Summary: In one of the few articles written by John Jay, the author begins by stating two facts of political life: some form of government is necessary in a society and all forms of government must be granted sufficient power to regulate conflict and administer the laws. The people grant these powers. For Jay, any establishment of government implies that the people grant certain government certain rights that they formerly reserved to only themselves. Given …showed first 75 words of 964 total…

…showed last 75 words of 964 total…describing the state "as being in New England, as well as in America," and wrote "perhaps it would be better if these distinctions were permitted to die away." His biographer relates that Jay even rejoiced that various families were intermarrying with those of other states, because this was conducive to friendship among the states. This essay, therefore, is a natural outgrowth of a long-lived philosophy and hence Jay was a natural collaborator with Alexander Hamilton.