Dr. John Witherspoon, Educator of the American Founding Fathers

During the tenure of Dr. John Witherspoon as president, nearly one fifth of the graduates of Princeton University (known as the College of New Jersey at the time) became active in civil government after graduation. Nearly one fifth of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and one sixth of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention were students under Dr. Witherspoon. No wonder the British opined that the colonies had run off with a Presbyterian parson, in direct reference to John Witherspoon. A study of the mind, character, and orthodoxy of John Witherspoon is epideictical of the influence of Biblical Christianity on the founding fathers.

Much as it is today, Christianity in the 18^th century was not monolithic. Not all Christians believed alike, just as they do not today. Certainly not all Christians will agree with every point of doctrine, or philosophy taught by Dr. Witherspoon. You will find that Dr. Witherspoon was an orthodox believer, who came to his conclusions through honest study of the scripture.

John Witherspoon chose to teach the philosophy of Thomas Reid and Francis Hutcheson in his philosophy classes at Princeton. Both Reid and Hutcheson have been identified with rationalism and “the Scottish Enlightenment”. This may lead many to dismiss Witherspoon as a rationalist and a product of the enlightenment. In fact, Witherspoon did teach that human reason could play a role in a man's epistemology, a view which many modern Christians still hold. Yes, Reid and Hutcheson were a part of the Scottish Enlightenment, which is much different from the French Enlightenment.

The enlightenment, in general, was a resurrection of Greek literature and thinking. Although David Hume and other Scottish philosophers fell in line with the anti-Christian ideas of the French Enlightenment, Witherspoon found that Reid and Hutcheson could not be categorized as such. They were robust opponents of the skepticism of the likes of Hume, and God and His will were commonly referred to by both Reid and Hutcheson. Among American clergy, Reid and Hutcheson were effectively used to defeat skepticism and defend the truth of Christianity. In his book The Enlightenment in America, Henry F. May had to admit that “the Scottish Enlightenment, like the American, flourished in an environment shaped by Calvinism.” Though they may not have completed their work, the Scottish Enlightenment thinkers attempted to find the right use of reason as a gift of God.

Another objection to the use of Reid and Hutcheson is their alignment with the Moderate Party of the Presbyterian Church. This should be the topic of another study on John Witherspoon, so suffice it to say that a study of his sermons in America reveal his commitment to the doctrines of total depravity, and the necessity of salvation through the blood of Jesus. Witherspoon vehemently opposed the moderates before coming to America, and nothing in the sermons that he preached in America indicates that he changed his mind about them because of his use of Reid and Hutcheson in his philosophy classes.

You may not agree with every thing that Dr. John Witherspoon taught the 478 young men who graduated from Princeton under his tutelage. It is, however, a huge stretch to accuse him of teaching the American founding fathers a false gospel. He certainly attempted to instill Biblical Christianity into the minds of the 86 men who served in civil government after graduating from his Princeton.