language requiring tax legislation to originate in the House of Representatives. Illness of his wife forced him to return to Massachusetts before the work was completed, so he did not sign the document. He was a vocal supporter of its adoption by the state's ratifying convention. When the Constitution came into force in 1789, Strong was chosen by the state legislature to serve in the United States Senate. As what is now known as a Class 2 Senator he came up for reelection in 1792, when he was again chosen. He was one of the principal drafters of the Judiciary Act of 1789, which established the federal courts. He was also instrumental in 1793 and 1794 in the development and passage by Congress of the 11th Amendment to the United States Constitution. This measure was enacted in response to Chisholm v. Georgia, a Supreme Court decision in which a private individual sued the state of Georgia. The amendment expanded the sovereign immunity of states to limit suits against them by private individuals from other states. Strong was also one of a small group of senators who convinced President George Washington in 1794 that a special envoy should be sent to Britain in order to avert war, and who convinced John Jay to accept that role. Jay ended up negotiating what became known as the Jay Treaty, which resolved a number of issues between the two nations but also angered the leadership of Revolutionary France and was widely disliked, criticized, and opposed by Republicans. Strong resigned his seat in 1796 and returned to private life in Northampton. First term as governor In the election of 1800, Strong was nominated by the Federalists as their candidate for governor; his principal opponent was Elbridge Gerry, nominated by the Democratic-Republicans. Strong was criticized by his opponents for his lack of military service and for the fact that he was a lawyer; he countered by asserting his patriotism through his association with Joseph Hawley. His popularity in the western part of the state was decisive: the wide margin by which he won there overcame the smaller advantage by which Gerry carried the east. Acting Governor Moses Gill died ten days before Strong took office at the end of May. Strong won annual reelection to the governor's seat until 1807. During this tenure, the state introduced a new penitentiary system and reformed the judiciary, reducing the