JAMES WILSON

1742-1798

Signer of the Declaration of Independence (Pennsylvania), Delegate to the Constitutional Convention (Pennsylvania)

Biographical Data
Religious Views
Quotations
References, Links, & Further Reading

Education: studied at St. Andrews, Glasgow, & Edinburgh Universities, but probably did not take a degree

Occupation: educator, lawyer, Supreme Court Justice

Political Affiliation:

Religious Affiliation: Episcopalian, Presbyterian

Summary of Religious Views:

Wilson began as a Presbyterian, then became Episcopalian. However, most who have studied him assert that, in his final views on religion, Wilson was a deist.

Views on Religion & Politics:

Quotations:

References, Links, & Further Reading: Books, Articles, Links

Books

Works by James Wilson

The Works of the Honourable James Wilson, L.L.D., Late One of the Associate Judges of the Supreme Court of the United States, and Professor of Law in the College of Philadelphia, 3 vols., Lorenzo Press, 1804; (Their Own Words)
ed. by Randolph G. Adams, Selected Political Essays of James Wilson, Knopf, 1930
ed. by Kermit Hall & Mark David Hall, The Collected Works of James Wilson, 2 vols., Liberty Fund, 2007 [Vol. 1] [Vol. 2]

Biographies

ed. Randy E. Barnett, The Life and Career of Justice James Wilson, Georgetown Center for the Constitution, 2019
Mark David Hall, The Political and Legal Philosophy of James Wilson 1742-1798, Univ. of Missouri Press, 1997
Charles Page Smith, James Wilson Founding Father 1742-1798, Univ. of North Carolina Press, 1956
Jesse Wegman, The Lost Founder: James Wilson and the Forgotten Fight for a People's Constitution, Macmillan, 2026

Articles

Frank Gaylord Cook, "James Wilson," The Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 64, Iss. 383, September 1889, pp. 316-330
Charles L. Goodrich, "James Wilson," in Lives of the Signers to the Declaration of Independence, 1856

Links

Works by James Wilson

Documents (Constitutional Sources Project)
Collected Works of James Wilson (The Online Library of Liberty)
Letters, Tracts, & Essays of the Founders: James Wilson (Founders Library -- founding.com)

Biographical Sites

WILSON, James, 1742-1798 (Biographical Directory of the US Congress)
A Biography of James Wilson (1742-1798) (Hypertext on American History)
James Wilson (ushistory.org: Signers of the Declaration of Independence)
James Wilson (National Archives -- The Founding Fathers)
James Wilson (The OYEZ Project -- Northwestern University)
James Wilson (Soldier-Statesmen of the Constitution -- Center of Military History, United States Army)
James Wilson (Their Own Words)
James Wilson (Signers of the Declaration of Independence -- National Park Service)
James Wilson and the Constitution, by Burton Alva Konkle
James Wilson (Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence)