Posted on Thursday 15 July 2010
It’s president immediately preceding the Revolution was the Rev. Dr. John Witherspoon, later a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a venerated leader among the patriots. Notice some of Princeton’s requirements while John Witherspoon was president: Every student shall attend worship in the college hall morning and evening at the hours appointed and shall behave with gravity and reverence during the whole service. Every student shall attend public worship on the Sabbath.
Besides the public exercises of religious worship on the Sabbath, there shall be assigned to each class certain exercises for their religious instruction suited to the age and standing of the pupils and no student belonging to any class shall neglect them. Signers James Madison, Richard Stockton, Benjamin Rush, Gunning Bedford, Jonathan Dayton, and numerous other prominent Founders, graduated from Princeton a seminary for the training of ministers.
In 1754, Dartmouth College of New Hampshire made especially famous by alumnus Daniel Webster’s defense of its charter before the U. S. Supreme Court in 1819 39 was founded by the Rev. Eleazar Wheelock. Its charter was very succinct as to its purpose: Where as the Reverend Eleazar Wheelock educated a number of the children of the Indian natives with a view to their carrying the Gospel in their own language and spreading the knowledge of the great Redeemer among their savage tribes. And the design became reputable among the Indians insomuch that a larger number desired the education of their children in said school.
Therefore Dartmouth-College is established for the education and instruction of youth sin reading, writing and all parts of learning which shall appear necessary and expedient for civilizing and Christianizing the children. That same year 1754, King’s College was founded in New York. Following the American Revolution, its name was changed to Columbia College; and in 1787, Constitution signer William Samuel Johnson was appointed its first president. Columbia’s admission requirements were straightforward: No candidate shall be admitted into the College unless he shall be able to rend into English the Gospels from the Greek.