The Council of the Princeton University Community (CPUC) Committee on Naming held the Witherspoon Symposium on Friday, April 21 to examine the historical legacy of John Witherspoon, the University’s sixth president and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. A poster advertising the event describes it as “a panel of scholarly experts [who] will explore John Witherspoon’s life in Scotland and America, his theological and political formation, his contributions to Princeton and the US, and his complex relationship to slavery and abolitionism.”
The symposium comes as part of ongoing deliberations regarding the fate of the statue of John Witherspoon in Firestone Plaza. The debate was initiated by a petition that highlighted Witherspoon’s slave ownership and called for the removal of the statue and its replacement with “an informational plaque which details both the positive and negative aspects of Witherspoon’s legacy.” The CPUC Committee took up the issue, holding listening sessions in November 2022 for students, faculty, and alumni to share their perspectives on the issue.
Scholars from across the university community and beyond it contributed to the April 21 panel, each providing different perspectives on Witherspoon’s legacy.
Peter Wirzbicki, Assistant Professor of History at Princeton, focused his remarks on Witherspoon’s contributions to American intellectual history. He commented on Witherspoon’s low profile in comparison to other signers of the Declaration of Independence such as Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. Witherspoon’s contributions, Wirzbicki argued, were largely in the realm of ideas. He told the audience that Witherspoon is largely credited with bringing Scottish Common Sense Philosophy, a school of thought that “provide[d] a greater space within John Locke’s philosophy for religious and moral beliefs,” to the United States. According to Wirzbicki, Common Sense Philosophy became integrated into the American curriculum, becoming a fixture in philosophy departments across the country.
Wirzbicki addressed the connection of this philosophy to slavery given its relevance to the statue debate. According to Wirzbicki, many historians argue that Common Sense Philosophy was used to challenge slavery and bolster abolitionism. In that vein, he told listeners that “it is very common to link Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin to Scottish philosophy.” While the philosophy’s “emphasis on empathy” was used to bolster abolitionism, Wirzibicki made clear that the realism of this philosophy was suited to moderate anti-slavery sentiment, not calls for immediate abolition.
Kevin DeYoung, senior pastor of Christ Covenant Church, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at the Reformed Theological Seminary, and “a world expert on John Witherspoon” – in the words of CPUC Committee Interim Chair Professor Angela Creager – also spoke on the panel. He described how the University’s sixth president had a profound impact on Princeton, transforming it from “a small, barely surviving college” to a thriving center of intellectual life.
In his remarks, DeYoung delved into the history of Witherspoon’s personal slave ownership. He argued that Witherspoon did much that would put him on the “right side” of the slavery debate. DeYoung observed that while Witherspoon may have owned slaves, they “were treated as freed blacks,” and he taught free blacks.
Witherspoon also called for all Christians “to procure the final abolition of slavery,” though he recognized that immediate abolition was not feasible. Panelist Sean Wilentz, George Henry Davis 1886 Professor of American History at Princeton, echoed DeYoung’s sentiments about Witherspoon’s desire for the gradual abolition of slavery.
Reverend Gordon Mikoski, an associate professor at the Princeton Theological Seminary, added to the discussion on Witherspoon’s gradualism, explaining its grounding in Witherspoon’s religious convictions. Mikoski argued that “we need to think about John Witherspoon in his theological context” to have a full picture of his legacy. Mikoski highlighted how in Witherspoon’s theology, gradual abolition was the best way to navigate the seeming contradiction between the Bible’s statements on slavery: on the one hand, slaves are human too, since all men are created “in God’s image” according to Genesis 1:27, but on the other, Paul exhorted slaves to obey their masters. For Witherspoon, according to Mikowski, the answer was gradual abolition.
Panelist Emmanuel C. Bourbouhakis, Associate Professor of Classics at Princeton, provided the committee with his rationale for teaching Witherspoon in his course “Rhetoric and Politics.” He explained that Witherspoon encouraged his students to give speeches on topics of relevance to them, engendering the same political spirit that now seeks to erase his name. For the Committee to remove the statue, they must establish whether “a central part of the legacy of the namesake [is] fundamentally at odds with the mission of the University.” For this reason, DeYoung argued that it is impossible for Witherspoon’s “central legacy to be at odds with the university he had a fundamental part in shaping.”
Lesa Redmond ’17, a doctoral candidate at Duke University, provided more historical context to Witherspoon’s relationship with African Americans. While in Scotland, Witherspoon baptized a slave named Jamie Montgomery, which in turn inspired Montgomery to escape and seek freedom. Redmond also highlighted that Witherspoon was unique in his recognition of African Americans’ intellectual capabilities, as evidenced by his decision to tutor several African American students when other institutions would not.
Tara Hunter, a professor of History and African American Studies at Princeton, began her remarks by contending that modern measures against the teaching of critical race theory “limit how teachers discuss racism, sexism… anything that can be controversial.” She argued that “it’s important to consider the perspectives of slaves” in the discussion of Witherspoon’s legacy.
During the event, Professor Creager noted that a final decision on the Witherspoon statue would not be reached at the end of the academic year following the symposium. Instead, the Committee “anticipate[s] a second panel on statues, memory, and commemoration in the fall” of 2023.
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