The New Chief Justice Explains Citizens' Rights and Responsibilities Under the New Constitution, September 9, 1777

What did it really mean to say that New Yorkers were no longer subjects of a king but instead self-governing citizens through their own elected representatives?

Attorney John Jay, who had been the lead writer of the 1777 state constitution, began in the fall to serve as the state’s first Chief Justice.

He took the occasion of instructing the jury in his first trial to go well beyond describing just their technical responsibilities and to provide an eloquent explanation of the significance of the document and the government it created.

Jay emphasized the responsibilities of citizens in a representative form of government.

The new state government printed the speech as an official document and distributed it widely.