Further Readings
Morgan, E. S. The Puritan Dilemma.Boston: Little, Br own, 1958.
Winthrop, John. The History of New England from 1630 to 1649.
Boston: Little, Brown, 1853.
Witherspoon, John (1723–1794) Early Scot-
tish-American educational, religious, and political
leader
A PRESBYTERIANminister from Scotland, Witherspoon
became the president of Princeton University in 1768
and greatly influenced the IDEOLOGYof the American
Revolution, the U.S. CONSTITUTION, and the early
American REPUBLIC. He is credited with teaching stu-
dents who went on to serve as president (James MADI-
SON) and vice president (Aaron Burr), as well as 10
U.S. presidential cabinet officers, 60 members of the
U.S. CONGRESS, 12 state governors, 30 judges, three jus-
tices of the U.S. Supreme Court, and numerous minis-
ters, lawyers, and educators. As such, Witherspoon
was one of the most influential men in America in the
late 1700s.
Educated at the University of Edinburgh, Dr. With-
erspoon adhered to a Calvinist theology that, after St.
AUGUSTINE, emphasized human evil and sin. Only God’s
grace and forgiveness through Jesus Christ can pro-
duce any goodness in humanity. This perspective on
HUMAN NATUREcommends a political system of CHECKS
AND BALANCES, which prohibits any group or person
gaining all power and sinfully using it to oppress oth-
ers. This view goes directly into Madison’s FEDERALIST
PAPERSand the constitutional division of power in FED-
ERALISM. Witherspoon wrote of humanity: “I am none
of those who either deny or conceal the depravity of
human nature til it is purified by the light of truth, and
renewed by the Spirit of the living God.” In similar
language, James Madison (the Father of the Constitu-
tion) wrote: “As there is a degree of depravity in
mankind which requires a certain degree of circum-
spection and distrust; so there are other qualities in
human nature, which justify a certain portion of
esteem and confidence.” This leads Witherspoon to
recommend a government of divided powers “so that
one... may check the other.... They must be so bal-
anced, that when everyone draws his own INTERESTor
inclination there must be an even poise upon the
whole.” Madison presents this idea in terms of a fed-
eral system that pits “ambition against ambition.” The
U.S. Constitution takes Witherspoon’s theology and
puts it into a governing structure.
Witherspoon’s main writings are his Lectures on
Moral Philosophy (given at Princeton) that combine
the NATURAL-RIGHTStheory of John LOCKE, the CLASSICAL
REPUBLICANISMof ARISTOTLE, and the Protestant theol-
ogy of John Calvin. He was a signer of the DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCEand a member of the Continental
Congress during the American Revolution, but his
main political influence in early America came
through his academic work at Princeton. John ADAMS
described him as “a high Son of Liberty.”Further Reading
Morrison, Jeffrey. “John Witherspoon and The Public Interest of
Religion.” In Journal of Church and State 41(Summer
1999).Wycliffe, John (1329–1384) English philoso-
pher and religious reformer
Called the Morning Star of the Reformation, Wycliffe,
though a MEDIEVALthinker, propounded ideas that led
to Protestant CHRISTIANITY, INDIVIDUALISM, and REPUBLI-
CANISMin Britain and Europe.
Wycliffe’s theology advocated “The Lordship of all
Believers”; interpretation of the Bible by individual
Christians; the primacy of scripture over church tradi-
tion; and the illegitimacy of papal authority. All of
these principles and their EGALITARIAN, DEMOCRATIC
implications were later adopted by the LOLLARDS, Mar-
tin LUTHER, and John CALVINand, via J. Huss, through-
out Western and Central Europe.
Wycliffe was denounced by Pope Gregory XI and
the Council of Constance (1415), causing his writings
to be burned and his bones dug up. He was educated
at Oxford, becoming Master of Balliol College, Oxford,
in 1360. Appointed warden of Canterbury Hall (now
Christ Church, Oxford), he later served as a clergyman
in Ludgershall and Lutterworth. The EVANGELICALcol-
lege at Oxford is named for him (Wycliffe Hall).Further Readings
Lewis, J. The History of the Life and Suffering of John Wycliffe.
London: For Robert Knaplock and Richard Wilkin, 1720,
1820.
Poole, R. L. Wycliffe and the Movements for Reform.New York:
AMS Press, 1893.
Robson, J. A. Wyclif fe and the Oxford Schools.Cambridge, Eng.:
Cambridge University Press, 1961.Wycliffe, John 309