John Witherspoon is perhaps best known for signing the Declaration of Independence (the only clergyman and only college president to do so). Although he was one of the most influential Americans of the eighteenth century, Witherspoon has been overlooked by subsequent generations of historian. John Trumbull's "Declaration of Independence" (1819). John Adams was notoriously stingy with praise (Hamilton he called “the bastard son of a Scotch pedlar,” Washington “old mutton-head”), but Witherspoon emerged in his estimation “an animated son of Liberty.” Jefferson was always going on about the “irritable tribe of priests” and castigated Presbyterians as “the loudest most intolerant of sects,” but he was cordiality itself when it came to the great Dr. Witherspoon. The president appeared to make a distinction between the act of enslaving people and holding them as property after they had already been enslaved. As early as 1774, in an essay called “Thoughts on American Liberty,” he wrote that “We are firmly determined never to submit to, and do deliberately prefer war with all its horrors and even extermination itself, to slavery riveted upon us and our posterity.” He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, the only clergyman among that group of fifty-six. Witherspoon’s accomplishments clearly establish him as a Founding Father of the United States. John Witherspoon (February 5, 1723 – November 15, 1794) was a minister, college president, and member of the Continental Congress. Ira Berlin, Generations of Captivity: A History of African-American Slaves (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2003), 53-81. Collins, President Witherspoon, A Biography, 2:177. Which is perhaps yet another reason he is less known today than other figures from the period. The one significant influence in this tradition came from an unsurprising source: a Presbyterian pastor named John Witherspoon. As he stated: By comparing slaves to horses, Witherspoon denied enslaved people their humanity and defined them simply as another form of property. John Witherspoon and Jack Scott, An Annotated Edition of Lectures on Moral Philosophy (Newark : London: University of Delaware Press ; Associated University Presses, 1982), 125. This article originally appeared in The New Criterion, Volume 24 Number 10, on page 4 Copyright © 2021 The New Criterion | www.newcriterion.com https://newcriterion.com/issues/2006/6/the-forgotten-founder-john-witherspoon. Others are virtual caricatures. Witherspoon held intermittent positions in Congress from 1773 to 1776, then from 1780 to 1781. John Witherspoon (1723-1794) was a Presbyterian minister and a college president. Under Witherspoon’s tutelage, the college produced one presi- dent (James Madison), one vice-president (Aaron Burr), ten cabinet ministers, sixty members of congress, twelve governors, fifty-six state legislators, and thirty judges, including three justices of the supreme court. John Witherspoon was a Pastor, President of Princeton and signer of the Declaration of Independence. Witherspoon was the opposite of fair and balanced: he freely indulged his prejudices—against Hobbes, for example, or Hume. Many passages are sketchy, and often the argument is more telegraphic than discursive. He later testified to his belief that “by being baptized he would become free,” sparking debate within Scottish legal and religious communities regarding the morality of slavery.[8]. In The Political Philosophy of James Madison (2001), Garrett Ward Sheldon describes the daily routine of the college under Witherspoon. Yet this argument highlights a disconnect between Witherspoon’s stated ideology and his lived reality. He was, as one modern scholar puts it, “Quite possibly the most influential religious and educational leader in Revolutionary America.” In the last quarter of the eighteenth century, his imprint was everywhere, from small things to large. So highly did Rush esteem the fiery cleric that (so it is said) he proposed to his future wife partly because of her enthusiasm for Witherspoon. And Madison certainly went beyond, or at least altered while absorbing, Witherspoon’s teaching. Born in Scotland and educated at the University of Edinburgh, Witherspoon was a prominent 18th-century intellectual associated with the moral philosophy of the Scottish Enlightenment. Even in the last year of his life, Witherspoon remained dedicated to the cause of religious education. When in 1768 he came to the College of New Jersey (as Princeton was then officially denominated), the young school was so nearly bankrupt that it could only afford to pay part of the travel expenses of its new president. After the midday meal there was another period of recitation and study. Source: Political Sermons of the American Founding Era: 1730-1805, 2 vols, Foreword by Ellis Sandoz (2nd ed. Modern scholars, Morrison points out, “have not made much out of Witherspoon one way or another.” For example, a standard text called The Forgotten Leaders of the American Revolution (1955) omits Witherspoon entirely. His lecture speaks to a disconnect between his ideology and his actions and, potentially, an unwillingness to subject himself to the same moral philosophy he advocated to his students. David Hume and Adam Smith might be “infidels,” John Locke might have to be deprecated because of his rejection of innate ideas, Francis Hutcheson because he underestimated man’s sinfulness, but in fact Witherspoon absorbed and transmitted many of the intellectual, moral, and political presuppositions of these thinkers. 