James Wilson was not satisfied with the hopeful symbolism of the sun merely rising on the new nation. Directly below the sunrise sketch, Wilson drew a full radiant sun. Wilson struck through the sun sphere with an “X”, and superimposed it with a bold capital "P" - the People.
Throughout the Convention, Wilson perplexed other delegates by repeatedly emphasizing that the People were “the legitimate source of all authority”.
But Wilson was not done sketching the nature of popular sovereignty. Wilson's Enlightenment education had taught him that law was a science that could be demonstrated by geometry.
