How Did James Wilson Contribute To The Revolutionary War

Did you know that James Wilson was appointed to Supreme Court by George Washington through the years 1789-98? Wilson was a lawyer and a jurist born near St. Andrews, Scotland on September 14th 1742. Wilson was an immigrant who got to North America in 1765. He was the college professor of Philadelphia, and he taught Greek and rhetoric. He also studied law under John Dickinson, who was a statesman and delegate to the first continental congress. But how was James Wilson influential to the Revolutionary War? Wilson also took a leading role in Pennsylvania’s revolutionary movement. In the year 1774 he was elected to the Cumberland County Committee of Correspondence and he represented the county in the provincial convention while also serving as a delegate to the second continental congress.

In 1774 he wrote a treatise called the “Considerations on the Nature and Extent of the Legislative Authority of the British Parliament”. In this work he set out a scheme of empire in which the British colonies would have the equivalent of dominion status. He used this treatise to set out a scheme of empire in which the British colonies would have the equivalent of dominion status. One of its paragraphs says "All men are by nature, equal and free. No one has a right to any authority over another without his consent…The consequence is, that the happiness of the society is the first law of every government." This treatise lead to a rise in popularity for Wilson.

In 1777 Wilson was recalled from congress by Pennsylvania because of how he was vehemently opposing the form of the state constitution. He was then restored to office because Pennsylvania was not able to find a replacement to take his place. After ten years he eventually able to persuade fellow citizens to ratify the new United States Constitution which would make Pennsylvania the second state to do