Diplomacy
When Jay embarked on the Continental Frigate Confederacy bound for Spain in October 1779, his public service on behalf of the United States entered a new phase. This ministerial mission marked the first time that he experienced foreign travel and the onset of his career as a diplomat abroad. Jay was bound for disappointment, however, as he met with limited success in his efforts to secure military, political, and financial support from the royal court in Madrid. Jay took up his next assignment when he arrived in Paris in June 1782 to join the American peace commissioners that Congress had appointed a year earlier. Jay assumed the role as lead negotiator when an illness sidelined Franklin for two months. The Treaty of Paris was signed on 3 September 1783; it formally ended the Revolutionary War with Britain and acknowledged the independence and sovereignty of the United States of America. Although Jay gained a notable success with the provision recognizing the Mississippi River as the western boundary, other boundary and trade issues remained unresolved. Upon returning to the United States, Jay took up the post of Secretary of Foreign Affairs (later Secretary of State), an office he would hold for the following five years. Drawing on the vast experience he gained overseas, Jay introduced reforms and protocols to his department that endowed the young Republic with a reputable and dignified position among other nation-states. In April 1794, President Washington tapped Jay for an urgent mission to London to resolve both longstanding disputes and more recent tensions that disrupted Anglo-American relations. The resulting Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, signed on 19 November 1794, met with much criticism at home, but nonetheless proved instrumental in maintaining peace between the two countries for nearly twenty years.
Images such as these Spanish flags and pennants were most likely created for recognition and use by American naval officers, merchant captains, and customs officials.
The Spanish government issued this passport to John Jay, allowing him to travel from Cadiz to Madrid.
Commissions of the Continental Congress to the Ministers Plenipotentiary for Negotiating a Treaty of Peace, 15 June 1781 (middle section of the document not shown)
While carrying out his diplomatic duties in Spain, Jay received a commission from Congress to participate in the peace negotiations with Britain. John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Henry Laurens were also authorized to serve alongside Jay on reaching a treaty with the British government. Jefferson, however, declined the appointment.
William Wyndham Grenville, Draft of the Commercial Treaty, 30 August 1794
Grenville sent Jay draft treaties on the topics of amity and commerce on 30 August 1794. Jay was less than thrilled with the proposals contained in Grenville's drafts, as suggested by his comments to Grenville on 1 September that "The negotiation now becomes delicate, and I should experience more than proportionate Embarrassments, were it not for my confidence in your Lordship's candor and Liberality." Nonetheless, Jay and Grenville were able to hammer out an agreement over the course of the next two-and-a-half months. The resulting Treaty was met with extensive opposition in the United States, and its eventual ratification and implementation proved highly controversial.
John Trumbull, Two Maps of the Northwestern Boundary of the United States, 4 September 1794
These two maps drafted by John Trumbull, Jay's secretary in London, served as corrections to Grenville's claims of 30 August regarding the northwestern boundaries of the United States.
Several dignitaries and prominent figures, including William Grenville, sent Jay and his entourage invitations for dinner, tea, and card-playing. Jay and his son Peter Augustus enjoyed a very busy social calendar during their extensive stay in London.
George Washington to John Jay, 18 December 1794, George Washington Papers
Jay shared regular updates on the progress of his negotiations in London with President Washington and Secretary of State Edmund Randolph.
CODES & CIPHERS
Due to a need for state secrecy and a corresponding suspicion that his mail was being intercepted and read by Spanish authorities, Jay developed his own cipher, known as the YESCA code, to be used in his letters exchanged with Robert R. Livingston, then serving as Secretary of Foreign Affairs.
Both of the letters appearing below contain coded passages. The correspondence with Livingston includes the YESCA code, and the one sent by Gouverneur Morris contains a section deciphered by Jay.