Witherspoon, John, 1723-1794

<p>John Witherspoon brought some impressive credentials and a measure of public acclaim with him when he joined the colonies in 1768, as president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton).</p>

<p>Born in 1723, he received the finest education available to a bright young gentleman of that era. John attended the preparatory school in Haddington Scotland. He proceeded to Edinburgh where he attained a Master of Arts, then to four years of divinity school. At this point he was twenty. In 1743 he became a Presbyterian Minister at a parish in Beith, where he married, authored three noted works on theology. He was later awarded a Doctorate of Divinity from the University of St. Andrews, in recognition of his theological skills. It was only through a protracted effort on the part of several eminent Americans, including Richard Stockton and Benjamin Rush, that the colonies were able to acquire his service. In colonial American, the best educated men were often found in the clergy. The College of New Jersey needed a first rate scholar to serve as its first president. Witherspoon was at first unable to accept the offer, due to his wife's great fear of crossing the sea. She later had second thoughts, and a visit from the charming Dr. Rush secured the deal. He emigrated to New Jersey in 1768.</p>

<p>Dr. Witherspoon enjoyed great success at the College of New Jersey. He turned it into a very successful institution, and was a very popular man as a result. He also wrote frequent essays on subjects of interest to the colonies. While he at first abstained from political concerns, he came to support the revolutionary cause, accepting appointment to the committees of correspondence and safety in early 1776. Later that year he was elected to the Continental Congress in time to vote for R. H. Lee's Resolution for Independence. He voted in favor, and shortly after voted for the Declaration of Independence. He made a notable comment on that occasion; in reply to another member who argued that the country was not yet ripe for such a declaration, that in his opinion it "was not only ripe for the measure, but in danger of rotting for the want of it." Witherspoon was a very active member of congress, serving on more than a hundred committees through his tenure and debating frequently on the floor.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>In 1789 he was convening moderator of the First General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America.</p>

<p>John Witherspoon was born in Beith, North Ayrshire, Scotland, as the eldest child of the Reverend James Alexander Witherspoon and Anne Walker, a descendant of John Welsh of Ayr and John Knox. This latter claim of Knox descent though ancient in origin is long disputed and without primary documentation. He attended the Haddington Grammar School, and obtained a Master of Arts from the University of Edinburgh in 1739. He remained at the university to study divinity. In 1764, he was awarded an honorary doctoral degree in divinity by the University of St. Andrews.</p>

<ul><b>RACES</b>
<li>10/09/1792 NJ At-Large Lost 0.63% (-15.67%)</li>
<li>01/26/1791 NJ At-Large Lost 2.73% (-17.17%)</li>
<li>02/11/1789 NJ At-Large Lost 2.46% (-17.47%)</li>
<li>12/31/1781 NJ Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1780 NJ Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1779 NJ Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1778 NJ Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1777 NJ Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1776 NJ Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1775 NJ Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>00/00/1767 Princeton University President Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
</ul>