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Topic: John Jay’s Diplomatic Thoughts and Practice

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Speaker: Dr. Chen Juebin, American Studies Center

Time: 3:10 -5:00 pm, May 19 (Friday)

Place: Room 115, SEIS Building

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About the Lecture

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Among all American Founding Fathers, John Jay is the least studied, except for, maybe, his role as the first Chief Justice. In fact, before his tenure at the Supreme Court, John Jay was one of the most important American diplomats during the Revolution and the early years of the new republic, serving important diplomatic functions as American Minister to Spain, the United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs and later the first Secretary of State, until the Jay Treaty in 1794 which won him the undeserved reputation of a traitor. This lecture aims to, by studying and analyzing Jay’s correspondences, explore his diplomatic thoughts characterized with a complex combination of rational calculation, defense of national interest and moral principles. To put such abstraction into perspective, the speaker will case study Jay’s role in the Treaty of Paris and the Jay Treaty. Ultimately, through the portal John Jay, the speaker tries to recreate part of the diplomatic scenery of the late 18th century in the United States.

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