John Jay reenactor Phil Webster to speak at Great Homeschool Convention at Greenville SC March 8-10

John Jay reenactor Phil Webster to speak at Great Homeschool Convention at Greenville SC March 8-10

Phil Webster will speak as John Jay at two sessions at the Great Homeschool Convention. On Friday at 7:30 PM John Jay will present "1776 FAITH: The Christian Worldview of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence.

On Saturday morning Mr. Jay will relate stories about his 28 years of service to the new nation.

• member of Continental Congress
• President of Continental Congress
• Chief Justice of New York
• Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain
• Treaty of Paris Negotiator (with Franklin & Adams)
• Secretary of Foreign Affairs 1784-1789
• Secretary of State 1789-1790
• Chief Justice Supreme Court 1789-1795
• Negotiated Jay Treaty with England
• Governor of New York, outlawed slavery
• President of American Bible Society
• Helped establish Free African School in NYC
• Friend of William Wilberforce

Phil Webster/ John Jay at Salisbury MD Barnes and Noble bookstore Dec. 2, 2017

Phil Webster/ John Jay at Salisbury MD Barnes and Noble bookstore Dec. 2, 2017

Phil Webster appeared in character as John Jay at a booksigning of his books 1776 FAITH, 1776 DELMARVA and 1787 FAITH on Saturday, December 2, 2017.

John and Sally Jay had two sons:
one born in 1776 (Peter), the year of the signing of the Declaration of Independence
and one in 1789 (William), the year when the new government started under the Constitution.

1776 FAITH documents the Christian worldview of the signers of the Declaration of Independence (54 of the 56 signers had a Christian worldview) It also shows the days of prayer for the country (at least once a year during the American Revolution), the original state Constitutions which had a place for God, instances of Divine Providence on the young nation, the Christian colleges of the era, the effect of the Great Awakening on the Founders and the Christian music of the era. This is a resource to counter specific challenges to specific Founding Fathers.

1787 documents the Christian worldview of the signers of the Constitution (at least 36 of the 39 signers of the Constitution had a Christian worldview) as well as give some background to each signer. It also goes on to show in chapter five how the United States government dedicated itself to God in New York City at St. Paul's Chapel on April 30, 1789. St. Paul's Chapel is significant in that the Twin Towers fell down at its back door. Does the First Amendment say "Freedom of Religion" or "Separation of Church and State?" Why do all 50 states mention God in their state constitutions? What would the first Chief Justice under the Constitution say about faith in God?

1776 DELMARVA attempts to show the contributions and sacrifices of the Delmarva Peninsula during the American Revolution. Most Marylanders (let alone the rest of the country) do not realize that Maryland has the unique privilege of flying their flag at the same height as the United States flag because of the sacrifice of Maryland soldiers at the battle of Brooklyn. Delmarva soldiers fought at Brooklyn, Kip's Bay, Harlem Heights, Fort Washington, Washington Crossing, Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, Stony Point and Paulus Hook. That sounds like enough right there but in 1789 they were called upon to march south to the Carolinas and fight eventually at Camden, Cowpens, Guilford Courthouse, the Race to the Dan, Hobrick's Hill, Ninety Six, Eutaw Springs and Yorktown.

These books would be enjoyed by history lovers as Christmas gifts.

At Most 5 of 95 Founders Were Deists

At Most 5 of the 95 Founders Were Deists



For the last decade or so, it has been pushed in the public schools and universities that "all the Founders were Deist and Atheists and there is no place for God in the public square." In the late 1990s, I came across the 25 volumes of "Letters of the Delegates to Congress 1774-1789." I gave myself "The Founders' Challenge." I read all these volumes (plus 34 volumes of "Journals of Continental Congress" to see if the Founders had an atheistic, deistic or Christian worldview. My findings can be found in my two books 1776 FAITH and 1787 FAITH.

In "1776 FAITH: The Christian Worldview of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence" 54 of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence had a Christian worldview. The exceptions were Franklin and Jefferson. Even Franklin and Jefferson had strong Christian statements but had views not compatible with a follower of Jesus Christ.
In "1787 FAITH: The Christian Worldview of the Signers of the Constitution" 36 of the 39 signers of the Constitution had a Christian worldview. This is being generous. The possible deists are Franklin, Hugh Williamson and James Wilson. I have yet to see evidence of a blatant anti-Christian worldview from Williamson and Wilson. On the contrary, I have seen quite a bit that puts them in the Christian worldview column. Since Franklin is counted here again, the actual count is 90 to 4 which would be 95.7%

John Jay at Naval Academy along with Hamilton, Madison and Mason

It was a high honor to be able to portray John Jay at the Naval Academy on September 15, 2017 to help the Midshipmen celebrate Constitution Day. John Jay with Alexander Hamilton (Rocky Rockefeller) and James Madison (David Smith) as well as George Mason (Mark Croatti) helped midshipmen interact with these future leaders at the Naval Academy for Constitution Day remembrance.

Naval Academy Library

Jay and Madison with Midshipmen

John Jay at Hale Brynes House August 12, 2017

John Jay at Hale Brynes House August 12, 2017

John Jay spoke about his career at the Hale Brynes House near Newark, Delaware on Saturday August 12, 2017.

Hale Brynes House historical marker which highlights the meeting place where Washington, Lafayette, Nathanael Greene met and strategized in 1777

Hale Brynes House

Kim Burdick introducing John Jay

Syracuse University magazine Reenact Highlights John Jay/ Phil Webster

Syracuse University showing love and attention to John Jay

The Nation's Most Forgotten Founding Father

The Syracuse University grad school of Communications has started a magazine for Reenactors entitled reenactmag. Jasmine Gomez did an article on John Jay on June 29, 2017 and you can check it out on (Rachel George did the great photography).

john jay interpreter headshot
As a John Jay interpreter, Webster is determined to bring Jay the historical recognition that he deserves. “John Jay isn’t feeling the love yet, but we’re working on it,” he says (photo credit: Rachel George).

John Jay Throwing Clay Pipe to Show stopping of subservience to French diplomacy at Treaty of Paris

John Jay Throwing Clay Pipe to Show stopping of subservience to French diplomacy at Treaty of Paris

John Jay threw his pipe into the fireplace to signify the stopping of the practice of being subservient to the French diplomacy of the Treaty of Paris. Jay felt that the United States would get nowhere unless we dealt directly as an independent nation in our diplomacy. Dr. Franklin finally agreed. Keep in mind all of Franklin's work to get the French to help us in terms of getting an alliance with France, getting French monetary support as well as the assistance of French ships and troops.