As we excitedly explore the pages of American history we meet a vast variety of characters. Some are “good guys”, a few are “bad guys” and others are simply “Americans”. We can learn much from these characters and their stories. The virtues and principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are demonstrated before our eyes by a menagerie of American characters whose stories we know well. We can learn many lessons from the people of history. We may read about the courage of Martin Luther King or examine the faith of Samson Occom (see my blogpost titled “The Faith of Samson Occom” to read his story.) As we read history, we learn that revolutions and great deeds seldom happen overnight and that progress is a process. John Witherspoon, a Presbyterian minister and signer of the Declaration of Independence, can teach an important lesson about multigenerational leadership and the ability to leave a lasting legacy.
John Witherspoon was not only a Founding Father, he was a father figure to many other Founding Fathers. As President of the College of New Jersey (Princeton University), a position he held from 1768 to 1794, Witherspoon mentored and taught countless young men who would turn out to be tremendously world-shaping. Witherspoon became actively involved in the Independence movement and was one of the signatories to the Declaration of Independence. He also helped to plant the seeds of the emergence of the early American Republic. James Madison, future President and “Father of the Constitution”, was one of Witherspoon’s many students. No doubt, Witherspoon’s influence on American politics and history went beyond signing a document and leading the country in the here and now but also, through his work at the College of New Jersey, he helped form and shape the leaders of the first 100% “American” generation.
Witherspoon’s pupils were an impressive generation. Witherspoon taught and mentored an unimaginable number of civil leaders during his time as President at the College of New Jersey. His pupils included Madison, a future president; Aaron Burr, a future vice-president; twelve future members of the Continental Congress; five future members of the Constitutional Convention; three future Supreme Court justices, ten future Cabinet members, forty-nine future US Representatives; twenty-one future US Senators and countless other state officials, governors, and judges.
By simply viewing the impressive list of Witherspoon’s students, we can hardly imagine the influence and legacy of this Scottish Presbyterian clergyman. He was truly an American Patriarch who had a multigenerational focus and was concerned with leaving a heritage more robust than votes and signatures but rather leaving a living, breathing legacy: the future leaders and architects of America. His work as a college president may have been the most definitive work of his lifetime and easily overshadows his work in the Continental Congress. He was never elected President but if there was one man who influenced the early generations of the American Republic more than any other, John Witherspoon was he. John Witherspoon’s Christian worldview and devotion to God enabled him to leave a truly lasting and crucial legacy to the country which he loved and sacrificed for.