History of John Witherspoon: the Ordained Founding Father
John Witherspoon, by Charles Wilson Peale, c 1790. Image: Wikimedia
HISTORY OF JOHN WITHERSPOON: THE ORDAINED FOUNDING FATHER
Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial
[In my previous article, I discussed how the American Revolution against England was driven by the Enlightenment, the Age of Reason… and Religion, the predominantly Protestant Christian faith energized by the revival of the Great Awakening.]
John Witherspoon, born on February 4, 1723, was an 18th-century Scottish preacher who emigrated to America in 1768. He was the sole clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence.
As president of Princeton College, he significantly influenced several Founding Fathers, including framers of the Declaration and Constitution who studied under him, most notably James Madison, known as the “Father of the Constitution.”
Witherspoon is regarded as a Founding Father of the United States and as the most influential professor in American history, particularly during the late Colonial and early National periods. He was renowned for his teaching of Enlightenment principles and for his preaching of Christianity, finding no conflict between the two.
What do we know about this Scottish-American clergyman, educator, farmer, and religious and political leader?
Witherspoon’s Education and Early Life
John Witherspoon, by Alexander Stoddart. Statue in Paisley, Scotland. Image: Art UK
Born in Yester, Scotland, the son of a Scottish pastor, Witherspoon was educated at Haddington Grammar School, near Edinburgh. He obtained a Master of Arts from the University of Edinburgh in 1739 and was awarded an honorary doctoral degree in divinity by the University of St Andrews in 1764.
A strong Scottish Presbyterian, he was a nationalist and supporter of republicanism. Because he opposed the Roman Catholic “Legitimist Jacobite” rising, he was briefly imprisoned at Doune Castle, leaving a long-term effect on his health.
He was ordained a minister of the (Presbyterian) Church of Scotland in 1745.
Witherspoon Emigrates to America
Having once turned down an invitation to become president and head professor of the small Presbyterian College of New Jersey – later known as Princeton College, then Princeton University – Witherspoon accepted the position and came to America.
Princeton seal: “Old and New Testament”. Image: Wikipedia
At the age of 45, he became the sixth president of the college.
Alexander Hamilton Trivia:
Incidentally, the second president of the Princeton College was Aaron Burr Sr., father of the third Vice President of the US, Aaron Burr Jr., who shot Alexander Hamilton.
Aaron Burr Sr. was the son-in-law of the fourth president of the college, Jonathan Edwards, eminent American theologian of the First Great Awakening.
While at Princeton, Witherspoon taught a wide range of classes, including eloquence, history, divinity, and the required course in moral philosophy. Because the primary goal of the college was to train ministers, as were most Ivy League schools originally, except Cornell, he taught natural law within the context of a Christian and a republican cosmology.
Both an Enlightenment thinker and an evangelical Presbyterian Christian, he advocated for Scottish Common Sense Realism, a form of Enlightenment thought that opposed the philosophies of David Hume, René Descartes, and John Locke. This Scottish School of Common Sense is apparent in the works of Thomas Jefferson, Isaac Newton, and Francis Bacon.
Witherspoon’s influence extended beyond academia.
Witherspoon’s Presbyterian Career
John Witherspoon, by AS Calder, statue in the courtyard of the Presbyterian Historical Society onLombard Street, Philadelphia, near Independence Hall. Image: Wikipedia
In addition to his teaching and administrative duties at Princeton, Witherspoon helped organize the Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton, New Jersey.
As one of the national leaders of American Presbyterianism, he advocated both theological and civic ideas taught by the Protestant Reformers, particularly John Calvin of Geneva, and John Knox of Scotland (who studied under Calvin in Geneva and of whom Witherspoon was a descendant).
Witherspoon held to the concept of
“resistance to tyranny is obedience to God.”
As the Presbyterian church in America grew, Witherspoon served as the first convening Moderator of the first General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, held in Philadelphia in 1789.
