Educated at King's College (Columbia), he was admitted to the bar in 1768. He was elected to
the Continental Congress in 1774 and 1775. He drafted the first constitution of New York State
and was appointed state chief justice in 1777. He was chosen president of the Continental
Congress in 1778. Together with Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, he was a signer of the Paris Peace Treaty, ending the war.
From 1784-89 he was secretary for foreign affairs. As a strong Federalist, Jay collaborated with
Hamilton and Madison in the series of Federalist papers which urged the ratification of the U.S.
Constitution. In 1789, Washington appointed Jay as the first chief justice of the Supreme Court,
a post he held until 1795 when he resigned to serve as governor of New York (1795-1801).
Whilst serving in this position, Jay was sent to England to negotiate a treaty which
subsequently became known as Jay's Treaty. His last years were spent in retirement. |
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