Changes

At the [[Constitutional Convention]], Wythe was one of the members representing the state of [[Virginia]]. The other members of the Virginia delegation to the Convention were [[John Blair]], [[James Madison]], [[George Mason]], [[James McClurg]], [[Edmund Randolph]], and [[George Washington]].

At the [[Constitutional Convention]], Wythe was one of the members representing the state of [[Virginia]]. The other members of the Virginia delegation to the Convention were [[John Blair]], [[James Madison]], [[George Mason]], [[James McClurg]], [[Edmund Randolph]], and [[George Washington]].

==Death==

==Later life and death==

Later in his life, George Wythe became an abolitionist.  This contributed directly to his untimely death, as Wythe freed all his slaves and provided them a means of support until they were able to support themselves.  His grandnephew, George Wythe Sweeney, the chief beneficiary of his will schemed to enlarge his own share by poisoning the freed slaves. Subsequently, Wythe apparently drank some coffee that had been laced with arsenic and suffered for two agonizing weeks before passing.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=w5JpBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA40 Hampton's Olde Wythe: Jewel of the Virginia Tidewater]</ref> Wythe died in Richmond, Virginia.  Sweeney was tried for his crime and he was acquitted.<ref name="GW" /> George Wythe had willed all his books to President Jefferson. His grave is in the yard of St. John's Episcopal Church in Richmond.

Later in his life, George Wythe became an abolitionist.  In the court case ''Hudgins v. Wright'', Wythe attempted to "abolish slavery by judicial interpretation"<ref>[http://www.studythepast.com/4333_spring12/materials/thomas%20jefferson%20and%20antislavery%20_%20the%20myth%20goes%20on%20_%20paul%20finkelman.pdf Thomas Jefferson and Antislavery: The Myth Goes On]</ref> despite the other members of the court.  He ruled that "freedom is the birthright of every human being" based on the Virginia Constitution's Bill of Rights,<ref>[https://www.google.com/books/edition/University_Court_and_Slave/WlCsDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA2 University, Court, and Slave, Pro-Slavery Thought in Southern Colleges and Courts and the Coming of Civil War]</ref> though, his ruling would be overturned in subsequent rulings.<ref>[https://dailyprogress.com/opinion/column/opinion-column-wythe-taught-abolition-in-colonial-times/article_a9ce1a16-1e2c-11ed-a5c0-570c2bd7c9f4.html Opinion/Column: Wythe taught abolition in colonial times]</ref>

 

His views on slavery contributed directly to his untimely death, as Wythe freed all his slaves<ref>[https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Signers/yWOFXE0sVrgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA23 The Signers, The 56 Stories Behind the Declaration of Independence]</ref> and provided them a means of support until they were able to support themselves.  His grandnephew, George Wythe Sweeney, the chief beneficiary of his will schemed to enlarge his own share by poisoning the freed slaves. Subsequently, Wythe apparently drank some coffee that had been laced with arsenic and suffered for two agonizing weeks before passing.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=w5JpBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA40 Hampton's Olde Wythe: Jewel of the Virginia Tidewater]</ref> The two former slaves, Michael Brown and Lydia Broadnax, survived. Wythe died in Richmond, Virginia, and Sweeney was tried for his crime and he was acquitted.<ref name="GW" /> George Wythe had willed all his books to President Jefferson. His grave is in the yard of St. John's Episcopal Church in Richmond.

==Writings==

==Writings==