Princeton was one of nine colleges existing in the colonies before the Revolution. Following the English tradition, religious groups founded educational institutions in order to train students for the ministry and for state service. The schools were identified with specific denominations, restricted to males, and generally limited to upper-CLAss families. Their curricula were designed to strengthen the mental and moral powers of students through classical studies (Latin and Greek) and strict discipline. In the 18th century colleges differed more in their theological outlooks than in their approaches to academics.
The founders of the College of New Jersey in 1746 were followers of Irish evangelist William Tennent, Sr.’s, work at Log College. Members of the “New Light” wing of Presbyterians, they aimed to train ministers for the Great Awakening, causing a temporary schism in the church. The first president of the college, housed in New Brunswick, was Reverend Jonathan Dickinson. Reverend Aaron Burr presided over its second home in Newark, and in 1756 the College of New Jersey moved to Robert Smith’s Nassau Hall in Princeton. (It took its present name in 1896.) Princeton was the religious and educational center for Scots-Irish Presbyterians during the Great Awakening. The evangelical community attracted noted ministers Jonathan Edwards and George Whiteeield. Aaron Burr led a religious revival at the college in 1757 that was accompanied by a lively literary culture. Although their goal was to train ministers, the Presbyterian educators at the College of New Jersey were also interested in worldly learning.
—Deborah C. Taylor
World History
