Founders' Quotes - John Jay

Member of the New York Committee of Correspondence, 1774;
Delegate to the Continental Congress, 1774-76; Member of
the New York Constitutional Convention, First Chief Justice
of New York, 1777; Delegate and elected President of
Continental Congress, 1778; Minister to Spain, 1779,
Minister to treat the peace with Great Britain, 1782;
Secretary of Foreign Affairs, 1784; Contributor to The
Federalist, 1788; First Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court of the United States, 1789; Negotiator of Jay
Treaty with Great Britain, 1794; Elected Governor of
New York, 1797-1801.

In 1787 Jay authored three of the articles now collectively
called The Federalist, in which he, James Madison, and
Alexander Hamilton argued effectively in support of the
ratification of the new Federal Constitution. In 1789,
Washington appointed him Chief Justice to the Supreme
Court under the new federal constitution. In 1794 he
was appointed an envoy extraordinary to Great Britain,
in order to seek a resolution to continuing conflicts
on the western border, and in commercial relations. The
result of this was the Jay Treaty, which proved very
unpopular with the public, but was nonetheless approved
of by the Washington administration. Upon his return home
Jay found that, in his absence, he had been elected Governor
of New York. Fellow Federalist Alexander Hamilton had secured
his election in an effort to strengthen the party in New York.
Jay withstood a great deal of party maneuvering and political
trickery, earning respect form his friends and enemies alike.
He was a very popular Governor who fought for many political
reforms including judicial reform, penal reform and the
abolition of slavery. He undertook extensive road and canal
projects to improve the economy of his state. He retired from
public life in 1801. President John Adams tried to appoint him
to the Supreme Court again that year, but owing to the illness
of his wife, Jay declined the office. Jay died on May 17, 1829
having survived his wife and both of his partners in The Federalist.

"The jury has the right to judge both the law as well as the fact in controversy."

"Nothing is more certain than the indispensable necessity of government, and it is
equally undeniable, that whenever and however it is instituted, the people must cede
to it some of their natural rights in order to vest it with requisite powers. It is
well worthy of consideration therefore, whether it would conduce more to the interest
of the people of America that they should, to all general purposes, be one nation,
under one federal government, or that they should divide themselves into separate
confederacies, and give to the head of each the same kind of powers which they are
advised to place in one national government.
Federalist 2

"It is of high importance to the peace of America that she observe the laws of nations towards
all these powers, and to me it appears evident that this will be more perfectly and punctually
done by one national government than it could be either by thirteen separate States or by three
or four distinct confederacies."
Federalist 3

"The power of making treaties is an important one, especially as it relates to war, peace, and commerce;
and it should not be delegated but in such a mode, and with such precautions, as will afford the highest
security that it will be exercised by men the best qualified for the purpose, and in the manner most
conducive to the public good. The convention appears to have been attentive to both these points: they
have directed the President to be chosen by select bodies of electors, to be deputed by the people for
that express purpose; and they have committed the appointment of senators to the State legislatures.
This mode has, in such cases, vastly the advantage of elections by the people in their collective capacity,
where the activity of party zeal, taking the advantage of the supineness, the ignorance, and the hopes
and fears of the unwary and interested, often places men in office by the votes of a small proportion of
the electors."
Federalist 64

I've linked Federalist 3 and Federalist 64 because they concern the powers and good conduct of the
Senate. The initial design was that the Senators would be appointed by the State Legislatures.
The change brought about by the Seventeenth Amendment made the Senate another popular body.
This change is responsible for our massive government.

NOAH WEBSTER URGES REFORM OF SPELLING (1789) From Noah Webster, “An Essay on the Necessity, Advantages, and Practicality of Reforming the Mode of Spelling and of Rendering the Orthography of Words Correspondent to Pronunciation,” Dissertations on the English Language: With Notes, Historical and Critical, to Which is Added, by Way of Appendix, an Essay on a Reformed Mode of Spelling, with Dr. Franklin’s Arguments on That Subject (Boston. 1789). pp. 391. 393-98. 405-6.

It has been observed by all writers, on the English language, that the orthography or spelling of words is very irregular; the same letters often representing different sounds, and the same sounds often expressed by different letters. For this irregularity, two principal causes may be assigned:

1. The changes to which the pronunciation of a language is liable, from the progress of science and civilization.

2. The mixture of different languages, occasioned by revolutions in England, or by a predilection of the learned, for words of foreign growth and ancient origin.

* * *
The question now occurs; ought the Americans to retain these faults which produce innumerable inconveniencies in the acquisition and use of the language, or ought they at once to reform these abuses, and introduce order and regularity into the orthography of the AMERICAN TONGUE? Let us consider this subject with some attention.

Several attempts were formerly made in England to rectify the orthography of the language. But I apprehend their schemes failed to success, rather on account of their intrinsic difficulties, than on account of any necessary impracticability of a reform. It was proposed, in most of these schemes, not merely to throw out superfluous and silent letters, but to introduce a number of new characters. Any attempt on such a plan must undoubtedly prove unsuccessful. It is not to be expected that an orthography, perfectly regular and simple, such as would be formed by a “Synod of Grammarians on principles of science,” will ever be substituted for that confused mode of spelling which is now established. But it is apprehended that great improvements may be made, and an orthography almost regular, or such as shall obviate most of the present difficulties which occur in learning our language, may be introduced and established with little trouble and opposition.

The principal alterations, necessary to render our orthography sufficiently regular and easy, are these:

1. The omission of all superfluous or silent letters; as a in bread. Thus bread, head, give, breast, built, meant, realm, friend, would be spelt, bred, hed, giv, brest, bilt, ment, relm, frend. Would this alteration produce any inconvenience, any embarrassment or expense? By no means. On the other hand, it would lessen the trouble of writing, and much more, of learning the language; it would reduce the true pronunciation to a certainty; and while it would assist foreigners and our own children in acquiring the language, it would render the pronunciation uniform, in different parts of the country, and almost prevent the possibility of changes.

2. A substitution of a character that has a certain definite sound, for one that is more vague and indeterminate. Thus by putting ee instead of ea or ie, the words mean, near, speak grieve, zeal, would become meen, neer, speek, greev, zeel. This alteration could not occasion a moments trouble; at the same time it would prevent a doubt respecting the pronunciation; whereas the ea and ie having different sounds, may give a learner much difficulty. Thus greef should be substituted for grief; kee for key; beleev for believe; laf for laugh; dawter for daughter; plow for plough; tuf for tough; proov for prove; blud for blood; and draft for draught. In this manner ch in Greek derivatives, should be changed into k; for the English ch has a soft sound, as in cherish; but k always a hard sound. Therefore character, chorus, cholic, architecture, should be written karacter, korus, kolic, arkitecture; and were they thus written, no person could mistake their true pronunciation.

3. Thus ch in French derivatives should be changed into sh; machine, chaise, chevalier, should be written masheen, shaze, shevaleer; and pique, tour, oblique, should be written peek, toor, obleek.

4. A trifling alteration in a character, or the addition of a point would distinguish different sounds, without the substitution of a new character. Thus a very small stroke across th would distinguish its two sounds. A point over a vowel, in this manner, a, or û, or i might answer all the purposes of different letters. And for the dipthong ow, let the two letters be united by a small stroke, or both engraven on the same piece of metal, with the left hand line of the w united to the o.

http://edweb.sdsu.edu/people/DKitchen/new_655/webster_language.htm

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