Credit: Courtesy of the Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States
During the American Revolution, Scots-Irish on the frontier and the Scots-Irish elite in Philadelphia were a major force in the political and military struggle for independence. Born in Scotland, James Wilson immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1765, and within a few years moved to Carlisle where he married, speculated in land, and built a successful practice in land law. There, too, he became involved in Revolutionary politics. In 1774 Wilson became chairman of the Carlisle committee of correspondence. As a member of the Second Continental Congress, Wilson voted for American independence in 1776.
