John Jay Autograph Letter Signed.

JAY, John.

$6,500.00

Item Number: 117791

Rare autograph letter signed by and entirely in the hand of American Founding Father John Jay as Governor of New York to Theophilus Parsons. One page, folded, the letter reads in full, “Albany, 1 July 1800 Sir, On my return from New York on Friday last, your obliging letter of the 5th of May, which arrived during my absence was delivered to me. I am much gratified by the Information it contains & thank you for it as serious apprehensions were entertained that anti-federalism had gained considerable ground in Massachusetts; but I am happy to find… that appearances do not warrant the conclusions which have been drawn from them. The present aspect of our affairs is far from being agreeable – altho’.. having abundant Reason for Content & Gratitude, our nation is permitting their happiness to be part in Jeopardy by their worst passions inflamed and directed by the most reprehensible means. Whether the good Sense of the People will avert the Dangers which threaten them, is not to be seen… but unfortunately their is too little unanimity on many points and the want of it exposes is to the Hazard of many Evils – It really appears to me that the… of our Envoys to France has been treated with too much asperity. The President declared to the congress that he would never send another Legation to Paris… as that declaration seems to imply that when he should receive such appearances, he would again send Envoys. It was not unnatural that he should conceive himself bound in Honor to do so. Whether that Declaration was advisable and whether the nomination of the Envoys was made exactly in Reason are questions which , like other of the same kind, may receive different answers from different men. But having nominated the Envoys and received the requisite appearances, I for my part consider the sending them as a Matter of Course; and do not concern in opinion with those Gentlemen who think they should nevertheless have been detained. I regret that my absence deprived me of the pleasure of seeing the Rev. Mr. Andrews, all the more so, as he would have answered my inquiries respecting many of my friends at Boston, and informed me of you Health – With the best wishes that you may now and ever enjoy that valuable Blessing. I am Sir your most obt. sevt. John Jay. Theop Parsons Esq.” The recipient, Theophilus Parsons, was  a member of the state constitutional convention of 1779-1780 and one of the committee of twenty-six who drafted the constitution. He was also a delegate to the state convention of 1788 which ratified the Federal Constitution. His Commentaries on the Laws of the United States (1836) contains some of his more important legal opinions. In the present letter, Jay refers to President John Adams’ failed mission in 1797 to make negotiations with France following the French Revolution which the Federalists viewed as the cause of the undeclared naval war fought from 1798 to 1800 between the United States and France. Anti-federalists and many contemporary historians, however, view the 1794 Jay Treaty as the initial cause of hostilities between France and America. In near fine condition. Rare and desirable.

American statesman and Founding Father John Jay directed U.S. foreign policy for much of the 1780s and was an important leader of the Federalist Party after the ratification of the United States Constitution in 1788. Jay was a negotiator and signor of the 1783 Treaty of Paris which ended the American Revolution and co-authored perhaps the most famous and influential American political work, the Federalist Papers, along with Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. After the establishment of the new federal government, Jay was appointed by President George Washington the first Chief Justice of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1795. Jay served as the Governor of New York from 1795 to 1801. Long an opponent of slavery, he helped enact a law that provided for the gradual emancipation of slaves, and the institution of slavery was abolished in New York in Jay's lifetime.