Like Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin was a man of immense
intellectual breadth. He founded the College of Philadelphia in 1749. Franklin
was also the co-founder of the American Philosophical Society with John
Bartram. Early members included George Washington, John Adams, Thomas
Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Marshall, Thomas Paine,
Benjamin Rush, and the lesser-known Michael Hillegas who edited the Declaration of Independence and served
as our nation’s first Treasurer. Despite its appearance as a pantheon of early
political and military leaders of an upstart nation, the APS was, and continues
to be, an elite assembly of the leading thinkers of the day.
Ours is a nation conceived in intellectual idealism.
The visionary leaders who conceived this republic were deep thinkers who
embodied the best citizenship that is at the heart of liberal learning. They
were avid scientists, political theorists, natural historians, and moral
philosophers. Theirs was, however, an idealism deeply rooted in practical
wisdom. Among the many articles in the first volume of the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society published in
1771 were the Society’s observations of the Transit of Venus in 1769, an essay
on grape cultivation and wine making, and designs for an automated bilge pump.
The preface of that initial volume began:
Knowledge
is of little use, when confined to mere speculation: But when speculative
truths are reduced to practice, when theories, grounded upon experiments are
applied to the common purposes of life; and when, by these, agriculture is
improved, trade enlarged, the arts of living made more easy and comfortable,
and of course, the increase and happiness of mankind promoted; knowledge then
becomes really useful. That this Society, therefore, may, in some degree,
answer the ends of its institution, the members propose to confine their
disquisitions, principally, to such subjects as tend to the improvement of
their country, and advancement of its interest and prosperity. — “Preface,”
Transactions of the American
Philosophical Society, volume 1.
The establishment of the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences is another notable example of the integration of these goals as
addressed in their founding document:
And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid,
that the end and design of the institution of the said Academy is to promote
and encourage the knowledge of the antiquities and the natural history of
America; to determine the uses to which the various natural productions of the
country may be applied; to promote and encourage medical discoveries,
mathematical disquisitions, philosophical enquiries and experiments,
astronomical, meteorological and geographical observations, and improvements in
agriculture, arts, manufactures and commerce; and, in fine, to cultivate every
art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honor, dignity, and
happiness of a free, independent, and virtuous people. — Charter of the Incorporation of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences,
4 May 1780.
The charter members of the AAAS were alumni and faculty
of Harvard, but they immediately began to induct new members from outside that
circle and beyond the nation. Many of these new members were already affiliated
with the APS, and nearly all of the early members played leading roles in the
revolution and the establishment of the Republic (Tables of the early
members of AAAS and APS and be found below).
The same spirit of scientific thinking and a
flourishing of the enlightenment that fueled the APS and AAAS provided the
spark that created our new republic and led to the rise of liberal arts
colleges throughout the new nation. These institutions prepared the next
generation of leaders, and they have continued to produce a disproportionately
high percentage of leaders in science, letters, business, and government.
Liberal arts colleges represent only 3% of American college students, yet “a
third of all Fortune 500 CEOs have liberal arts degrees,”[1] and yet the value of what we
do in liberal education is questioned in the media daily.
One of the greatest
ironies of our time is the celebration of anti-intellectualism as self-proclaimed
patriotism. Nothing could be farther from the truth; America’s greatest hope
for the future is to celebrate the intellectual ideals of its founders, and the
best stewards of these ideals remain our liberal-arts colleges.
American Philosophical Society Early Members:
John Adams 2nd U.S.
President, 1st V.P., Continental Congress, Declaration of
Independence, Sons of Liberty, founder of AAAS
William Alexander Major General in the Continental Army
John Bartram Botanist and explorer
Nicholas Biddle Naval captain in the Revolutionary
War
Owen Biddle Member of the Pennsylvania
Constitutional Convention, Colonel in the Continental Army, also a member of AAAS
Benjamin Franklin Great American polymath, U.S. Minister
to Sweden and France, 1st U.S. Postmaster General, founder of the
University of Pennsylvania, also a member of AAAS
Benjamin Gale Physician, member of the
General Assembly of Connecticut, also a member of AAAS
Alexander Hamilton First Secretary of the Treasury, trustee
of Kirkland College, which would be named Hamilton College upon his death
Michael Hillegas Editor of the Declaration of
Independence, first Treasurer of the United States
Francis Hopkinson U.S. District Court Judge, Continental
Congress, signer of the Declaration of Independence, composer
Thomas Jefferson 3rd U.S. President, 2nd
V.P., 1st Secretary of State, Minister to France, Declaration of
Independence, Continental Congress, founder of the University of Virginia
James Madison 4th U.S. President, 5th
Secretary of State, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Constitution
John Marshall Secretary of State, Chief
Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
James McHenry Signer of the Constitution,
delegate to the Continental Congress, and Secretary of War
Thomas Paine Political activist and theorist
David Rittenhouse First director of the U.S. Mint, also a
member of AAAS
Benjamin Rush Signer of the Declaration of
Independence, member of the Continental Congress, Surgeon General in the
Continental Army, Sons of Liberty, and founder of Dickinson College
Ezra Stiles President of Yale, also
a member of AAAS
George Washington 1st U.S. President,
Continental Congress
Benjamin West Artist, also a member of AAAS
Early international members
included:
Tadeusz Kosciusko Polish military officer who rose to
Brigadier General in the Continental Army, led a Polish uprising against
Russia, his will assigned his American assets to support the freedom and
education of slaves in the Unites States
Marquis de Lafayette French aristocrat who fought for the United
States in the Revolutionary War and a significant figure in the French
Revolution
Baron von Steuben Prussian military officer who served as
Major General of the Continental Army
Charter Members of the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences:
John Adams President, V.P.,
Continental Congress, Declaration of Independence, Sons of Liberty
Samuel Adams Continental Congress, Sons of
Liberty
John Bacon House of Representatives
James Bowdoin Drafted Massachusetts
Constitution, Governor of Massachusetts
Charles Chauncy Influential clergyman whose writings
sparked Unitarianism
John Clarke Clergyman
David Cobb Continental Army, U.S.
