John Witherspoon

John Witherspoon, born on February fifth, seventeen twenty-three, was a prominent Scottish-American Presbyterian minister and educator who played a pivotal role in shaping the early United States. As the president of the College of New Jersey from seventeen sixty-eight to seventeen ninety-four, now known as Princeton University, he became a significant figure in the development of the nation’s character, embracing the principles of Scottish common sense realism.

Witherspoon's political engagement was marked by his service as a delegate from New Jersey to the Second Continental Congress, where he made history as the only active clergyman and college president to sign the Declaration of Independence on July fourth, seventeen seventy-six. His commitment to the cause of independence did not stop there; he also signed the Articles of Confederation and was a strong advocate for the ratification of the United States Constitution.

In seventeen eighty-nine, Witherspoon was appointed as the convening moderator of the First General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. His leadership in American Presbyterianism was influential, promoting theological and civic ideas that aligned with the teachings of John Calvin, John Knox, and Samuel Rutherford. He firmly believed in the notion that resistance to tyranny is a form of obedience to God, a principle that resonated deeply during the formative years of the nation.