Editing Princeton University (section)

=== Colonial and early years ===
[[File:Aula Nassovica.jpg|thumb|From 1760, the first picture of [[Nassau Hall]]|right|alt=An engraving of Nassau Hall from 1760]]

In 1747, following the death of then President Jonathan Dickinson, the college moved from Elizabeth to [[Newark, New Jersey]], as that was where presidential successor [[Aaron Burr Sr.]]'s parsonage was located.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=199}} That same year, Princeton's first charter came under dispute by Anglicans, but on September 14, 1748, the recently appointed governor [[Jonathan Belcher]] granted a second charter.<ref name="Princetoniana-Belcher">{{cite web|title=Governor Jonathan Belcher|url=https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/history/early-years/belcher|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614190521/https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/history/early-years/belcher|archive-date=June 14, 2021|access-date=July 4, 2021|website=Princetoniana|publisher=Princeton University}}</ref>{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=200}} Belcher, a [[Congregational church|Congregationalist]], had become alienated from his [[alma mater]], Harvard, and decided to "adopt" the infant college.<ref name="Princetoniana-Belcher" />{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=15}} Belcher would go on to raise funds for the college and donate his 474-volume library, making it one of the largest libraries in the colonies.<ref name="Princetoniana-Belcher" />{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=16}}

[[File:Peale, Charles Willson, John Witherspoon (1723-1794), President (1768-94).jpg|thumb|[[John Witherspoon]], President of the college (1768–94) and signer of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]]|alt=A portrait of John Witherspoon]]

In 1756, the college moved again to its present home in [[Princeton, New Jersey]], because Newark was felt to be too close to New York.{{Sfn|Gunning|2005|p=443}}{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=18–19}} Princeton was chosen for its location in [[central New Jersey]] and by strong recommendation by Belcher.<ref name="Princetoniana-Belcher" />{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=19}} The college's home in Princeton was [[Nassau Hall]], named for the royal [[William III of England]], a member of the [[House of Orange-Nassau]].{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=329}} The trustees of the College of New Jersey initially suggested that Nassau Hall be named in recognition of Belcher because of his interest in the institution; the governor vetoed the request.<ref name="Princetoniana-Belcher" />

Burr, who would die in 1757, devised a [[curriculum]] for the school and enlarged the student body.<ref>{{cite web|title=Aaron Burr Sr.|url=https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/burr/index.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627221122/https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/burr/index.html|archive-date=June 27, 2021|access-date=July 4, 2021|website=The Presidents of Princeton University|publisher=Princeton University}}</ref> Following the untimely death of Burr and the college's next three [[President of Princeton University|presidents]],{{Sfn|Noll|2004|p=17}} [[John Witherspoon]] became president in 1768 and remained in that post until his death in 1794.<ref name="Princeton-Presidents-Witherspoon">{{cite web|date=November 26, 2013|title=John Witherspoon|url=https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/witherspoon/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210321195234/https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/witherspoon/|archive-date=March 21, 2021|access-date=June 20, 2021|website=The Presidents of Princeton University|publisher=Princeton University}}</ref> With his presidency, Witherspoon focused the college on preparing a new generation of both educated clergy and secular leadership in the new American nation.{{Sfn|Morrison|2005|p=47–48}}{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=525}} To this end, he tightened academic standards, broadened the curriculum, solicited investment for the college, and grew its size.{{Sfn|Noll|2004|p=29–30}}{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=525}}

A signatory of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]], Witherspoon and his leadership led the college to becoming influential to the [[American Revolution]].<ref name="Princeton-Presidents-Witherspoon"/>{{Sfn|Gunning|2005|p=454}}<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tucker|first=Louis Leonard|date=1979|title=Centers of Sedition: Colonial Colleges and the American Revolution|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25080846|journal=Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society|volume=91|pages=16–34|jstor=25080846|access-date=July 24, 2021|archive-date=July 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210724070059/https://www.jstor.org/stable/25080846|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1777, the college became the site for the [[Battle of Princeton]].<ref name="Princeton-Presidents-Witherspoon"/> During the battle, British soldiers briefly occupied Nassau Hall before eventually surrendering to American forces led by General [[George Washington]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Nassau Hall|url=https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/campus/nassau-hall|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318172900/https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/campus/nassau-hall|archive-date=March 18, 2021|access-date=July 4, 2021|website=Princetoniana|publisher=Princeton University}}</ref> During the summer and fall of 1783, the [[Continental Congress]] and Washington met in Nassau Hall, making Princeton the [[List of capitals in the United States|country's capital]] for four months;<ref>{{cite web |url=https://history.house.gov/People/Continental-Congress/Meeting-Places/ |title=Meeting Places for the Continental Congresses and the Confederation Congress, 1774–1789 |publisher=US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives |access-date=May 31, 2022 |archive-date=January 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114200713/https://history.house.gov/People/Continental-Congress/Meeting-Places/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Nassau Hall is where Congress learned of the peace treaty between the colonies and the British.<ref>{{cite web|title= The Nine Capitals of the United States|url=https://www.senate.gov/reference/reference_item/Nine_Capitals_of_the_United_States.htm|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616041354/https://www.senate.gov/reference/reference_item/Nine_Capitals_of_the_United_States.htm|archive-date=June 16, 2021|access-date=June 18, 2021|publisher=United States Senate}}</ref>{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=23}} The college did suffer from the revolution, with a depreciated [[college endowment|endowment]] and hefty repair bills for Nassau Hall.{{Sfn|Gunning|2005|p=455}}