House of Representatives, Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
Samuel Cooper Declined the presidency of
Harvard
Nathan Cushing Justice of Massachusetts Supreme
Judicial Court
Thomas Cushing Continental Congress, Lieutenant
Governor of Massachusetts
William Cushing Associate Justice of U.S. Supreme
Court
Tristram Dalton U.S. Senator
Francis Dana Continental Congress,
Massachusetts Supreme Court, grandfather of Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
Samuel Deane V.P. Bowdoin College
Peres Fobes Professor at the College of
Rhode Island
Caleb Gannett Tutor and Steward at Harvard,
Itinerant preacher during Revolutionary War
Henry Gardner Treasurer and Receiver-General of
Massachusetts
Benjamin Guild Bookseller
John Hancock Signer of the Declaration of
Independence, President of Second Continental Congress, Governor of
Massachusetts, Sons of Liberty
Joseph Hawley Massachusetts legislator and
proponent of the Declaration of Independence
Edward A. Holyoke President of AAAS, founder of
Massachusetts Medical Society
Ebenezer Hunt Physician
Jonathan Jackson Continental Congress, Treasurer of
Massachusetts
Charles Jarvis Massachusetts Ratifying
Convention of U.S. Constitution
Samuel Langdon President of Harvard, clergyman
Levi Lincoln, Sr. U.S. House of Representatives,
Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, U.S. Attorney General
Daniel Little Clergyman
Elijah Lothrup Clergyman
John Lowell Congress of Confederation
Samuel Mather Clergyman
Samuel Moody Clergyman, First headmaster of
Dummer Academy, now Governor’s Academy
Andrew Oliver Lieutenant Governor Province of
Massachusetts Bay
Joseph Orne Physician
Robert Treat Paine Signer of the Declaration of
Independence, First Attorney General Massachusetts, Massachusetts Associate
Justice Supreme Court
Theodore Parsons Physician and artist
George Partridge Continental Congress, U.S. House of
Representatives
Phillips Payson Clergyman
Samuel Phillips, Jr. Lieutenant Governor Massachusetts,
President Massachusetts Senate, founder Phillips Academy
John Pickering Elected to Constitutional
Convention, but did not serve, Chief Justice of the N.H. Court of Judicature,
Fist federal official removed from office for impeachment,
Oliver Prescott Physician, Trustee and
benefactor of Groton Academy
Zedekiah Sanger Clergyman
Nathaniel P. Sargent Massachusetts Provincial Congress, Chief
Justice of Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Micaiah Sawyer Physician, Massachusetts Medical
Society
Thomas Sedgwick Continental Congress, Speaker of the
U.S. House of Representatives, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
William Sever Massachusetts constitutional
Convention
David Sewall U.S. District Court, Massachusetts
Supreme Judicial Court
Stephen Sewall Professor of Hebrew and Oriental
Languages
John Sprague Chief Justice Court of Common
Pleas, Massachusetts constitutional Convention
Ebenezer Storer Treasurer of Harvard?
Caleb Strong Helped shape U.S. Constitution,
Governor of Massachusetts, U.S. Senator
James Sullivan Governor of Massachusetts,
Attorney General of Massachusetts
John Bernard Sweat Physician
Nathaniel Tracy Merchant and privateer
Cotton Tufts Original member
Massachusetts Medical Society, Massachusetts Senate
James Warren Paymaster General of the
Continental Army, Massachusetts Provincial Congress, Sons of Liberty
Samuel West Clergyman
Edward Wigglesworth Hollis Chair at Harvard Divinity School
Joseph Willard President of Harvard
Abraham Williams Clergyman
Nehemiah Williams Clergyman
Samuel Williams Professor and Clergyman
James Winthrop Librarian of Harvard, Bequeathed
his library to Allegheny College
Other early members of AAAS:
Jeremy Belknap Clergyman, published a History of
New Hampshire
Owen Biddle Member of the Pennsylvania
Constitutional Convention, Colonel in the Continental Army, and member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, also a member of APS
Joseph Brown Professor at College of
Providence, now Brown University
Benjamin Franklin Great American polymath, U.S. Minister
to Sweden and France, 1st U.S. Postmaster General, founder of the
University of Pennsylvania, also a member of APS
Benjamin Gale Physician, member of the
General Assembly of Connecticut, also a member of APS
Samuel Hale Loyalist and cousin of
Nathan Hale, may have revealed the latter’s identity
Ebenezer Hazard 3rd U.S. Postmaster
General
Samuel Langdon Clergyman
Arthur Lee Diplomat to France and
England, younger brother of Richard Henry, Francis Lightfoot, and William
William Livingston Continental Congress, signer of the
U.S. Constitution, Governor of New Jersey, father-in-law of John Jay
David Rittenhouse First director of the U.S. Mint, also
a member of APS
John Sparhawk Clergyman, father of John Jr.
who was Speaker of the House of Representatives of Connecticut, his
brother-in-law was Samuel Sewall
Ezra Stiles President of Yale, also
a member of APS
Jonathan Trumbull Governor of Connecticut before and
after the revolution, father of John Trumbull, the painter
George Washington 1st U.S. President,
Continental Congress, also a member of APS
Benjamin West Artist, also a member of APS
[1] Ray, Edward J.: “The Value of a Liberal Arts
Education in Today’s Marketplace,” Huffington
Post, 24 July 2013.
