James Wilson was a prominent Founding Father who signed both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. However, his later involvement in uncontrolled land speculation led to his downfall, as he purchased land warrants from Revolutionary War veterans in questionable deals. Evidence uncovered in the Chew Family Papers revealed deeds showing Wilson purchased land from soldiers, exposing this previously rumored dark side to his land dealings. Unrestrained land speculation was ultimately Wilson's undoing, damaging his reputation and legacy.

1. John Kloss
HIS 4000
Research Seminar
Outline
11-25-2014

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Founding Father James Wilson, although not breaking any federal or state laws,
became involved in uncontrolled land speculation and unethical acts against
Revolutionary War veterans, which led to his downfall. James Wilson’s life started out in
the lowlands of Scotland in 1742. He moved to America in 1765 and quickly adopted this
country as his own. Wilson published “Consideration on the Nature and Extent of the
Legislative Authority of the British Parliament” in 1774. He was in the elite club of six
Founding Fathers who signed both the Declaration of Independence and the United
States’ Constitution. He wrote the legal argument for Superintendent of Finance Robert
Morris’s proposed Bank of North America and presented it to the Continental Congress.
Wilson was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1786. He was appointed by
President George Washington as an associate justice of the first United States’ Supreme
Court in 1789. Wilson was appointed the first professor of law at the College of
Philadelphia in 1790. He died in Edenton, North Carolina, in 1798 and was buried on
the farmland of his friend, Samuel Johnston, the former governor of North Carolina.
His body was exhumed and returned to Christ Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
where it was again laid to rest in 1906.
Yet even to this day, James Wilson is still virtually unknown. Maybe the land
speculation scandal at the end of his life marred his legacy. But why did it affect
him? Surely many of the Founding Fathers were involved in land speculation,
including Washington, Hamilton, and Franklin. The only difference was that James
Wilson, like fellow Founding Father Robert Morris, took it to the extreme. He was
unable to control his addiction and went beyond reason when land ownership
became an obsession to him, and he made poor judgments in investments. Land

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ownership became a game to him, and the match was who was going to die with the
most land. Greed overwhelmed him, and it took everything he possessed. Both
James Wilson and Robert Morris ended up in debtors prison, nearly penniless. They
each paid the price for excessive land speculation: it damaged their reputations,
which lost them the respect of the nation and transformed them into the forgotten
Founding Fathers.
The circumstances surrounding Wilson’s death also bring up questions.
Did he run to far away North Carolina to escape the scandal, or did he have a more
permanent solution to his financial complications in mind? His second wife was still
in her 20’s; he was almost 56. Only a handful of acquaintances in Edenton could
identify him. Why did his family in Philadelphia not ask to have his body returned to
Pennsylvania for a funeral or try to retrieve it in later years? Why did his young
widow show up in Philadelphia with an unknown stranger as her new husband just
a few months after Wilson’s “death” and announce that they would be moving to
Great Britain?
Unfortunately, I have found several facts that cannot be overlooked. It must
be stated clearly that I found no evidence of unlawful acts committed by James
Wilson; and while it is true that unfortunate circumstances (i.e. the fires of 1800 and
1814 at the War Department in Washington D.C.) destroyed some pertinent records,
there is still enough surviving evidence to make a determination.

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I. The Early Years
A. Born in Fifeshire, Scotland, in 1742
B. Attended the University of St. Andrews
1. Father died
C. Moved to Edinburgh to study bookkeeping
D. Sailed to America summer of 1765
1. Landed in New York
2. Traveled to Philadelphia
a. Strong family ties in Philadelphia
E. Worked as tutor at College of Philadelphia
1. Honorary Master’s Degree
F. Studied law under John Dickinson
G. Set up own law practice in Reading, 1767
H. Wrote “Consideration on the Nature and Extent of the Legislative
Authority of the British Parliament”
I. Married Rachel Bird November 5, 1771
J. Elected to Committee of Correspondence 1774
II. The Patriot
A. Provincial Convention 1774
B. Second Continental Congress May 1775
C. Committee on Indian Affairs
D. Board of War
E. Votes in favor of Declaration of Independence, July 2, 1776

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F. Defends Tories in Philadelphia court
G. Fort Wilson
H. Bank of North America
I. Becomes president of Illinois-Wabash Company
J. Constitutional Convention, 1787
K. Pennsylvania State Ratifying Convention
L. Pennsylvania State Constitution
M. Associate justice of Supreme Court, 1789
N. First professor of law at Philadelphia College, 1790
III. Land Speculation: An Addiction
A. Continental Congress bankrupt
1. Land warrants devised for continental soldiers pay
a. August 26, 1776 first pension legislation enacted
b. May 15, 1778 increased benefits
c. Sept 29, 1789 expanded benefits
2. States also issue Land Warrants in exchange for military service
3. Land speculation scams start to surface
4. Fraudulent investigations, 1785
5. Pay of Continental Soldiers
6. Value of land in Land Warrants
VI. The Chew Papers
A. Benjamin Chew, friend to James Wilson
B. James Wilson’s deeds found in Chew Family Papers