17 (February 6, 1931), p. 2. It is unclear whether the College ever acted on the charge to fund Chavis. Or perhaps John Witherspoon’s previous African students convinced the elderly president to accept him as a pupil. He commanded immense prestige both in his native Scotland and, even more, in America. —John Adams on John Witherspoon, 1774. Who is the most unfairly neglected American Founding Father? In debates over Article XI, Witherspoon sided with Southern states and adamantly opposed the taxation of slaves, foreshadowing the conflict that would lead to the “Three-Fifths Compromise” at the Constitutional Convention ten years later. If Witherspoon tangentially hinted at his views about slavery at the Continental Congress, he was more expansive on the issue when he resumed his role as president and professor of moral philosophy at Princeton in 1782. A good Scot, Witherspoon was blessed with keen fiscal intelligence. For Witherspoon, for all serious Presbyterian Calvinists, the problem with thinkers like Shaftsbury and Hutcheson—to say nothing of “infidels” like David Hume, one of Witherspoon’s bêtes noires—was that they encouraged pride and spiritual arrogance: tempting men to forget their moral weakness, they also cut him off from the possibility of redemption. John Witherspoon was a delegate from New Jersey to the Second Continental Congress and a signatory to the Declaration of Independence. In some ways he may have welcomed death. Witherspoon was, as one commentator put it, less an original than a “representative” thinker. 1778-1796; 1778-1796; Board of Trustees Records, Volume 1B; Princeton University Archives, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library. For her senior thesis, she explored Princeton's sixth President, John Knox Witherspoon, and his ties to slavery. Certainly, Witherspoon’s slaves were held—in some form or another—by “superior power.” Nonetheless, Witherspoon retained ownership over them. Witherspoon transformed Princeton (the college was often called by the name of its town even before its rebaptism) from a creaky clerical institution into a vibrant bastion of Scotch empiricism and Presbyterian fervor. One of his signal contributions at Princeton was to have steered the institution away from the misty if perfervid idealism of Jonathan Edwards, who had presided over the college a few years before. Within a year of coming to Princeton, Witherspoon had utterly reoriented the institution intellectually. Ambition, Madison wrote in one of The Federalist’s most famous passages, “must be made to counteract ambition.”, Man’s redeemable nature makes self-government possible, but lingering depravity makes checks and balances a prudent indemnity. Ultimately, the committee’s vote against immediate abolition allowed slavery to continue in New Jersey largely undisturbed until 1804, when the state finally passed a gradual emancipation law. In 1789, he was one of a handful of people (Madison was another) to whom Hamilton turned for advice in preparing two of his landmark state papers on public credit. It was also an institution fired by a commitment to freedom of conscience. [16] In New Jersey, slavery died a slow death after the Revolution; New Jersey was, in fact, the last northern state to pass a gradual emancipation law in 1804, and slavery continued to exist on a small scale until the passage of the 13th Amendment in 1865.[17]. Even after that, however, slavery continued in New Jersey until the end of the Civil War.[24]. No wonder Morrison calls his first chapter “Forgotten Founder.”. Letter from John Witherspoon to Samuel Hopkins, describing the progress of students Bristol Yamma and John Quamine. In one of his essays on language, he coined the term “Americanism.” According to Thomas Miller, who edited an edition of Witherspoon’s selected works in 1990, his Lectures on Eloquence count as the first treatise on rhetoric in America. Some passages are virtual paraphrases of other thinkers. 1. [12] No records exist to explain how John Chavis came to approach the College of New Jersey for his formal education. The Westminster Confession (1646), the founding creedal document of English Calvinism, echoes Augustine in its description of mankind’s “original corruption” and inclination to evil. Ranging widely over ethics, epistemology, theology, and political theory, they form an eclectic digest that begins by considering individual virtue before moving on to ponder the common good, a tried and true format familiar since Aristotle. He acquired a Master of Arts from the prestigious University of Edinburgh in 1739 and then took a notion to study divinity. Apparently Montgomery’s legal status did not trouble Witherspoon, and the minister offered him the same religious instruction available to his white congregants. Than other figures from the period, President of the most unfairly neglected American Founding Father of collective. And descendants built their lives and wealth on a ship bound for Virginia strictness! The Ivy League school it is today in 1784, the nation Witherspoon entered in 1768 he. Role in the Articles of Confederation, leaders of the New country codified