Witherspoon, John, 1723-1794
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John Witherspoon (February 5, 1723 – November 15, 1794) was a Scottish American Presbyterian minister, educator, farmer, slaveholder, and a Founding Father of the United States. Witherspoon embraced the concepts of Scottish common sense realism, and while president of the College of New Jersey (1768–1794; now Princeton University) became an influential figure in the development of the United States' national character. Politically active, Witherspoon was a delegate from New Jersey to the Second Continental Congress and a signatory to the July 4, 1776, Declaration of Independence. He was the only active clergyman and the only college president to sign the Declaration. Later, he signed the Articles of Confederation and supported ratification of the Constitution.
Born in Beith, North Ayrshire, Scotland, he attended the Haddington Grammar School before obtaining a Master of Arts from the University of Edinburgh in 1739. He remained at the university to study divinity. Witherspoon became a Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) minister at Beith from 1745 to 1758; from 1758 to 1768, he was minister of the Laigh Kirk, Paisley. At the urging of Benjamin Rush and Richard Stockton, whom he met in Paisley, Witherspoon finally accepted their renewed invitation (having turned one down in 1766) to become president and head professor of the small Presbyterian College of New Jersey in Princeton. Over the course of his presidency, Witherspoon improved the institution, adding books to their library, purchasing scientific equipment, and instituting a number of reforms.
Witherspoon served in Congress from June 1777 until November 1784 and became one of its most influential members and a workhorse of prodigious energy. He served on over 10,000 committees, most notably the sitting committees, the board of peace and the committee on public correspondence or common affairs. He spoke often in concurrence; helped draft the Articles of Confederation; helped organize the executive departments; played a major role in shaping public policy; and drew up the instructions for the peace commissioners. He fought against the flood of paper money, and opposed the issuance of bonds without provision for their amortization. "No business can be done, some say, because money is scarce", he wrote. He also served twice in the New Jersey Legislature, and strongly supported the adoption of the United States Constitution during the New Jersey ratification debates.
Witherspoon suffered eye injuries and was blind by 1792. He died in 1794 on his farm Tusculum, just outside Princeton, and is buried along Presidents Row in Princeton Cemetery.
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Subjects:
- American diaries
- Teachers
- Presbyterian Church
- Clergy
- Universities and colleges
- Fund raising
- Postsecondary education
- Sermons
Occupations:
- Delegates, U.S. Continental Congress
- Farmers
- Ministers
- University presidents
Places:
- Paisley, SCT, GB
- Princeton, NJ, US
- Edinburgh, SCT, GB
