The Character of a Nation: John Witherspoon and the Moral Foundation of the United States

What can the life and thought of an eighteenth-century clergyman and college president tell us about the political crises that threaten American democracy today, including institutional racism?The Character of a Nation explores the political ethics of American Founding Father and theologian John Witherspoon (1723-1794) and his ideals and failures, asking how a chastened understanding of this important historical figure might inform struggles over American political character in our day. Reflecting the influence of two intellectual traditions, orthodox Calvinism and the Scottish Enlightenment, Witherspoon understood political virtue asa commitment to natural rights, benevolent other-regard, and the common good.Witherspoon thought good political character was essential to American independence and the health of the new republic, and he argued that religious, political, and educational institutions shared a vital responsibility to cultivate character in the nation’s citizens.For all his t