The fifth paper at the USD originalism works-in-progress conference was by Christopher Yoo (Univeristy of Pennsylvania Law School): "The Unitary Executive at the Constitutional Convention: James Wilson and the Creation of the American Presidency." The commentator was Jack Rakove (Stanford History).
This paper is part of a revival in interest in James Wilson, the "forgotten founder" (see also this new article and this new set of collected works). It argues (and I agree) that in particular he had underappreciated influence on the drafters' design of the presidency and executive power.
The question that struck me is this: if it's true that Wilson had greater influence on the design of the executive than previsously appreciated, what are the implications? Does this mean that we should pay more attention to Wilson's background and/or later writings in trying to assess the Constitution's grants of executive power? Or does Wilson remain — despite his role — just one person among many whose thoughts and words help understand the meaning of the relevant phrases. The paper does not attempt to answer this question (and I don't have an answer), but the paper did make me think about it.
Posted at 6:34 AM