John Jay Quotes
... a measure for party purposes which it would not become me to adopt.
In the spring of 1800 New York State legislators were elected. The legislators were then to choose the presidential electors. If New York's electors voted for Jefferson he would likely beat the Federalists, who had just lost their majority in the legislature. Alexander Hamilton wrote to fellow Federalist Governor John Jay proposing to have the sitting legislature change the law to select Presidential electors by popular vote:
John Jay, 1745-1829, President of the Continental Congress, Governor of New York (Federalist), U. S. Foreign Secretary, First Chief Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court, Handwritten note in margin of Hamilton letter, 1800
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
The Queen assented but warned that members of the Royal Family should stay away from Party Politics.
“Republicans” then referred to strong opponents of not only monarchy, but opposed a strong Presidency and federal government. The Federalists who supported John Adams for reelection to a 2nd term, were trounced so badly that it was the end of the Federalist Party. Their attacks on Jefferson had been particularly vicious with the hyperpartisanship as bad as in the early years of the 21st century. Jefferson tried to unify the nation with this quotation. It helped but there was still much bitterness.
John Jay was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, Founding Father, abolitionist, negotiator, and signatory of the Treaty of Paris of 1783. He served as the second Governor of New York and the first Chief Justice of the United States (1789–1795). He directed U.S. foreign policy for much of the 1780s and was an important leader of the Federalist Party after the ratification of the United States Constitution in 1788.
