For decades, James Wilson has been something of a “forgotten founder.” The most significant exception is with respect to Article II of the Constitution, which established the executive and defined its powers. Most scholars characterize him as a resolute advocate of an independent, energetic, and unitary Presidency, and a particularly successful one at that, with some scholars characterizing Wilson’s thinking as overly rigid. A close examination of the debates at the Constitutional Convention reveals that Wilson adopted a more pragmatic approach with respect to many aspects of the Presidency than is generally recognized, including the appointment power, the use of an advisory council, the veto power, and presidential selection. The most dramatic example of Wilson’s flexibility regarding executive power is an event that is almost entirely overlooked in the historical record: Wilson’s break late in the Convention from his consistent support for a unitary executive by proposing the creation of an advisory council to assist the President on appointments. While initially seeming like something of a puzzle, the reasons for Wilson’s change of heart become clearer when the debates over presidential power are placed in the context of the larger controversies that dominated the Convention, such as the Great Compromise and presidential re-eligibility, and presidential selection. This broader frame suggests that Wilson held a less doctrinaire vision of executive power than is commonly recognized.

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