Witherspoon, John

views updated

Witherspoon, John

WITHERSPOON, JOHN. (1723–1794). Signer, clergyman, college president, member of Congress. Scotland-New Jersey. Born in Gifford, Scotland, on 5 February 1723, Witherspoon was the son of a minister and followed his father's calling. At the early age of sixteen he earned a master of arts degree from the University of Edinburgh, getting his divinity degree in 1743. Ordained on 11 April 1745, he became minister to Beith in Ayrshire. That same year he raised troops to oppose Charles Stuart, was taken prisoner at the Battle of Falkirk, and suffered a brief but harsh imprisonment in Castle Doune before Stuart was defeated. Witherspoon became well-known as a leader of the Popular Party in the Church of Scotland, which argued for the right of congregations to pick their own ministers and against the secular ways of the Moderates. In 1757 he became pastor in Paisley, and his fame spread to America. Richard Stockton was sent from New Jersey in 1766 to offer Witherspoon the presidency of the College of New Jersey (later called Princeton). But Witherspoon's wife, Elizabeth Montgomery, did not want to leave Scotland. Two years later Benjamin Rush, who was studying medicine in Edinburgh, made a personal appeal to the Witherspoons, winning them both over. They arrived in Princeton on 12 August 1768.

As president of the College of New Jersey, Witherspoon infused new life into the institution, building up its endowment, its faculty, and its student body until the military events of 1776 interfered. Before the war broke out he had introduced the study of philosophy, French, history, and oratory. Not a profound scholar himself but with the ability of a real educator, he deplored book learning for its own sake, discouraged pure scholarship, and worked on the theory that an education should make a man useful in public life.

Although he disapproved of ministers taking part in politics, he quickly gravitated to the Patriot camp, awarding honorary degrees to John Dickinson, Joseph Galloway, and John Hancock for their defense of liberty. In 1774 he became a member of the Somerset County Committee of Correspondence, attended provincial conventions, and took a prominent part in the imprisonment of the Loyalist governor William Franklin. On 22 June 1776 he was chosen as a delegate to the Continental Congress, arriving in time to vote for independence and to sign the Declaration. He remained a delegate until November 1782, serving on more than one hundred committees, including the committee on secret correspondence for foreign affairs, and on the Board of War. He also worked to silence the Loyalist publishers Benjamin Towne of Philadelphia and James Rivington of New York, as well as writing pamphlets in opposition to the issue of paper money.

After leaving Congress, Witherspoon was elected to the New Jersey legislature in 1783 and 1789 and was a federalist member of the New Jersey ratifying convention in 1787. He devoted most of his energies until his death on 15 November 1794 to rebuilding the College of New Jersey.

Witherspoon also left his mark on American religion. He had reached America at a time when the Presbyterian Church was badly divided between the New and Old Side elements engendered by the Great Awakening of the 1740s. He played a key role in unifying America's Presbyterians and was closely identified its growth in the mid-Atlantic states and on the frontier. By 1776, with the help of a large influx of Scots—Irish, the church was firmly entrenched in the new country. From 1785 to 1789 Witherspoon helped organize the church nationwide, assisting in the crafting of its catechisms, confessions of faith, and government.

SEE ALSO Stockton, Richard.