John Jay was born in New York City to a wealthy family. He practiced law from 1768 to 1774, when he was elected to the First Continental Congress. Jay initially opposed seeking independence from Great Britain. However, after the Declaration of Independence was drafted, he supported colonial independence. Jay wrote the state constitution for New York and served as the state’s chief justice from 1777 to 1778. He signed the Treaty of Paris of 1783, which officially ended the Revolutionary War. From 1784 to 1789 Jay served as U.S. secretary of foreign affairs. He supported the U.S. Constitution and wrote five essays in the Federalist Papers. In 1789 President George Washington nominated Jay to be the first chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and Jay served in this position from 1789 to 1795. In 1794 Jay negotiated a commerce treaty, known as Jay’s Treaty, with Great Britain. From 1795 until 1801, Jay served as governor of New York, after which he retired to private life.
