From Zero to Hero

From Zero to Hero Throughout history, many people have risen and fallen in power due to their weaknesses and strengths. Napoleon Bonaparte, the great war leader and eventual Emperor of the French, was brought down due to the brute attacks on France by the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Russia, and even by his own arrogance and carelessness. On the contrary, George Washington, a wealthy farmer from Virginia, was able to lead the thirteen colonies into defeating the most powerful army in the world with his bravery. Sometimes, however, even the greatest of people are forgotten and left out from the history textbooks, their memories gone with their destroyed writings and lost philosophies. John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the United States, is such a person. Though not as recognizable as people like Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton, he too made contributions to both the Revolutionary War and the early American Republic. The founding father John Jay was able to secure his reputation as a leader by acting with patriotism, tact, and decency throughout his life and career. John Jay was a staunch patriot who helped in gaining support for independence, assisting his fellow patriots both before and after the American Republic was formed. Much like Boston, New York also had a Sons of Liberty group, groups of men dedicated to rallying their fellow statesmen for support of the liberty of the thirteen colonies. The New York Sons of Liberty was consisted of mostly moderate men, on the contrary to the hot-headed Bostonians. Jay, a lawyer in New York at the time, “was elected to the New York Sons of Liberty and quickly became the leader” (Kallen 21). If he were not a patriotic person, a rebel to the British Motherland, he never would have accepted his election to the Sons of Liberty. Furthermore, in addition to Jay’s duties as the leader, “Jay headed a committee to round up Tories engaged in conspiratorial activities against the Patriot armed