JAMES WILSON SIGNATURE SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDANCE
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| Reference Number: Avaluer:26816534 | Topic: Declaration of Independence |
James Wilson(September 14, 1742 August 21, 1798) was one of theFounding Fathers of the United Statesand a signatory of theUnited States Declaration of Independenceand theUnited States Constitution. Wilson was elected twice to theContinental Congress, where he representedPennsylvania, and was a major force in drafting theUnited States Constitution. A leading legal theorist, he was one of the six original justices appointed byGeorge Washingtonto theSupreme Court of the United States. He ...was also one of the 56 signers of theDeclaration of Independence. James Wilson Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United StatesIn office September 26, 1789 August 21, 1798Nominated byGeorge WashingtonPreceded bySeat establishedSucceeded byBushrod WashingtonPersonal detailsBornSeptember 14, 1742 Carskerdo Farm, Fife, Scotland, Great Britain DiedAugust 21, 1798(aged55) Edenton, North Carolina, U.S.Political partyFederalistSpouse(s)Rachel Bird(17711786) Hannah Gray(17931798)EducationUniversity of St Andrews University of Glasgow University of EdinburghSignature Born nearLeven, Fife, Scotland, Wilson immigrated toPhiladelphiain 1766, becoming a teacher at theCollege of Philadelphia. After studying underJohn Dickinson, he set up a legal practice inReading, Pennsylvania. He wrote a well received pamphlet arguing thatParliament's taxation of theThirteen Colonieswas illegitimate due to the colonies' lack of representation in Parliament. He was elected to the Continental Congress and served as president of theIllinois-Wabash Company, a land speculation company. Wilson was a delegate to the 1787Philadelphia Convention, and served on theCommittee of Detail, which produced the first draft of the United States Constitution. Along withRoger Sherman, he proposed theThree-Fifths Compromise, which countedslavesas three-fifths of a person for the purposes of representation in theUnited States House of Representatives. He also proposed theElectoral College. After the convention, he campaigned for the ratification of the document, and his "speech in the statehouse yard" was reprinted in newspapers throughout the country. He also played a major role in drafting the 1790Pennsylvania Constitution. In 1789, Wilson became one of the first Associate Justices of the Supreme Court. He also became a professor of law at theCollege of Philadelphia(which later became theUniversity of Pennsylvania). Wilson suffered financial ruin from thePanic of 179697and was briefly imprisoned in adebtors' prisonon two occasions. He suffered astrokeand died in August 1798, becoming the first U.S. Supreme Court justice to die.
