Institute of Legal and Constitutional Research: The Forgetting of James Wilson

The latest online event from the Institute of Legal and Constitutional Research will be the inaugural 'James Wilson Lecture in Law and Government' lecture, The Forgetting of James Wilson.

James Wilson, who was educated at St Andrews, emigrated to British North America in 1765. He signed both the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution, was appointed to the Supreme Court, and delivered the first set of university lectures on US law.

Wilson went bankrupt, fell into disgrace, and was largely forgotten until the recent re-discovery of the role he played in the American Revolution. The lecture will explain his accomplishments and address the question of why historians overlooked him for so long.

William Ewald, Professor of Law and Philosophy, at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School will present the lecture, which will be chaired by Anthony Lang, Professor in International Political Theory in the School of International Relations.