John Jay Autograph Letter Signed.

JAY, John.

Item Number: 109561

Rare autograph letter boldly signed by and entirely in the hand of American Founding Father John Jay to his wife, Sarah Livingston. One page, the letter reads, “Near the watering place 13 May [17]94 My dear Sally, The wind changing suddenly yesterday obliged us to call anchor here. It was fortunate for our fellow passengers from Phl. who might otherwise have been left behind … Altho I have nothing more to tell you, yet I am certain that a letter from me will be welcome … and it is not probable that I should have another opportunity of writing to you before our arrival in England. Remember me most affectionately to the children, to Peter & Polly … God bless and preserve you my dear Sally – Yours most affectly John Jay.” Jay wrote the letter en route to negotiate the highly controversial Jay Treaty with Britain which facilitated ten years of peaceful trade between the United States and Britain in the midst of the French Revolutionary Wars. The treaty was signed on November 19, 1794 and hotly contested by Jeffersonans in each state who feared that closer economic or political ties with Great Britain would strengthen Hamilton’s Federalist Party, promote aristocracy, and undercut republicanism. In fine condition. Double matted and framed with an engraved portrait of Jay. The entire piece measures 20.5 inches by 16 inches. A rare appearance of this letter which was not published in The Correspondence and Public Papers of John Jay, edited by Johnston with the signature bold.

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.