John+Jay

John Jay-
John Jay was born during the winter of 1745 in New York City, New York. Jay was very intelligent as a child and attended a very exclusive boarding school at the age of eight. At just 14 Jay would go off to King's College. He Graduated 1764 with highest honors. After he attended law school studying under Benjamin Kissam. Jay showed that he was going to do something in life, and he would.

In 1768 Jay became a certified lawyer in New York, and his career began. 1774 he became a leading figure in the New York Committee of Correspondence. Later he would join the Continental Congress but resigned, in 1776, because he did not want to sign the Declaration of Independence. After his leave of the congress he became active in forming the New York state government and would eventually right their constitution. To repay him he became the first chief justice of the state of New York.

Although he did at first not like the constitution and was loyal to Britain, Jay would rejoin the Continental Congress after the war, in 1778. He would eventually become president of the congress. He would stay with the congress and in time would sign a treaty between the US and Britain, in 1782. Upon his arrival home, from Britain, the congress had already appointed him to be the Secretary of Foreign Affairs. In 1787 he played a major role in drafting three articles in which he argued with Alexander Hamilton and James Madison about why the Constitution should be ratified. These articles would later become know as //The Federalists//. Later, in 1789, after the Constitution was ratified, our new president George Washington appointed Jay to the position of Chief Justice of the United Sates.

In 1794 Jay was know world wide, he was asked by Britain to solve a dispute on their western border. He then left for Britain and solved the dispute with the //Jay Treaty//. The odd thing is upon his return he found out that he had won the election and was governor or New York, thanks to his friend Alexander Hamilton who ran his election. He was very respected as governor and well liked by his citizens. Later, in 1801 he retired form life as a politician. He would be asked again by President Adams to fill the Chief Justice chair but refused to his wife waining health.

John Jay was elected to be that first Chief Justice in a time of many political geniuses. This shows you he must have been qualified for the job. Being the first in his position in a completely new form of government Jay had to improvise and he obviously did a good job. Although he may not be remembered like Washington or Franklin he most definitely was placed in their league. [|http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/jay.htm]