Founding Fathers Who Were Ministers 1

The Rev. Dr. John Witherspoon was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He had been a pastor in Scotland before coming to America in 1768 to assume the presidency of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton). He helped produce and then wrote the preface for the first family Bible printed in America, which was large enough for families to gather around and read together.

Elected to the Continental Congress, he served on more than 100 congressional committees and is said to have had more influence on the monetary policies of the Constitution than any other individual. He also impacted American government by shaping many of those who gave us our remarkable governing documents.

Nearly one-fifth of the signers of the Declaration, one-sixth of the delegates at the Constitutional Convention, and one-fifth of the members of the first federal Congress that framed the Bill of Rights were his graduates from the College of New Jersey. Among his students were one US president, one vice president, 10 presidential cabinet members, 21 senators, 39 congressmen, 22 governors, a Supreme Court justice, and a US attorney general.

Content sourced from The American Story The Beginnings by David Barton and Tim Barton