James Wilson Biography
- Home /
- James Wilson /
- Biography
- Born Sept. 14, 1742
Born near St Andrews, Scotland, Wilson immigrated to Philadelphia in 1766, becoming a teacher at the College of Philadelphia. After studying under John Dickinson, he set up a legal practice in Reading, Pennsylvania. He wrote a well received pamphlet arguing that Parliament\'s taxation of the Thirteen Colonies was illegitimate due to the colonies\' lack of representation in Parliament. He was elected to the Continental Congress and served as president of the Illinois-Wabash Company, a land speculation company.\n', '
Wilson was a delegate to the 1787 Philadelphia Convention, and served on the Committee of Detail, which produced the first draft of the United States Constitution. Along with Roger Sherman, he proposed the Three-Fifths Compromise, which counted slaves as three-fifths of a person for the purposes of representation in the United States House of Representatives and the Electoral 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 1790 Pennsylvania Constitution.\n', '
In 1789, Wilson became one of the first Associate Justices of the Supreme Court. He also became a professor of law at the College of Philadelphia (which later became the University of Pennsylvania). Wilson suffered financial ruin from the Panic of 1796–97 and was briefly imprisoned in a debtors\' prison on two occasions. He suffered a stroke and died in August 1798, becoming the first U.S. Supreme Court justice to die.\n', '
Return to James Wilson Autograph Profile
Stats
Join the RACC Facebook Group!
The Real Autograph Collectors Club (RACC) on Facebook is the largest community of in person autograph collectors and fans in the world, with 25,000 members and growing!
When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Useful Links
WORLDWIDE RACC (Our Top Cities)
New York, NY
USA
Los Angeles, CA
USA
London
United Kingdom
Chicago, IL
USA
Toronto, ON
Canada
