marriage gave him important connections with a politically powerful colonial family.

Livingston was a signer of the United States Constitution, and was continually re-elected Governor of New Jersey until his death in 1790.

William Livingston

Sarah Van Brugh Livingston Jay

THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR Career Highlights

John had established a good reputation, notably being a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses.

On May 8, 1777, New York's Provincial Congress elected Jay the Chief Justice of the New York Supreme Court.

Served as the President of the Continental Congress from December 10, 1778, to September 28, 1779.

Helped Benjamin Franklin negotiate the Treaty of Paris, and then later negotiate the Treaty of London of 1794 (Jay Treaty).

Appointed Chief Justice of the United States by George Washington in 1789.

Elected Governor of New York in 1795 and served until 1801.

The Treaty of Paris

John Jay

THE FEDERALIST PAPERS

The Need for a Stronger Government Unhappy with the government in place due to the Articles of

Confederation, Jay, along with Alexander Hamilton and James Madison set out to create a stronger, more centralized but balanced system of government.

The three combined to write the Federalist Papers, which were a series of 85 articles, written with the intent to persuade citizens to support and ratify the proposed Constitution of the United States.

The articles of the Federalist Papers were published in The Independent Journal and The New York Packet between October of 1787 and August 1788.

Hamilton Madison Jay

PERSONAL BELIEFS Slavery

Even though he owned slaves of his own, Jay maintained a firm stance against slavery. He was a leader in the movement to abolish slavery, after 1777, he drafted a state law for that purpose, it failed however. His second abolition law in 1785 failed as well.

Became founder and president of the New York Manumission Society in 1785. The Society put together boycotts against newspapers and merchants who remained involved in the slave trade.

In 1787, the Society founded the African Free School, which served to provide education to children of slaves and those who had their freedom.

As Governor of New York, Jay signed into law An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery. This act gave children of slaves freedom after they served an indentured period and reached the appropriate age. (28 years for men, 25 for women)

Religion

Member of the Church of England until the Revolutionary War, when he then joined the Protestant Episcopal Church in America.

Warden of Trinity Church in New York since 1785.

Served as vice-president (1816–21) and president (1821–27) of the American Bible Society.

THE JOHN JAY LEGACY

To Name a Few… Exceptional undergraduates at Columbia University are

designated John Jay Scholars.

The United States Postage Service released a 15¢ Liberty Issue postage stamp honoring Jay on December 12, 1958.

SOURCES

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Jay

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/digital/jay/biography.html

Pictures: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_University_College_of_Physicians_and_Surgeons

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nabeeloo/4955661380/

http://www.campusexplorer.com/colleges/F67C6328/New-York/New-York/Columbia-University-in-the-City-of-New-York/photos-videos/

http://thisculturalchristian.blogspot.com/2010/08/cordoba-house-wtc-columbia-college-nyc.html

http://www.topgradeuniversities.com/2013/10/columbia-university.html

http://www.funnelholic.com/2012/09/13/creative-marketing-and-the-american-way-docusigning-declaration-of-independence-campaign/

http://www.johnjay.net/

http://dining.columbia.edu/john-jay-dining-hall