03113cam a2200373 i 4500 2849518832 TxAuBib 20260829120000.0 260319s2026||||||||||||||||||||||||eng|u 2025048996 9781250851079 hardcover 1250851076 hardcover (OCoLC)1533850363 TxAuBib rda Wegman, Jesse, author. The lost founder [Book] : James Wilson and the forgotten fight for a people's constitution / Jesse Wegman. First edition. New York : Celadon Books, 2026. x, 369 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (chiefly color), color maps ; 25 cm. txt rdacontent n rdamedia nc rdacarrier Includes bibliographical references (pages 291-356) and index. A Scottish Childhood -- New Life in America -- The "Considerations" Essay -- The Declaration -- The Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776 -- The Fort Wilson Riot -- Prosperity and Crisis -- Philadelphia 1787 -- The Real Work Begins -- The Signing -- Three Fifths -- The Speech in the State House Yard -- Ratification -- Aftermath -- Riding High. "New York Times journalist Jesse Wegman tells the story of James Wilson, a Founding Father whose bold vision shaped American democracy but whose legacy was lost to scandal. As a young lawyer, James Wilson made a celebrated case for American independence in an essay that inspired the famous words "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." He went on to write the first draft of the Constitution and, along with the more famous James Madison, played perhaps the essential role in its ultimate creation. Wilson believed that in a democracy, the people were the ultimate source of all power. He argued successfully for a strong central government and a powerful presidency and unsuccessfully for a president elected by popular vote and a Senate apportioned by population. He was recognized for his ideas and leadership. But only a decade after the Constitution was ratified, he died of malaria in the back room of a North Carolina tavern while hiding from his creditors. Instead of going down as one of the nation's great political thinkers, Wilson was virtually written out of history. But in The Lost Founder, Wegman brings to life the most prescient of the earliest patriots and makes a convincing argument that scandal should not diminish the life and relevance of a brilliant, complicated man whose vision for his country could not be more relevant today"-- Provided by publisher. 20260829. Wilson, James, 1742-1798. Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention (1776.) Lawyers United States. Founding Fathers of the United States. Constitutional history United States. Democracy United States History. Biographies. fast