He was a Delegate to
Congress from Pennsylvania in 1776, Member of the Constitutional
Convention of 1787, and Associate Justice of the United States Supreme
Court from 1789 till his death. He strongly advocated independence as
the only possible means of escape from the evils which had brought
the various commonwealths into such a state of turmoil and
dissatisfaction. Philip Livingston (1716-1778), grandson of Robert
Livingston, the first of the American family of the name, was Member
of Congress from New York in 1776. "His life was distinguished for
inflexible rectitude and devotion to the interests of his country."
Last but greatest of all to be mentioned is the Rev. John Witherspoon
(1722-94). Born in Yester, Scotland, educated in Edinburgh, minister
in Paisley, he was called in 1768 to be President of the College of
New Jersey, now Princeton University. He said he had "become an
American the moment he landed." He took an active part in the public
affairs of the colony of New Jersey, and in the convention which met
to frame a constitution he displayed great knowledge of legal
questions and urged the abolition of religious tests. In June, 1776,
he was elected to the Continental Congress, and in the course of the
debates he displayed little patience with those who urged half
measures. When John Dickinson of Pennsylvania said the country was not
ripe for independence, Witherspoon broke in upon the speaker
exclaiming, "Not ripe, Sir! In my judgment we are not only ripe, but
rotting.
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