James Wilson: A lost legacy.

摘要

In the pantheon of great American revolutionaries people often remember the names of Washington, Adams and Jefferson. If one mentions the name James Wilson few will react with any great admiration. However, one of the most influential members at each step of the founding of the American nation was James Wilson. Wilson followed the path of many who came to America, immigrating from Scotland in 1766. In America Wilson studied law under John Dickinson and later set up his own law practice in Reading, Pennsylvania. It was in 1774 that Wilson began his career in the public eye with the publication of his pamphlet titled, Considerations on the Nature and Extent of the Legislative Authority of the British Parliament. Wilson argued many points in the pamphlet, and among them was a concise, early argument for "no taxation without representation." In 1775 Wilson joined the Pennsylvania State Militia, but politics and the law were more to be his future. In 1776 he was chosen as a member of the Pennsylvania delegation to the Continental Congress. He served on numerous committees while in the Congress and defined much of the early policy regarding western territories. In the time between the successful Revolution and the Constitutional Convention Wilson focused mainly on local matters, but also created the first Bank of North America during this time.;As influential as Wilson was in the Continental Congress and the road to Independence the greatest achievement of his career would come in the shaping of the Constitution in 1787 at the Constitutional Convention and then later at the Pennsylvania Ratification Convention. Wilson was an influential participant in the Committee of Detail which was responsible for creating the first draft of the document itself. Wilson also was the one who helped to create the Three-Fifths Compromise, an instrumental step in approval of the document for the Southern states. He was one of the most influential advocates for the rights of the people at the Constitutional Convention, fighting for direct election of every national legislator. Ultimately, Wilson would be unsuccessful with those wishes for the executive and so he proposed the idea of the Electoral College. Wilson was also integral to the ratification of the Constitution after it was agreed upon at the Convention. Wilson was the driving force behind ratification in Pennsylvania. During his time in the Pennsylvania Ratification Convention Wilson also made statements that laid the foundation for American federalism, claiming that in the American republic only the people were sovereign, not the government, state or federal. Wilson was also crucial in the undertaking to redraw the Constitution of his home state of Pennsylvania. In the last phase of his life Wilson was elected to the Supreme Court by George Washington. He served on the Court for almost ten years until his death in 1798 at the age of 55. He also served as a law professor and founder of the of the law school at the College of Philadelphia.;Despite all of his contributions the end of Wilson's life came during a time of great financial distress and public scorn. He died in debt, alone and in obscurity over 350 miles from Philadelphia at the farm of a friend in Edenton, North Carolina, and was buried in an unmarked grave for over 100 years before finally being moved to Philadelphia in 1906. Wilson's place in history was diminished greatly by his tragic end, and much like his unmarked grave his contributions were not fully appreciated. Despite brief, tertiary mentions in many history books Wilson's stature has never risen to that of his contemporaries. The reason why might seem to be clear given his struggles at the end of his life. However, the truth about Wilson's place in history was far more complicated. Wilson's poor decisions no doubt played a role in the way he was preserved for posterity, but there were additional factors as well. Wilson died very early after the formation of the new republic and as such was not able to establish a post-Convention legacy on par with the likes of Washington, Adams and Madison.;The intention of this thesis is to provide evidence of the contributions that Wilson made during his time in public life for the American cause, specifically focusing on the time period between 1774-1789. My hope is that by exploring his contributions more deeply a greater appreciation for Wilson can emerge. Most importantly, I intend to determine if his financial shortcomings truly were the main or only cause of his relegation, or if the other, more abstract theories I have suggested were equally to blame. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).