Book review of The Lost Founder by Jesse Wegman

James Wilson was the most democratic of all the Founding Fathers and fervently promoted the philosophy that all power rests with the people. He wrote the first draft of the Constitution and was one of only six men who signed both the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence; he coined the phrase ‘‘We the people”; in 1790, he gave a series of lectures that shaped the country’s legal principles for decades. Legal historian and former New York Times editorial board member Jesse Wegman explores Wilson’s crucial contributions to the development of the nation and why few know of him in his gripping, deeply researched and elegantly written The Lost Founder: James Wilson and the Forgotten Fight for a People’s Constitution.

A native of Scotland, Wilson came to the North American colonies in 1765 at age 23. He was very well educated and strongly influenced by the scholars of the Scottish Enlightenment. When he had lived here for only three years he wrote a long essay, not published until 1774, arguing that the British Parliament had no authority over the colonies and providing the legal justification for the American Revolution. “All men are, by nature, equal and free,” he wrote, “no one has a right to any authority over another without his consent.” This very influential essay brought Wilson to the attention of the public as a leading political thinker. It also helped him gain a reputation as the best lawyer in the colonies; he was also one the wealthiest.

Despite earning high praise from the likes of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Benjamin Rush, Wilson’s obsession with complex land speculation meant he was always looking for sources of money; scandal and debtors’ prison ensued. He died of malaria while hiding from his creditors, impoverished and disgraced. But he was ahead of his time in his belief in the power of the common people, and Wegman shows that he was as important in designing the Constitution as James Madison. This absorbing and enlightening work offers abundant riches as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding and reflect on the people instrumental to its success.