John Jay’s Diary of the Peacemaking, 23–28 June 1782
John Jay’s Diary of the Peacemaking, 23–28 June 17821
1782.. 23 June— Arrived at Paris about noon— Spent the afternoon at Passy with Doctr. Franklin. He informed me of the State of the negociation, and that he kept an [illegible] exact Journal of it—2
24— Waited upon Mr. De Vergennes with the Doctr.— The Count read to us his answer to the British Minister—3 Dined with the Doctr., and found Dr. Bancroft there—
25— Wrote to Count Aranda—4
26— After Breakfast with the Doctr., met with Mr. Grenville on our Return— Recd. a Visit from Marquis la Fayette—5
27— Recd. another visit from the Marqs.— Went to Doctr. Franklin at Passy this afternoon—where I found Mr. Jones & Mr. Paridize6 there—made a visit this Eveng to Madame la Fayette—
28— Recd. a Letter of 27th. Inst. from Count Aranda this Morning7
AD, NNC (EJ: 13316).
1. Never a consistent diarist, JJ managed to record entries of events in which he participated on at least five scattered occasions. In the first, he recorded his activities during the crowded summer of ’76 in bolstering the defenses of New York, for which see Notes on John Jay’s Mission to Connecticut for the Secret Committee, 22–24 July 1776, : 282–83. The second and most historically significant set sporadically covering peace negotiations from 23 June to 22 December 1782 in Paris, is presented in this text and in the entries for 25–26 July, 12–29 Oct. and 22 Dec., below. The third digested his negotiations with Carmichael regarding the settlement of their accounts. The fourth dealt with the years in which he rode circuit as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, while the fifth covered medical treatment he received in 1800 for a facial cyst. See John Jay’s Notes Concerning William Carmichael, 27 Mar.–19 Apr. 1784, below; Circuit Court Diary, 16 Apr. 1790–23 Apr. 1792, AD, NNC (EJ: 7351); Diary, 6 May–20 June 1800, AD, PC (EJ: 13412). JJ also kept office journals while secretary for foreign affairs that listed correspondence received and sent by his department and recorded other official actions. See D, 21 Dec. 1784–22 Mar. 1790, DNA: PCC, item 127, vols. 1 and 2 (EJ: 3746–3809).
2. For BF’s journal, which he kept from 9 May to 1 July 1782, see , 37: 291–346. For a summary of preliminary exchanges between BF and Oswald, based on Oswald’s notes, see ibid., 37: 155–58.
3. For Vergennes’s conversations with Grenville regarding the latter’s powers and the British disposition to recognize the independence of the U.S., see JJ to the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, 25 June 1782, below; , 37: 343; and , 1: 443–47.
4. JJ to Aranda, 25 June, below. On this day JJ also notified Lafayette of his arrival in Paris. See JJ to Lafayette, 25 June, Dft, NNC (EJ: 6755).
5. On 2 July, JJ also accepted an invitation to dine with the comte d’Estaing. AD, UkWC-A (EJ: 25); Dft, NNC (EJ: 8832).
6. William Jones (1746–94), an Orientalist scholar, and John Paradise (1743–95), a scholar who hosted gatherings of London intellectuals including Samuel Johnson, Richard Price, and Joseph Priestly. See JJ to the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, 28 June and 17 Nov. 1782, both below, and , 29: 524n.; 37: 357.
7. See Aranda to JJ, 27 June, below.