The Legacy of John Witherspoon

Authors: John Stonestreet and Dr. Glenn Sunshine

Sunday marks the anniversary of the inauguration of John Witherspoon as president of the College of New Jersey, known today as Princeton University. Among the most important and perhaps the most underrated of the American founding fathers, Witherspoon was born in Scotland in 1723. He received a Master of Arts at age 16 from the University of Edinburgh, where he would continue studies in divinity. In 1745, he became an evangelical minister in the Church of Scotland.  

In 1746, Witherspoon was briefly imprisoned for opposing the royalist Jacobite uprising. Though that experience damaged his health for life, it did not slow him down. Upon his release, he returned to pastoral ministry and became a popular preacher, sought-after speaker, and author. In 1764, the University of St. Andrews awarded Witherspoon an honorary Doctor of Divinity. Four years later, he accepted the presidency of the College of New Jersey.  

Though the school’s primary mission at the time was to train Presbyterian ministers, Witherspoon found that the students received poor teaching and had an inadequate library. Through fundraising, reorganization, higher standards, and new resources—including hundreds of books donated from his personal library—Witherspoon transformed the college into a top-tier school.  

In addition to his leadership at a crucial time in the university’s history, Witherspoon taught courses in rhetoric, history, divinity, and moral philosophy. His ideas were anchored in Reformed theology and the natural law tradition. He was also heavily influenced by Scottish philosopher Thomas Reid and his Common Sense Realism. These ideas became deeply rooted across Princeton and American society, and Witherspoon’s teaching laid essential groundwork for both the American Revolution and the government that followed. 

Leaning heavily on the Calvinistic tradition, Witherspoon promoted the rights of people to challenge governmental overreach, even by force of arms if necessary. He strongly supported the American Revolution, with growing concern over the centralization of government and the Crown assuming responsibilities that were historically the prerogatives of the colonies. The final straw for Witherspoon was when bishops were appointed from England to oversee religious life in the colonies.  

Like his Presbyterian forebears in Scotland, Witherspoon saw these violations as justification for revolt. He served in the Continental Congress from 1777 to 1784, taking on a prodigious amount of work and serving on over 100 committees. His energy and passion caused John Adams to refer to Witherspoon as “an animated son of Liberty.” After the war, he helped draft the Articles of Confederation and later shepherded the Constitution through the New Jersey state legislature. 

Even with that impressive resume, Witherspoon’s most important legacy are his students from the College of New Jersey. Witherspoon taught James Madison the necessity of checks and balances in government. His other students include Aaron Burr, 37 judges—including several members of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and three U.S. Supreme Court justices, 10 cabinet officers, 12 members of the Continental Congress, 28 U.S. Senators, and 49 U.S. Congressmen.  

Witherspoon was arguably the single most influential founder who shaped the early years of the Republic. Today, he is mostly remembered for owning two slaves. Like many of the founders, his attitude toward slavery was complex and contradictory. He taught that slaves and employees should be treated with dignity and respect, and he even spoke out against the institution of slavery at the college.  

However, he opposed a measure by the state legislature that would have banned slavery in New Jersey. Like many others, Witherspoon believed slavery would die out within a generation, and therefore the legislation was unnecessary and might interfere with the process he believed was inevitable. 

Witherspoon’s failure to extend his convictions about liberty to the slaves in his midst was a moral tragedy. However, that does not change the honor due his incredible contributions to the founding of the United States. He advanced the ideas that secured American liberty and flourishing.