John Jay
• Chief Justice of New York Supreme Court
• Delegate to Continental Congress
• President of Continental Congress
• Founder of New York Manumission Society
• Minister to Spain
• Co-author of the Federalist Papers
• Secretary of Foreign Affairs
• First Supreme Court Chief Justice
• Brokered the Jay Treaty
• Governor of New York
• Jay, New York, Jay, Vermont, Jay County, Indiana, and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York are named in his honor
Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben
• Seven Year’s War veteran
• Continental Inspector General
• Wrote "Regulations of for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States"
• Division commander in Southern Army
• Veteran of Monmouth, Yorktown
• Von Steuben Day is celebrated in September in the United States, and three naval vessels, Steuben Field at Hamilton College and Steuben County in Indiana and New York are named in his honor. Statues of von Steuben stand at Valley Forge, at Monmouth Battlefield State Park and in Washington, D.C.
John Jay (1745-1829) of New York was a president of the Continental Congress, co-author of the Federalist Papers, the first Supreme Court chief justice, governor of New York, drafter of the Jay Treaty and president of a New York abolitionist society.
A Columbia graduate, Jay hoped Britain and America would reconcile hostilities, but he would join the Patriot cause. He served as a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congress but did not attend the debate over the Declaration of Independence, instead staying in New York to serve in the provincial government, draft the state’s constitution and work with the state’s committee of correspondence. In April 1777, he became the first chief justice of the state supreme court, holding that office for 20 months. Jay was chosen president of the Continental Congress when he returned in December 1778. In September 1779, he was appointed minister to Spain as part of the American peace delegation and signed the Treaty of Paris, which ended the war in 1783.
When he returned to America, Jay was named Secretary of Foreign Affairs under the Articles of Confederation in 1784 and worked hard to stabilize the nation’s finances, pay off the war debt and seek American recognition by European countries. He founded the New York Society for Promoting the Manumission of Slaves in 1785. With the help of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, the society boycotted merchants and newspapers which employed, invested in or advertised the slave trade.
Jay did not attend the Constitutional Convention, but he co-authored the Federalist Papers starting in 1787 with Hamilton and James Madison to convince reluctant states, especially Hamilton and Jay’s own New York, to ratify the Constitution. Jay mostly discussed foreign policy. He wrote in Federalist No. 4: "But the safety of the People of America against dangers from foreign force, depends not only on their forbearing to give just causes of war to other nations, but also on their placing and continuing themselves in such a situation as not to invite hostility or insult; for it need not be observed, that there are pretended as well as just causes of war."
President George Washington appointed Jay the first chief justice of the Supreme Court in 1789. The most notable case in his six-year tenure was Chisholm v. Georgia in 1793, which diminished state sovereignty and led to the adoption of the Eleventh Amendment, prohibiting federal courts from authority in lawsuits by citizens against a state.
In 1794, Washington dispatched Jay as a peace delegate to Britain to resolve territorial and naval disputes and avert war. The subsequent Jay Treaty favored Britain and despite its unpopularity, Washington and leading Federalists fought for his ratification. Jay was elected governor of New York in 1795, leaving the Supreme Court, and would sign a bill outlawing slavery in the state by 1799. When his term ended in 1801, he was re-nominated to the Supreme Court and the governorship but had retired from public life.
Jay, New York, Jay, Vermont, Jay County, Indiana, and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York are named in his honor.
Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben (1730-1794) of Prussia was a veteran of the Seven Year’s War who introduced important tactical, organizational, disciplinary and training techniques to the Continental Army as the first American inspector general.
Von Steuben was born in fortress Magdeburg to a lieutenant engineer and was educated by Jesuits before entering the Prussian Army at age 17. He served with distinction in the Seven Year’s War, attaining the rank of captain, and became an aide to Frederick the Great. After being discharged from the Army, von Steuben gained the title of baron after taking a position as lord chamberlain in the principality of Hohenzollern-Hechingen. Wanting to seek fame and fortune, he tried to enlist in other European armies but to no avail, in part because of accusations of homosexual pedophilia. In summer 1777, von Steuben went to Paris where he met Benjamin Franklin and, with the French war minister’s endorsement, was recruited for the American cause.
He arrived in America in 1778 and offered his services to the Revolution without rank or pay, coming to the Continental winter encampment at Valley Forge in February. Von Steuben presented his credentials to Continental Congress and Gen. George Washington as a baron and former lieutenant general on King Frederick’s staff, which was a lie, but the Continental Army was in such desperate need of experienced European military officers that it didn’t matter.
Despite not knowing English and communicating through French-speaking officers, von Steuben was appointed inspector general and immediately implemented a new training program, one that recognized the philosophical difference between American Patriots and European soldiers and conscripts. To expedite the training, von Steuben simplified drill tactics and personally trained officers who could then train their comrades. He wrote "Regulations of for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States," which remains a virtually unchanged official training manual today. As inspector general, the former Prussian officer also did his best to eliminate wasteful use or loss of armaments. The Army’s morale was weakened by losses at Germantown and Brandywine and the evacuation of Philadelphia before encampment, and von Steuben’s drills and discipline bolstered the Patriot resolve and convinced them they could fight any army they faced. The Continental Army fought the British to a draw at Monmouth on June 28.
In 1779, von Steuben traveled south to join Gen. Nathanael Greene’s command, and he commanded a division of Continentals at Yorktown in 1781. Von Steuben became an American citizen and was honorably discharged from the Army in 1784. With a federal pension of $2,500 a year, von Steuben retired to New York, where he became a leading citizen.
Von Steuben Day is celebrated in September in the United States, and three naval vessels, Steuben Field at Hamilton College and Steuben County in Indiana and New York are named in his honor. Statues of von Steuben stand at Valley Forge, at Monmouth Battlefield State Park and in Washington, D.C.
FORGOTTEN FOUNDING FATHERS TOURNAMENT BRACKET
Round 3
Washington Bracket
1. George Mason 58%
- William Penn 42%
Jefferson Bracket
1. Nathanael Greene 74%
- Richard Henry Lee 26%
Madison Bracket
- Roger Williams 43%
3. Henry Knox 57%
Franklin Bracket
- John Jay
- Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben
FFFs and match-ups are determined by my interpretation of who I believe were the 32 greatest FFFs. Personal politics, favoritism and reader response was NOT a factor in selection or seeding. As for the tournament itself: each match-up will be conducted every 24 hours with a synopsis written by yours truly and readers can determine using the poll function who the winner should be for that match-up; there is no #1 overall seed; FFFs retain their seeds throughout; the winner of the Washington bracket will face the winner of the Jefferson bracket, and the winner of the Madison bracket will face the winner of the Franklin bracket; after having the first tie, I've decided the higher seed will win ties. I am not voting nor will I pick sides in discussion. I wish I could somehow do a more rigid time duration period for each round but there’s no guarantee I’ll be on a computer or awake at that time so I’m gonna say polling lasts until I post the next match-up, or roughly 24 hours later. Readers may choose whichever FFF contestant they wish, but the point of the tournament is to select the greatest Forgotten Founding Father — the most influential, most important, most impactful, who contributed the most to the Revolution and/or seeds of American liberty. Please read the original diaries in addition to the information provided above so you have all the information before voting. Have fun!