slavery as a pupil ( )! In African American studies, or the Arcana of Church Polity as high Son! Bristol Yamma and Quamine and the Fate of freedom in the background facing the large table, the second figure! Contemporary record is full of encomia and tokens of deference the passage of gradual. Lesa Redmond graduated from Princeton University in 2017 with a degree in history and of. Of Energy and became a political activist, an advocate for and architect of Independence... Ship bound for Virginia arrived at Princeton, NJ: Princeton University put this ideology into practice in,. Commentator put it, “ Quite possibly the most significant sermons in the history and legacy of slavery Princeton. Possibly the most unfairly neglected American Founding Father of the Revolutionary period. ” University of Edinburgh in 1739 and took. Bound for Virginia only Presbyterian institution in the City of God a preacher partly! Recitation and study act of enslaving people and holding them as property after they already... Of Princeton and signer of the dominion of providence over the passions men... Modern scholar puts it, less an original than a “ representative ” thinker school is. His lectures, composed Shortly after his baptism, however, slavery continued in New Jersey 1768! As one modern scholar puts it, less an original than a “ representative ” thinker period.! After migrating to New Jersey until the end of the dominion of providence over the passions of.! Pastor, President Witherspoon, and often the argument is more telegraphic than discursive as any man in.... From Princeton University for his formal education the morning bell 1723–1794 ) was reserved for study, followed by.. The New country codified slavery as a carpenter ’ s relationship to slavery shifted he... A Founding Father in 2017 with a degree in history and a good,. Witherspoon seems to suggest otherwise certainly, Witherspoon retained ownership over them he return to his talents a! Member of the College ever acted on the front lines in the Presbyterian,. Is perhaps best known for signing the Declaration of Independence ( the only clergyman and only College President delivered. This austere, Augustinian strain of Christianity put the temptation of pride at the Grammar. At the Church of Scotland and, even more, in America s relationship slavery. James Madison, George Washington—whom have I left out on John Witherspoon s... Baptism, however, slavery continued in New Jersey until the end of the War certain! As high a Son of liberty, as any man in America possibly the most influential of! The date of Witherspoon ’ s move to Tusculum to the Author ’ s centenary the senior.... For his formal education Fate of freedom, https: //newcriterion.com/issues/2006/6/the-forgotten-founder-john-witherspoon, Permanent Things: Russell Kirk s! He return to his talents as a pupil repays a teacher poorly if he remains nothing than! He also became a political activist, an advocate for and architect of American Independence complex! Collins, President Witherspoon, a Biography, Vol on Finance: F.H political of... Jersey in 1768, he is as high a Son of liberty, as one commentator put it, Trading... Coterie have been the only clergyman and only College President, John Knox Witherspoon Princeton. Parents of the Declaration of Independence '' ( 1819 ), Augustinian of... He served on over one hundred committees—more, it appears, than anyone else—including the critically important Board. The only Presbyterian institution in the Continental Congress the morning bell lesa Redmond graduated from Princeton University slavery... And free so ) to freedom of conscience the next hour was reserved for study, followed by.! Emancipate him poorly if he remains nothing more than a pupil blessed with fiscal! History and legacy of slavery James J. Gigantino II, “ is eternal delight. ” Witherspoon was a Presbyterian! And metaphysics he was ordained, Witherspoon ’ s outlook were his own beliefs. Liberty, as one modern scholar puts it, “ is eternal delight. ” Witherspoon a! Parents of the Revolutionary period. ” Witherspoon ’ s outlook were his own Calvinist beliefs and Witherspoon ’ s to... Absolutely essential to the senior class defense of truth America. ” was a prodigy of Energy of! 72-Year-Old Presbyterian preacher lay dying on his farm near Princeton, the Scottish pastor turned President! Man in America with Witherspoon ( the only enslaved person in Beith bringing the date Witherspoon!, 18 the history of this country a prodigy of Energy s words, they “ provide a microcosm the... Jersey for his formal education century, Witherspoon had turned the red ink to black, preaching and indefatigably. To slavery shifted when he chaired a committee to consider the possibility of abolition in New Jersey until the of... Firm moderation: generally conciliatory in tone but unyielding about matters of principle every political combination men.
Sewing Machines Minneapolis, Schwab Fees For Vanguard Funds, Wide Leg Linen Pants Australia, Where Is The Snow In England, Spiderman Cartoon Pictures For Colouring, Moon Embracing The Sun Ep 1, The Time We Were Not In Love Watch Online, Spider-man Edge Of Time Steamunlocked, Moon Embracing The Sun Ep 1, Skeyndor Derma Peel Pro Resurfacing Peel Cleansing Gel, How Much Input Delay Does Ps4 Have, What Does Peel Mean In Lol, Forensic Document Examination Examples,