Witherspoon’s Preaching Impact
While teaching at Princeton, Witherspoon delivered one of the most impactful sermons of his life and in the history of America. Based on Psalm 76:10, the sermon was titled Dominion of Providence Over the Passions of Men.
The Second Continental Congress called on May 17, 1776, for a General Fast Day for the Colonies concerning the war with Great Britain. His sermon was published there, in Philadelphia. A month later, he was elected to the Continental Congress on June 22, 1776.
It was to be one of many calls to prayer issued by Congress. The first “shot heard round the world” had already been fired on April 19, 1775, at The Battles of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts; the Sons of Liberty had lost perhaps 103 Americans.
In his sermon, even before he extolled the benefit of a country of “independent freemen” and their “duty”, he encouraged his listeners to consider the eternal:
“And is it of less moment my brethren, whether you shall be the heirs of glory or the heirs of hell?”
His sermon caused a stir as he challenged his audience to prioritize spiritual salvation over temporal concerns, emphasizing the urgency of faith as the Colonies prepared for conflict.
The sermon drew on historical instances in which persecution led to spiritual awakening, framing the current struggle against British oppression as not merely a political endeavor but a moral and religious imperative. The preacher issued a call to repentance and patriotism.
His other sermons framed resistance to Britain in explicitly biblical and covenantal terms — tyranny as sin, liberty as sacred duty. This was the language ordinary farmers and tradesmen actually heard and responded to, not the words of John Locke.
Witherspoon’s Political Career
Witherspoon had become wary of several aspects of the abuse of the British monarchy: establishment of episcopal authority over the colonies (which conflicted with his Presbyterian representative form of church government), the rise of a growing centralization of government from England’s Parliament, and increased interference from the British Crown in local and colonial affairs, when America previously enjoyed more local autonomy.
Declaration of Independence (1819), by John Trumbull. Image: Wikipedia. Witherspoon is on the viewer’s right
As appointed congressional chaplain to Congress, he voted for the Virginia Resolution for Independence. He answered the objection about the country not yet being ready for independence with the statement that:
“In my judgement it [is] not only ripe for the measure, but in danger of rotting for the want of it.”
He brought an enthusiasm to his time in Congress, serving on more than 100 committees.
Witherspoon as a Founding Father
Not only did Witherspoon participate actively in the American Revolution during his time in Congress, but he also:
- Was the only active clergyman and college president to sign the 1776 Declaration of Independence.
Richard Stockton, Francis Lewis, and John Witherspoon (right) in Declaration of Independence, by John Trumbull. Image: Wikipedia
- Helped draft the 1777 Articles of Confederation, the early body of law in the Thirteen Colonies serving as the first frame of government during the American Revolution, before the adoption of the U.S. Constitution.
- Supported voting for the United States Constitution during the New Jersey debates ahead of ratification in 1787.
- Served two terms in the New Jersey Legislature.
Witherspoon’s Legacy
Rev. John Witherspoon, statue on Connecticut Avenue in Washington, D.C. Image: Wikipedia
Witherspoon married twice and had 12 children, though not all of them survived. Of his first marriage in Scotland, five survived to come to America. One son graduated from Princeton and served as a major in the Continental Army. Another graduated from Princeton and became a physician. A third son practiced law. His daughter married the Reverend Samuel Smith, who succeeded Witherspoon as the seventh President of Princeton College.
Witherspoon’s students included:
- Fourth U.S. President James Madison
- Third U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr, Jr.
- American poet Philip Freneau
- Second U.S. Attorney General William Bradford
- Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Hugh Henry Brackenridge
In addition to training many ministers in the Middle Atlantic Colonies and the American frontier, from his students came scores of distinguished American leaders:
- 37 judges (three of whom became Supreme Court justices)
- 10 Cabinet officers
- 12 Continental Congress members
- 28 U.S. senators
- 49 United States Congressmen
Oh, and one who claims to be Witherspoon’s descendant, the actress Reese Witherspoon.
Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
billpetro.com
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