James wilson biography

James Wilson was one of the signers of the United States Declaration of Independence. He was elected twice to the Continental Congress and was a major force in drafting the United States Constitution.

A leading legal theorist, he was one of the six original justices appointed by George Washington to the Supreme Court of the United States.

As a delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Wilson served alongside fellow Pennsylvania delegates: Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Rush, John Morton, Robert Morris, George Clymer, James Smith, George Ross, and George Taylor.

Early Life

One of seven children, Wilson was born to a Presbyterian farming family on September 14, 1742, in Carskerdo, Fife, Scotland, to William Wilson and Alison Landall.

Wilson attended a number of Scottish universities without attaining a degree.

Imbued with the ideas of the Scottish Enlightenment, he moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Brit