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C. 70 deeds identified and researched
D. 27 documented to belong to soldiers
1. 13 actual Land Warrants
E. Stories of the survivors
1. Letters and correspondence found in War Department
F. Evidence lost in War Department fires of 1800 and 1814
G. Questions surrounding Wilson’s death

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James Wilson’s accomplishments as a Founding Father were truly remarkable. He
was one of only six framers who signed both the Declaration of Independence and the
United States’ Constitution. Wilson was among the original associate justices appointed
to the First United States’ Supreme Court. He was the first professor of law at
Philadelphia College. When you compare his accomplishments to those of other
prominent Founding Fathers, they could be considered equal or even greater, but at the
peak of his life, things started to fall apart for Wilson.
Land speculation was a common occurrence soon after the United States
Government acquired large tracks of land in the west. Land rich and money poor, the
government decided to make available Land Warrants to compensate continental soldiers
for their service in the Revolutionary War. Many of the soldiers had not been paid for
several years and needed money fast. Land companies like Wilson’s were there to buy up
the land from the soldiers at discounted prices. Land companies and private citizens could
purchase these lands with a small down payment with the due date on the balance at a
later time. They then used their newly purchased land for collateral to purchase more
land. It was a pyramid scheme that lasted until the cash flow stopped. The recession of
1796-97 took a heavy toll on many speculators, including Wilson.
The Chew Family Papers revealed a stash of James Wilson deeds that upon
further research exposed a dark side to his land speculation. There have been many
rumors over the years that James Wilson’s land deals were not totally on the up-and-up.
Finally, there is conclusive evidence to prove one of these rumors true, that James Wilson
did indeed purchase Land Warrants from continental soldiers.

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Bibliography
Primary Sources:
Chew Family Papers, Box 706, Folder #3, Philadelphia: Historical Society of
Pennsylvania.
Continental Army Pay Order. South Carolina.
http://fineartamerica.com/featured/continental-army-pay-granger.html
Continental Army Pay Order. Connecticut.
http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/138167
HeritageQuest Online. Revolutionary War Images. http://persi.heritagequestonline.com
North American Land Company Ledger, 1795-1805. Philadelphia: American
Philosophical Society.
Pennsylvania’s Digital State Archives. “Revolutionary War Records.”
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/revolutionary_war/3852

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Records of the Land Office, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/rg/sd/r17sbd.htm
Roosevelt, Theodore. “Address at the New State Capital Building” at Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania, October 4, 1906.
James Wilson Papers, Collection 0721. Philadelphia: Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
Card File at the Pennsylvania Historical Society. Philadelphia: Historical Society of
Pennsylvania.
McCloskey, R.G. The Works of James Wilson, 2 vols. Cambridge: Harvard University
Press, 1967.
North Carolina. Revolutionary War Bounty Land Warrants. Issued by the State of North
Carolina on September 29, 1785 and Delivered to William Faircloth.
http://danielhaston.com/daniel/Sept-29-1785-Wmfaircloth.htm (accessed September 30,
2014).
U.S. War Department. Papers of the War Department: 1784-1800. Letter concerning
land speculation. Elbridge Gerry to Timothy Pickering and Samuel Hodgdon, April
24,1785.

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http://wardepartmentpapers.org/docimage.php?id=858&docCollD=901&page=2
(accessed July 3, 2014).
Wilson, James. “Photo of gravesite taken July, 2009” at Christ Church, Philadelphia, Pa
Http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&Grid=1682&Plpi=28157457
(accessed October 13, 2014).
Secondary Sources:
Cohan, David. Empire at Birth. Chapel Hill: Academia, 2014.
Morton, Sunny McClellan. “Finding & Using Military Bounty Land Records.” Archives.
http://www.archives.com/experts/morton-sunny-mcclellan/military-bounty-land-
records.html (accessed September 30, 2014).
National Archives and Records Administration.” Bounty-Land Warrants for Military
Service, 1775-1855,” http://archives.gov (accessed October 11, 2014).
Pennsylvania Units in the Revolutionary War, War & Military Records.
http://www.revolutionarywar101.com/american-units/pa/
Revolutionary War Bounty Land Warrants, North Carolina.
http://danielhaston.com/daniel/Sept-29-1785-Wmfaircloth.htm

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Sakolski, A.M. The Great American Land Bubble: The Amazing Story of Land-Grabbing,
Speculations, and Booms from Colonial Days to the Present Time. New York: Harper &
Brothers, 1932.
Stanfield, Jack. America’s Founding Fathers: Who Are They? Thumbnail Sketches of 164
Patriots. Boca Raton: Universal Publishers, 2001.
Smith, C. P. James Wilson: Founding Father, 1742-1798. Chapel Hill: University of
North Carolina Press, 1956.
Witt, John Fabian. Patriots & Cosmopolitans: Hidden Histories of American Law.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2007.
Wood, Gordon S. Revolutionary Characters: What made the Founders Different. New
York: Penguin Press, 2006.