After his early political experiences during the constitutional convention, King decided to switch his vocational calling by "his law practice [in 1788, moved from the Bay State to Gotham, and entered the New York political forum". At Hamilton's urging, he moved to New York City, and was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1789. Shortly afterwards he was elected as Senator from New York and reelected in 1795. King declined an appointment as Secretary of State to succeed Edmund Randolph. In 1795, King helped Hamilton defend the controversial Jay Treaty by writing pieces for New York newspapers under the pseudonym "Camillus." Of the thirty eight installments in the series, King wrote eight, numbers 23–30, 34, and 35, discussing the treaty's maritime and commercial aspects. He was re-elected in 1795 but resigned on May 23, 1796, having been appointed U. S. Minister by George Washington to Great Britain. "Even though King was an outspoken Federalist politically, Republican President Thomas Jefferson, upon his elevation to the presidency, refused to recall him. In 1803, King voluntarily relinquished. ... " this position.