A real life National Treasure has been found by Lorianne Updike Toler at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. The United States Constitution is one of the most important documents in all of world history. It may seem like a little patriotism is shining through when I say that, but it is absolutely true. It is amazing how a legal document of 7,591 words can be so effective that it is one of the longest lasting constitutions in the world. The thing that sells me on the validity of the Constitution is the fact that it is a living document. The Founding Fathers knew it would be an imperfect document and therefore understood the need to have the ability to amend any problems that the may run into hence the use of amendments.
The particular draft discovered by Ms. Toler was drafted by a lesser known player in the framing of the Constitution, James Wilson. Wilson, who was also a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was a lawyer who resided in the Philadelphia area. Wilson's credentials are quite impressive. He was elected to the Continental Congress twice and was eventually chosen to serve as one of the original justices of the Supreme Court appointed by George Washington. Wilson's appointment to the Committee of Detail enabled him to be extremely hands on drafting the Constitution. It was within his position in the Committee of Detail where Wilson was the brain child behind the Three-Fifths Compromise and backed a popular vote election for Congress and the presidency. Wilson was often considered the most learned (meaning educated) of the politicians involved in the framing of the Constitution. The discovery of an early draft of the Constitution made by Wilson helps us to bring to light one of the less famous but very important Founding Fathers.
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