America 250: Presidential Message on John Jay’s Birthday

Today, the Republic pauses to commemorate the 280th birthday of John Jay—the inaugural Chief Justice of the United States, an unyielding sentinel of American sovereignty, and a principal mind behind the architecture of our laws, our diplomacy, and the hard-won promise of American independence.

A son of New York City, shaped by enduring convictions of faith and civic obligation, John Jay stepped into public life when the nation itself was still unfinished, raw, and embattled. America had not yet learned its own name. As President of the Second Continental Congress, Jay stood at the crossroads of rebellion and resolve, helping steer a young people through the storm of revolution. After victory was secured on the battlefield, he turned to the negotiating table, where his hand helped forge the Treaty of Paris—severing the chains of tyranny and announcing American sovereignty to a watching world.

Few figures left a deeper imprint on the constitutional soul of the Nation. During the pivotal years of 1787 and 1788, Jay sharpened his pen to write five essays of The Federalist Papers, distilling enduring truths about justice, governance, and national unity. His words helped anchor a federal system designed to shield the American people from foreign manipulation and external coercion. Appointed as the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, he laid the cornerstone of a judiciary guided by probity, balance, and the ageless promise of equal justice under law. As a pioneering diplomat, his negotiation of the Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation with Great Britain spared the young Republic from the inferno of the French Revolutionary Wars and granted a precious decade of peace to a nation still learning to stand.

That same sense of stewardship followed him home. As the second Governor of New York, Jay shifted his focus from the global stage to the practical work of statecraft—overseeing the construction of roads and canals that fueled early growth and commerce. These efforts became the bedrock upon which future generations would build New York’s unmistakable skyline and indomitable spirit, a legacy I was honored to advance.

Now, as we approach the celebration of 250 remarkable years of American independence, we reflect on John Jay’s enduring influence on our institutions, our customs, and our national temperament. My Administration remains steadfast in defending the principles he held inviolable: that peace is secured through strength, that American foreign policy must always place America first, and that without the rule of law, a nation dissolves into mere geography. On this day, in tribute to John Jay, we renew our devotion to liberty and justice for all and commit ourselves to carrying his formidable vision into the future.

Happy birthday, John Jay.