his argument, saying that the Constitution did give the high court the right to hear cases brought against states by citizens of other states. They might have been willing to hear the merits of Georgia’s case, but because the state of Georgia didn’t appear, four justices said they had no choice but to decide in favor of Chisholm.
What irritated Americans more than anything was the court’s assertion that only the federal government had sovereign immunity from such suits. Because the issue of states’ rights was (and still is) a touchy one, Congress immediately proposed the Eleventh Amendment to the Constitution, which specifically prohibits the Supreme Court from hearing cases in which states are sued by citizens of other states. Ratified in 1795, less than a year after it was proposed, the amendment may be one that most Americans never pause to consider, but itbecame the first passed specifically to overturn a Supreme Court ruling. And to this day it’s still debated by legal scholars.
In 1796, while he was attorney general of Pennsylvania, Ingersoll argued and lost another pivotal case, Hylton v. United States , the first legal challenge to the constitutionality of an act of Congress. (In the case, the court found that Congress did not overstep its taxing and spending powers when it imposed a $16 tax on carriages.) One of Ingersoll’s more infamous cases was his defense of William Blount, a shady Tennessee politician and Constitution signer who was the first person ever to be impeached by the federal government under the Constitution.
When John Adams was about to leave office as president, one of his last official acts was to stack the circuit courts throughout the land with as many Federalist “midnight judges” as possible. Ingersoll was so rewarded for his loyalty, but he declined the post.
Thomas Jefferson’s rise to the presidency spelled doom for most Federalists in power, and Ingersoll was no exception. He retreated into private practice for a decade but remained active in the Federalist Party in Pennsylvania. In 1812, he ran unsuccessfully for vice president of the United States with presidential running mate DeWitt Clinton. If you’re asking, “DeWitt who?” you already know the outcome. The pair lost, and James Madison was swept into office as the nation’s fourth president.
Still, Ingersoll remained active—as attorney general, in Philadelphia district court, and in private practice—almost to the day he keeled over. But it wasn’t a love of work that kept him going; he was desperately out of money. Some years back, he had invested in western land with fellow signer Robert Morris, and when those deals proved disastrous, all investors were left looking at empty bank accounts. This likely explains why Ingersoll wore colonial clothes long after they’d gone out of style. While the fashions of the period were transitioning to long pants and tall boots, Ingersoll still fastened his colonial breeches and buckle shoes and dressed in frilly shirts, bowing to the ladies while doffing his old tricorn hat. He died on Halloween day of 1822, at the age of seventy-three.
The Signer-Turned-Fugitive
BORN : September 14, 1742
DIED : August 21, 1798
AGE AT SIGNING : 45
PROFESSION : Lawyer
BURIED : Christ Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
James Wilson wasn’t the first signer of the Constitution to make a few extremely boneheaded financial decisions, but rare is the story that can match the quirky details of his brilliant rise and fall. This astute colonial lawyer went from being a Supreme Court justice to a jailbird to a man on the run. He contributed so much to the founding of the nation—and yet his reputation was quickly erased by colleagues the moment he died, in an effort to sweep his scandals under the rug of history.
Wilson was born in Scotland and studied at not one but three universities before arriving in Philadelphia to seek his fortune. When he soured on a teaching job, he zeroed in
What irritated Americans more than anything was the court’s assertion that only the federal government had sovereign immunity from such suits. Because the issue of states’ rights was (and still is) a touchy one, Congress immediately proposed the Eleventh Amendment to the Constitution, which specifically prohibits the Supreme Court from hearing cases in which states are sued by citizens of other states. Ratified in 1795, less than a year after it was proposed, the amendment may be one that most Americans never pause to consider, but itbecame the first passed specifically to overturn a Supreme Court ruling. And to this day it’s still debated by legal scholars.
In 1796, while he was attorney general of Pennsylvania, Ingersoll argued and lost another pivotal case, Hylton v. United States , the first legal challenge to the constitutionality of an act of Congress. (In the case, the court found that Congress did not overstep its taxing and spending powers when it imposed a $16 tax on carriages.) One of Ingersoll’s more infamous cases was his defense of William Blount, a shady Tennessee politician and Constitution signer who was the first person ever to be impeached by the federal government under the Constitution.
When John Adams was about to leave office as president, one of his last official acts was to stack the circuit courts throughout the land with as many Federalist “midnight judges” as possible. Ingersoll was so rewarded for his loyalty, but he declined the post.
Thomas Jefferson’s rise to the presidency spelled doom for most Federalists in power, and Ingersoll was no exception. He retreated into private practice for a decade but remained active in the Federalist Party in Pennsylvania. In 1812, he ran unsuccessfully for vice president of the United States with presidential running mate DeWitt Clinton. If you’re asking, “DeWitt who?” you already know the outcome. The pair lost, and James Madison was swept into office as the nation’s fourth president.
Still, Ingersoll remained active—as attorney general, in Philadelphia district court, and in private practice—almost to the day he keeled over. But it wasn’t a love of work that kept him going; he was desperately out of money. Some years back, he had invested in western land with fellow signer Robert Morris, and when those deals proved disastrous, all investors were left looking at empty bank accounts. This likely explains why Ingersoll wore colonial clothes long after they’d gone out of style. While the fashions of the period were transitioning to long pants and tall boots, Ingersoll still fastened his colonial breeches and buckle shoes and dressed in frilly shirts, bowing to the ladies while doffing his old tricorn hat. He died on Halloween day of 1822, at the age of seventy-three.
The Signer-Turned-Fugitive
BORN : September 14, 1742
DIED : August 21, 1798
AGE AT SIGNING : 45
PROFESSION : Lawyer
BURIED : Christ Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
James Wilson wasn’t the first signer of the Constitution to make a few extremely boneheaded financial decisions, but rare is the story that can match the quirky details of his brilliant rise and fall. This astute colonial lawyer went from being a Supreme Court justice to a jailbird to a man on the run. He contributed so much to the founding of the nation—and yet his reputation was quickly erased by colleagues the moment he died, in an effort to sweep his scandals under the rug of history.
Wilson was born in Scotland and studied at not one but three universities before arriving in Philadelphia to seek his fortune. When he soured on a teaching job, he zeroed in
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