John Jay's Statesmanship: Diplomacy, the Law, and Education

FAIN: FT-270794-20

Jonathan Den Hartog
Samford University (Birmingham, AL 35229-0001)

Writing three chapters of a political and intellectual biography of John Jay (1745-1829), Secretary of State and first Chief Justice of the United States.

John Jay (1745-1829) of New York is one of the most consequential, yet under-appreciated members of the American founding generation. His greatest contribution lay in his demonstration of statesmanship at critical moments for the new nation—when it was trying to secure independence, when it was considering the proposed 1787 Constitution, when it needed a framework for a judiciary, and when it demanded strategic diplomacy for world affairs. A 2020 NEH Summer Stipend will enable me to make significant progress on my in-progress book manuscript, titled John Jay: Founding Statesman. The drafting of three chapters (on Jay’s diplomacy, the significance of the law for him, and his formative education) during the summer of 2020 will enable me to complete the entire manuscript by the following year. This project uniquely meets the NEH’s call for projects related to American independence and contributing to civic understanding and education.

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