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Witherspoon manuscript reveals more about president's life
Ruth Stevens Princeton NJ -- A notebook that provides a window into the life of one of Princeton's most important presidents is now housed in Firestone Library. William Rittenhouse Harman of New York City, a member of the class of 1963 and a collector of early American documents, has donated a manuscript notebook kept by John Witherspoon, who led Princeton from 1768 to 1794 and was the only college president and only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence.
Witherspoon was born in Scotland in 1723 and was a graduate of the University of Edinburgh. He became widely known in Scotland as a leader of the "Popular Party" in the Church of Scotland, in which he was an ordained minister. He was installed as the pastor at Paisley, Scotland, in 1757. The author of pamphlets dealing with controversial religious subjects, he gained wide recognition for his works in Scotland and in the American colonies. In the notebook, Witherspoon recorded travel expenses to Glasgow and Edinburgh, notes about the acquisition of books for his library, and a wealth of detail about his sometimes tumultuous career as a Presbyterian minister in Paisley.
The trustees of what was then the College of New Jersey elected Witherspoon president in 1766, but he declined their offer. He was eventually persuaded to reconsider, and moved his family to Princeton two years later. Turning point for PrincetonWitherspoon's administration is considered a major turning point in the life of the College. He bolstered the school's educational program, advocating the need for a broadly educated clergy. He encouraged the teaching of both politics and religion. He supported the national cause of liberty and became a leading member of the Continental Congress. Primarily because of Witherspoon's efforts, Princeton became known as the "seedbed" of the revolution. Six months after Witherspoon signed the Declaration of Independence, the College was the site of a strategic victory when George Washington surprised the British in the Battle of Princeton. It was largely the conviction that Americans should become more familiar with the early leaders of this country that led Harman to donate the funds to purchase the manuscript. About a year ago, he heard from Princeton book dealer Joe Felcone that a private collector was ready to sell it. "As a country, we exhibit objects, but we need to do a better job of explaining what they mean," said Harman, who sits on the board of the National Archives Foundation. "These Revolutionary War figures risked a great deal their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. Had they lost, they would have been exiled, their property would have been confiscated and, in some cases, they would have been tried for treason and hanged. It's very hard in 2002 to put into context the risks and the dangers that these people ran every day for things they truly believed in. "The sacrifices they made are the heart of the foundation of the country," he continued. "We should try to make these documents come alive." Skemer said that the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections holds about 950 printed books from Witherspoon's library, other books that he acquired to support expanded academic programs, and many of his manuscripts and personal objects. In addition, the department has volumes of student notes taken at his lectures and early editions of his published works. "The Witherspoon notebook is a most welcome addition to these important holdings," Skemer said, "as was William Harman's earlier donation of a Witherspoon letter written at Tusculum to St. George Tucker on May 1, 1787, given to the library in honor of President Harold Shapiro's retirement last year." That letter was written to Tucker, a legal scholar, about establishing a prep school at Tusculum, Witherspoon's home in Princeton. Harman, who is a retired managing director of Morgan Stanley, first became interested in Witherspoon when he was a student at Princeton. Upon arrival at the University in 1959, he noticed an orrery a model of planetary orbits hanging in Firestone Library. He discovered that Witherspoon had purchased the orrery in 1771 as part of an effort to strengthen the College's science curriculum from one of Harman's ancestors, Pennsylvania clockmaker and astronomer David Rittenhouse. The Witherspoon documents are available to researchers using Firestone's Department of Rare Books and Special Collections. |
May 6, 2002 Contents Page one Senior thesis Inside Sections
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Editor: Ruth Stevens |
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