John Jay

John Jay was an American statesman, diplomat and jurist, and a founding father of the United States. He helped negotiate the Treaty of Paris of 1783 that ended the Revolutionary War, and in 1789 became the first Chief Justice of the United States. He wrote five of The Federalist Papers, Nos. 2–5 and 64, arguing that a nation united under the new Constitution would be safer from foreign danger and better able to make treaties. He later negotiated the Jay Treaty with Britain and served as Governor of New York.

Key ideas

• Americans form one people, and union under a single government best secures their safety (Federalist No. 2).
• A strong union lowers the risk of war, since disunited states would invite foreign interference and quarrel among themselves.
• The treaty-making power is best lodged with the President and Senate, who can act with secrecy, speed and knowledge (Federalist No. 64).
• Slavery was at odds with the principles of the Revolution; he helped found the New York Manumission Society and worked for gradual emancipation.

Major works

• The Federalist Papers (1787–1788)
• An Address to the People of the State of New York (1788)
• Address to the People of Great Britain (1774)

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