| John Jay - Founding Father
(2005)
|
| Front Cover |
Book Details |
Back Cover |
|
| Genre |
Biography; Non-Fiction |
| Subject |
Jay, John, 1745-1829; Statesmen - United States - Biography; Judges - United States - Biography; United States - Politics And Government - 1775-1783; United States - Politics And Government - 1783-1865 |
| Publication Date |
3/15/2005 |
| Format |
Hardcover (9.3
x
6.2
mm)
|
| Publisher |
Hambledon and London |
| Language |
English (US) |
| Extras |
Dust Jacket; Dust Jacket Cover |
|
|
| Description |
| The first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as well as President of the Continental Congress, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, and one time Governor of New York, John Jay was a Founding Father of paramount importance to the early Republic and did much to influence the shape of America's future. In the first biography of Jay to appear in more than sixty years, Walter Stahr's lively and engaging narrative illuminates the great life of an American soldier, politician, diplomat and lawyer. Readers will follow Jay's story through key events in early American history, such as the Revolutionary War, the writing of the Constitution, the first presidencies of the country, and the creation of our most authoritative legal body, the US Supreme Court. Now, Stahr presents Jay in the light he deserves: a Founding Father, a true national hero, and an architect of America's future. |
| Personal Details |
| Store |
AbeBooks |
| Purchase Price |
$8.22 |
| Acquire Date |
11/24/2018 |
| Condition |
Very Good/Very Good |
| Rating |
0 |
| Links |
Library of Congress
|
|
| Product Details |
| LoC Classification |
E302.6.J4 .S73 2005 |
| Dewey |
973.3092 |
| ISBN |
9781852854447 |
| Cover Price |
$29.95 |
| No. of Pages |
482 |
| First Edition |
No |
| Rare |
No |
|
| Notes/Review |
I have a few lifetime reading projects: WWII in general, whole-life presidential biographies, early Colorado history, notable Supreme Court justices, Russian leaders, American founding fathers. This book ticks two boxes: founding fathers and SC justice.
Jay was the first Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court and, if not in the first rank of US founders, at the top of the second rank. He worked with Franklin and Adams to negotiate the treaty that ended the Revolutionary War, was more or less equivalent to Secretary of State before that office existed, was President of the Continental Congress for a year, Governor of New York, and held other important offices. Somehow, given all that, he's not remembered alongside Washington, Adams, Franklin, Jefferson, and Hamilton. True, he was never President of the USA, but neither were Franklin or Hamilton. I'm pretty sure nobody will be writing musicals about him.
This biography does a solid job of telling us about Jay's life and the importance of his work. It seems fairly even-handed, giving criticism where warranted and not attempting to raise him above his colleagues.
He was a more religious man than many of the other founders, and as complex as any of them. Jefferson wrote those famous words, "all men are created equal", yet owned slaves his whole life. Jay was founder and president of the New York Manumission Society, dedicated to the emancipation of slaves, yet owned and bought and sold slaves throughout his life.
While I was perhaps most interested in his service on the Supreme Court, that is a relatively minor part of his life. He served in that body while it was very much in its infancy, and will never be remembered for that work. He presided over only one particularly notable case (and his decision there was essentially nullified by the 11th Amendment) and the court itself was not just the Supreme Court but also the Circuit Court, a condition which by its nature was doomed to failure (insofar as a justice could preside over the same case on both the circuit and supreme courts, an intrinsic conflict of interest). |
|