Letter from Chief Justice John Jay to President George Washington
8/8/1793
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In this letter, John Jay and fellow justices of the Supreme Court, James Wilson, John Blair, James Iredell, and William Paterson, advised the President on the separation of powers of the government. The justices were responding to questions sent to them from the President.
You can read the list of questions, the cover letter that Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson sent with the questions, and notes on this document written by history scholars on Founders Online, a searchable archive of the correspondence and other writings of several of the Founders of the United States government.
You can read the list of questions, the cover letter that Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson sent with the questions, and notes on this document written by history scholars on Founders Online, a searchable archive of the correspondence and other writings of several of the Founders of the United States government.
Transcript
Sir
The Lines of Separation drawn by the Constitution between the three Departments of Government—their being in certain Respects checks on each other—and our being Judges of a court in the last Resort—are Considerations which afford strong arguments against the Propriety of our extrajudicially deciding the questions alluded to; especially as the Power given by the Constitution to the President of calling on the Heads of Departments for opinions, seems to have been purposely as well as expressly limited to executive Departments.
we exceedingly regret every Event that may cause Embarrassment to your administration; but we derive Consolation from the Reflection, that your Judgment will discern what is Right, and that your usual Prudence, Decision and Firmness will surmount every obstacle to the Preservation of the Rights, Peace, and Dignity of the united States.
We have the Honor to be, with perfect Respect, Sir, your most obedient and most h’ble servants
John Jay
James Wilson
John Blair
Ja. Iredell
Wm Paterson
From
The Chief Justice & Judges
of the Sup. Court of the U.S.
declining to give an opinion
on the questions submitted to
them.
8th Augt. 1793
This primary source comes from the General Records of the Department of State.
National Archives Identifier: 5956319
Full Citation: Letter from the Supreme Court Justices to President George Washington; 8/8/1793; July - August 1793; Letters Received, 1789 - 1906; General Records of the Department of State, Record Group 59; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/letter-jay-washington, April 24, 2024]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.