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The lost founder : James Wilson and the forgotten fight for a people's constitution / Jesse Wegman.
Van Pelt Library KF373.W5535 W44 2026
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Historical Society of Pennsylvania - Closed Stacks KF373.W5535 W44 2026
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- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Wegman, Jesse, author.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Wilson, James, 1742-1798.
- Wilson, James.
- Pennsylvania. Constitutional Convention (1776).
- Pennsylvania.
- Lawyers--United States.
- Lawyers.
- Founding Fathers of the United States.
- Constitutional history--United States.
- Constitutional history.
- Democracy--United States--History.
- Democracy.
- Genre:
- Biographies.
- Physical Description:
- x, 369 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (chiefly color), color maps ; 25 cm
- illustration
- polychrome
- map
- Edition:
- First edition.
- Other Title:
- James Wilson and the forgotten fight for a people's constitution
- James Wilson & the forgotten fight for a people's constitution
- Place of Publication:
- New York : Celadon Books, 2026.
- Summary:
- "New York Times journalist Jesse Wegman tells the story of James Wilson, a Founding Father whose vision shaped American democracy but whose legacy was lost to scandal. As a young lawyer, James Wilson made a celebrated case for American independence in an essay that inspired the famous words: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.' He went on to write the first draft of the Constitution and, along with James Madison, played a role in its ultimate creation. Wilson believed that in a democracy, the people were the ultimate source of all power. He argued successfully for a strong central government and a powerful presidency and unsuccessfully for a president elected by popular vote and a Senate apportioned by population. He was recognized for his ideas and leadership. But only a decade after the Constitution was ratified, he died of malaria in the back room of a North Carolina tavern while hiding from his creditors. Jesse Wegman argues that scandal should not diminish the life and relevance of this brilliant, complicated man"-- Provided by the publisher.
- Contents:
- A Scottish childhood
- New life in America
- The "Considerations" essay
- The Declaration
- The Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776
- The Fort Wilson Riot
- Prosperity, speculation, and crisis
- Philadelphia 1787
- The real work begins
- The signing
- Slavery and the three-fifths clause
- The speech in the State House yard
- Ratification
- Aftermath
- The Supreme Court
- The law lectures
- The walls close in
- New love and escape from Philadelphia
- The tavern hideout.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 347-356) and index.
- Local Notes:
- HSP Credit Line: Graphics: Residence of James Wilson known as Fort Wilson, Benjamin Ridgway Evans, 1888. HSP medium graphics coll (V64), [BbEv1589].
- HSP Credit Line: Manuscripts: United States Constitution first manuscript draft by James Wilson, 1787, Historical Society of Pennsylvania Treasures Collection (page 5 of plates insert in center of book); James Wilson manumission note, January 2, 1794 [Pennsylvania Provincial Council Letters, Am .2891 Folio, vol.2, page 40 (Page 6 of plates insert in center of book); James Wilson letter to Bird Wilson, Sept. 6, 1797, James Wilson Papers (0721), Box 13, Fol.22. (Page 7 of plates insert in center of book).
- ISBN:
- 9781250851079
- 1250851076
- OCLC:
- 1533850363
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