John Jay: Founding Father

Walter Stahr's biography examines John Jay's life and career during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Drawing on substantial new material, Stahr presents both the public and private dimensions of Jay's life. Jay held several prominent positions in early American government: he served as president of the Continental Congress, secretary of foreign affairs, and negotiated the 1783 treaty that secured American independence. He was also one of three authors of The Federalist Papers and served as the first chief justice of the Supreme Court and governor of New York. Stahr's work is the first full biography of Jay in sixty years. It places Jay among America's most important founding figures, examining his role in the nation's early history and his negotiating tactics alongside figures like Adams and Franklin.