John Jay's Last Defense - Federalist #64
John Jay is back!
Most students of the American Revolution remember that Alexander Hamilton and James Madison were the main drivers behind the Federalist Papers, but it is often forgotten that John Jay was the third author of these documents.
Jay had written 4 of the first 5 Federalists before falling ill and stepping away from the project.
He returned four months later to provide this, his final Federalist, #64.
Federalist #64
March 5, 1788
John Jay
In Federalist #64 John Jay discusses the reason the President and Senate were given the ability to negotiate treaties with foreign nations.
Jay was particularly concerned with foreign policy as he had spent three years serving as Minister to Spain during the Revolutionary War.
Little did he know, he would serve as a diplomat in England during the Washington Administration while holding office as the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Presidential Treaties
Many Anti-Federalists heavily criticized the method of securing treaties in the Constitution.
They claimed that the President’s ability to negotiate in secret with foreign nations would lead to a leader who abused the position in order to secure lucrative deals for themselves.
To this, Jay points out how difficult it is to hash out these types of alliances.
The President needs to use every tool at their disposal, and sometimes that might mean keeping things secret from your own country so that a third nation doesn’t hear about it.
While it would be nice to have republican oversight for every action taken, sometimes the world of international diplomacy moves quickly and a decision which could undoubtedly benefit the United States might have to be made without waiting patiently for approval from both Houses of Congress.
The Senate’s Role
Speaking of Congress, Anti-Federalists were not happy that treaties were to be approved by the Senate without assistance from the House of Representatives.
Jay again points out the hastiness of diplomacy, implying that the House would just slow things down.
Furthermore, he reiterates the discussion from James Madison’s Federalist #62, noting that the longer term of Senators gives them a more thorough knowledge of international diplomacy. They are expected to be a watchdog who makes sure the President doesn’t do anything to crazy while understanding the importance of passing reasonable treaties in as brief a time as possible.
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