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John Witherspoon

John Witherspoon
Artist
Rembrandt Peale, 22 Feb 1778 - 3 Oct 1860
Copy after
Charles Willson Peale, 15 Apr 1741 - 22 Feb 1827
Sitter
John Witherspoon, 5 Feb 1723 - 15 Nov 1794
Date
1794
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Stretcher: 76.2 x 64.8 x 3.8cm (30 x 25 1/2 x 1 1/2")
Frame: 83.8 x 71.8 x 5.1cm (33 x 28 1/4 x 2")
Topic
Printed Material\Book
Architecture\Column
John Witherspoon: Male
John Witherspoon: Religion and Spirituality\Clergy
John Witherspoon: Politics and Government\Congressman\Continental congressman
John Witherspoon: Politics and Government\Statesman\Colonial statesman\Signer of Declaration
John Witherspoon: Education and Scholarship\Administrator\College administrator\President
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; partial gift of Mrs. Samuel Matthews
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.91.81
Exhibition Label
Born Gifford, Scotland
The Reverend John Witherspoon, president of the College of New Jersey at Princeton (1768–94), was the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence. Like other Presbyterian ministers, Witherspoon abhorred violence but reluctantly conceded that revolution was necessary as the last resort against tyranny. In June 1776, as one of New Jersey’s delegates to the Second Continental Congress, Witherspoon rose from his seat in response to another member’s claim that the country was not ready for independence. On the contrary, Witherspoon declared, the country was “not only ripe for the measure, but in danger of becoming rotten for the want of it.”
Twelve members of the Continental Congress were former students of Witherspoon. Through his college instruction and preaching, he would continue to have an outsize influence on the country’s future leaders, counting among his pupils a president, a vice-president, twenty-eight U.S. senators, and forty-nine members of the House of Representatives.
Nacido en Gifford, Escocia
El reverendo John Witherspoon, presidente del College of New Jersey en Princeton (1768–94), fue el único clérigo que firmó la Declaración de Independencia. Como otros ministros presbiterianos, Witherspoon aborrecía la violencia, pero admitió, aunque a disgusto, que la revolución era necesaria como último recurso contra la tiranía. En junio de 1776, siendo delegado de Nueva Jersey en el Segundo Congreso Continental, Witherspoon se levantó de su asiento para contradecir a otro miembro que afirmaba que el país no estaba listo para la independencia. El país, dijo Witherspoon, “no solo está maduro para esta medida, sino en peligro de podrirse a falta de ella”.
Doce miembros del Congreso Continental eran antiguos estudiantes de Witherspoon. A través de sus cursos en la universidad y sus prédicas, seguiría ejerciendo una enorme influencia en los futuros líderes del país, contando entre sus discípulos a un presidente y un vicepresidente, así como 28 senadores y 49 representantes.
Provenance
Kathryn P. Matthews [Mrs. Samuel Matthews], Bethesda, Md.; purchase/gift 1991 NPG
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Exhibition
Out of Many: Portraits from 1600 to 1900
On View
NPG, East Gallery 142