Date

5-20-2026

Department

College of Arts and Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in History (PhD)

Chair

Aaron J. Palmer

Keywords

James Wilson, Political philosophy, Scottish Enlightenment, Happiness, Republic of Happiness, natural rights, natural law, law, history, and philosophical history

Disciplines

History

Abstract

The following dissertation examines the political and moral philosophy of James Wilson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a Framers’ theorist whose synthesis of natural law, theology, and Enlightenment moral philosophy grounded what he referred to as the “Republic of Happiness.” It argues that Wilson’s concept of happiness was not rhetorical, but the structural foundation of his legal and constitutional thought. Drawing on Wilson’s Lectures on Law, revolutionary pamphlets, and convention debates, the study demonstrates that for Wilson, happiness meant moral excellence rather than pleasure or material satisfaction. The pursuit of happiness represented both a divine command and a civic duty linking individual virtue to the legitimacy of government.

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