From the Roman Republic to the American Revolution : readings of Cicero in the political thought of James Wilson
As a classical scholar and prominent founding father, James Wilson was at once statesman, judge, and political thinker, who read Cicero as an example worthy of emulation and as a philosopher whose theory could be applied to his own age. Classical reception studies have focused on questions of liberty, civic virtue, and constitutionalism in the American founding, and historians have also noted Wilsonâs importance in American history and thought. Wilsonâs direct engagement with Ciceroâs works, however, and their significance in the formulation of his own philosophy has been long overlooked. My thesis argues that Wilsonâs viewpoint was largely based on his readings of Cicero and can only be properly understood within this context. In the first two chapters of my thesis I demonstrate that Wilson not only possessed a wide-ranging knowledge of the classics in general, but also that he borrowed from Ciceroâs writings and directly engaged with the texts themselves. Building upon this foundation, chapters three and four examine Ciceroâs perspective on popular sovereignty and civic virtue, situate Wilsonâs interpretations within contemporary discussions of Roman politics, and analyse the main ways in which
Wilson, Laurie Ann
Marcus Tullius Cicero ; Constitutionalism ; James Wilson ; Popular sovereignty ; Civic virtue ; American founding ; E302.6W64W5 ; Wilson, James, 1742-1798 ; Cicero, Marcus Tullius--Influence ; Constitutional law ; Sovereignty ; Constitutional law ; Civil society
From the Roman Republic to the American Revolution : readings of Cicero in the political thought of James Wilson. As a classical scholar and prominent founding father, James Wilson was at once statesman, judge, and political thinker, who read Cicero as an example worthy of emulation and as a philosopher whose theory could be applied to his own age. Classical reception studies have focused on questions of liberty, civic virtue, and constitutionalism in the American founding, and historians have also noted Wilsonâs importance in American history and thought. Wilsonâs direct engagement with Ciceroâs works, however, and their significance in the formulation of his own philosophy has been long overlooked. My thesis argues that Wilsonâs viewpoint was largely based on his readings of Cicero and can only be properly understood within this context. In the first two chapters of my thesis I demonstrate that Wilson not only possessed a wide-ranging knowledge of the classics in general, but also that he borrowed from Ciceroâs writings and directly engaged with the texts themselves. Building upon this foundation, chapters three and four examine Ciceroâs perspective on popular sovereignty and civic virtue, situate Wilsonâs interpretations within contemporary discussions of Roman politics, and analyse the main ways in which
roman republic american_revolution reading cicero political think james wilson classical scholar prominent found father james wilson statesman judge political thinker read cicero example worthy emulation philosopher whose theory could_apply age classical reception study_focus question liberty civic_virtue american founding historian also_note wilson importance american history thought wilson direct engagement cicero work however significance formulation philosophy long overlook argues wilson viewpoint largely_base reading cicero properly understand within context first_two wilson possess wide_ranging knowledge classic general also borrow cicero writing directly engage text themselves building_upon foundation examine cicero perspective popular sovereignty civic_virtue situate wilson interpretation within_contemporary discussion roman_politics analyse main way