He served in the
Maryland militia during the
American Revolutionary War as private, lieutenant, and later as captain. After the war, he served as a member of the
Maryland House of Delegates from 1784 to 1786, and as a member of the
Maryland State Senate in 1801. In 1800, Wright was elected as a
Democratic Republican to the
United States Senate on November 19, 1801, for the term commencing March 4, 1801. In the Senate, Wright served as delegate to the Farmers’ National Convention in 1803. He resigned from the Senate on November 12, 1806, having been elected the
12th Governor of Maryland, a position he served in from 1806 to 1809. After his tenure as governor, Wright served as clerk of
Queen Anne's County, Maryland, in 1810, and was elected to the Eleventh and Twelfth Congresses to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of
John Brown. He was re-elected to the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Congresses and served from November 29, 1810, to March 3, 1817. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1816 to the Fifteenth Congress, but was elected to the Seventeenth Congress, serving from March 4, 1821, to March 3, 1823. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1822. In his later life, Wright served as district judge of the lower
Eastern Shore district of Maryland from 1823 until his death. ==Personal life==