Tag: John Jay
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“He Let His Fancy Rove Unchecked” How the Ratification of the Constitution in New York Played Out in the Newspapers
After the Constitutional Convention created the new constitution in 1787 it was up to the states to ratify the document so that it could be put into effect. They had decided that once nine states had ratified the document it would become the law of the land. By the time the New York Convention met…
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The Saga of Timothy Tickler
In late 18th century America, the most petty, brutal political battles were often duked out on newspaper pages. It was common practice for one to publish their political opinions under a pseudonym. John Dickinson penned his famous series of essays under the simple “A Farmer”, Thomas Paine often wrote as “Vox Populi”, and the writers…
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“Good Fishing Before the Door”: How Robert Livingston Would Have Fished
On May 17, 1776, Chancellor Robert R. Livingston wrote to his friend John Jay. Livingston had been searching for lodging for the two of them and their wives close to Philadelphia but outside the city proper. They were both planning to return to the Continental Congress after extended absences. Livingston wrote “However I have…
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Cato Strikes Back
The Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, Between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America or as it is more commonly known, The Jay Treaty, named after its American negotiator, was a sharply dividing document in American history and lead to the strengthening of a two-party system in the states. The treaty became…
Clermont State Historic Site 