Born in New York City in 1745, John Jay was elected to the Continental Congress in 1774 and in 1775. He drafted the first constitution of New York. He helped negotiate the Treaty of Paris with Great Britain, ending the American Revolution. With Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, Jay wrote the series of articles known as The Federalist Papers, which urged ratification of the U.S. Constitution. He was appointed the first chief justice of the Supreme Court by President Washington in 1789.

In 1794, Jay was appointed by Washington to negotiate a settlement with Great Britain. He concluded the agreement, known as Jay's Treaty. The treaty was vastly unpopular in the United States, but many historians believe that it accomplished as much as was possible during that time, when the United States was a much weaker nation than Great Britain. The treaty succeeded in defining boundaries between the United States...