The Life and Career of Justice James Wilson

by Georgetown Center for the Constitution, Randy E. Barnett (Editor)

James Wilson was a Justice of the United States Supreme Court, appointed to the Court by President George Washington in 1790.

287 pages, Paperback

Published November 11, 2019

Reviews

[Cari · Rating 2 out of 5]

very academic, dry. I learned a lot but it was not "fun" reading.

[Paul Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you can read page two and not have to keep reading, then stop:) Likely you've heard much about James Madison and the Constitution but you've heard less than half the story. If you're unaware of James Wilson, you need to read this book to hear the other half and more.
The history we have been taught tends to focus upon traditional heroes and is incomplete and often whitewashed. Folks who haven't been chiseled in granite and die penniless like Tomas Paine and James Wilson are largely ignored and devalued. In this book we have seven contributors who focus upon different aspects and times of James Wilson's life; his writing that begins the Declaration of Independence (incorrectly attributed to Jefferson), through his enormous influence on the Constitution, on to his influence as Supreme Court justice, through the politics of land speculation and the downfall of not being a Virginian.