In 1768, John Witherspoon traveled from Scotland to New Jersey to become the sixth president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). He was not only a scholar and administrator, but also an influential politician. From 1776 to 1782, he represented New Jersey in the Continental Congress, where he signed the Declaration of Independence and served on more than 100 committees. In his college lectures on moral philosophy, he cautioned undergraduates like John Ewing Colhoun (Class of 1774), who took these notes, against the excesses of tyranny and unjust government. Gift of John Adrian Larkin, Sr., Class of 1913, in memory of John Adrian Larkin, Jr., Class of 1944. General Manuscripts Bound, no. 233, Manuscripts Division.

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