Community and Regional Affairs

• Condoleezza Rice’s Sept. 30, 2005 visit was the second in as many years by a sitting U.S. secretary of state. Her immediate predecessor, Colin Powell, visited the campus on Feb. 20, 2004, to deliver the keynote address at the University’s George F. Kennan Centennial Conference, honoring the diplomat who crafted the strategy of “containment,” which became the foundation of American policy toward the Soviet Union.

• Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger visited the campus on several occasions. Kissinger, who served in that role from 1973 to 1977, led two small-group sessions with students and faculty members.

• A number of Princeton alumni have served as secretary of state, beginning with James Madison, a member of the class of 1771. He held that position from 1801 until 1809, when he became the fourth president of the United States. Madison, in turn, called upon 1781 Princeton alumnus Robert Smith to serve as his secretary of state from 1809 to 1811.

• Other 19th-century secretaries of state who were alumni were: Edward Livingston, a member of the class of 1781, who served from 1831 to 1833; John Forsyth, a member of the class of 1799, who served from 1834 to 1841; and Abel Upshur, a member of the class of 1807, who served from 1843 to 1844.

• More recently, John Foster Dulles, a member of Princeton’s class of 1908, served as secretary of state from 1953 to 1959. George Shultz, a member of Princeton’s class of 1942, served from 1982 to 1989. He was succeeded by James Baker, a member of Princeton’s class of 1952, who served as secretary of state until 1992. When he was on campus for his 50th reunion in 2002, Baker announced that he was donating his papers to the Mudd Manuscript Library.

• Mudd also houses the papers of two other secretaries of state: Dulles; and Robert Lansing, who served from 1915 to 1920 under President Woodrow Wilson, who was a member of Princeton’s class of 1879.

• At the beginning of her speech this fall, Rice acknowledged Princeton’s State Department connections: “I am honored to be here today at Princeton. From George Kennan and John Foster Dulles, to George Shultz and James Baker, and of course, Woodrow Wilson, many renowned American statesmen have worn the orange and black.”

Source: “A Princeton Companion” by Alexander Leitch

The Charter

Two hundred fifty nine years ago, the charter that created the corporation originally known as “The Trustees of the College of New Jersey” was granted in the name of King George II:

• The charter, granted on Oct. 22, 1746, authorized the erection of a college “for the Education of Youth in the Learned Languages and in the Liberal Arts and Sciences.” It also designated seven men, with five others to be chosen by them, to be the trustees of the college.

• The charter granted the trustees and their successors full power and authority to acquire real and personal property, to erect buildings, to elect a president, tutors, professors and other officers, to grant degrees and to establish ordinances and laws “not repugnant to the Laws and Statutes of ... Great Britain or ... of New Jersey, and not excluding any Person of any religious Denomination whatsoever from ... any of the Liberties, Privileges or immunities of the ... College, on account of his ... being of a Religious profession Different from the ... Trustees of the College.”

• The original charter was issued by John Hamilton, president of the council of the province of New Jersey, who was acting as governor at the time. Because Hamilton’s authority was questioned, the legal status of the College came under attack, and a second charter was issued in 1748 by Jonathan Belcher, newly appointed governor of the province. It corresponded, for the most part, to the charter of 1746, but it increased the maximum number of trustees from 12 to 23, made the governor of New Jersey a trustee ex-officio and stipulated that 12 trustees were to be inhabitants of the state of New Jersey.

• On Feb. 13, 1896, the corporation adopted a resolution changing its name to “The Trustees of Princeton University.” President Francis Patton publicly proclaimed this change on Oct. 22, 1896, the 150th anniversary of the granting of the first charter.

Source: “A Princeton Companion” by Alexander Leitch

University Seal and Shield

Two of the University’s most prominent graphic images are the seal and the shield:

• The seal, considered the corporate signature of the trustees, is embossed on diplomas and printed on other official documents authorized by them.




The trustee’s seal

The seal of the College of New Jersey—the name by which Princeton University was first known—was used for almost a century and a half. In the upper part of a circle, it contained an open Bible with Latin characters VET NOV TESTAMENTUM signifying the Old and New Testaments. Over the Bible, was the motto VITAM MORTUIS REDDO (I restore life to the dead). Underneath, on the right, was a table with books signifying scholarship. On the left, was a diploma, signifying the goal of the student. On the outside of the circle, the Latin text read SIGILLUM COLLEGII NEO-CAESARIENSIS IN AMERICA (seal of the College of New Jersey in America).



	The Princeton shield

Since 1896, when at the sesquicentennial of its founding the College of New Jersey became Princeton University, the corporate seal has been simpler. It is described in the trustees’ minutes of Feb. 13, 1896, as: … a shield resting upon a circle. In the upper part of the shield an open Bible with Latin characters VET NOV TESTAMENTUM signifying the Old and New Testaments. … In the lower part a chevron, denoting the rafters of a building. In the spaces between the sides of the shield and the circle the motto DEI SUB NUMINE VIGET (Under God’s power she flourishes). On the outside of the circle SIGILLUM UNIVERSITATIS PRINCETONIENSIS (seal of Princeton University).

The full seal is strictly reserved for the purpose described in the college’s original charter, namely as “a Common Seal under which they [the trustees] may pass all Diplomas, or Certificates of Degrees, and all Other the Affairs & Business of and Concerning the said Corporation. …”

• The shield is taken from the official seal, minus the circle and with the motto in a ribbon beneath the shield. It serves as the University’s insignia and may be employed for decorative purposes by organizations or individuals connected with the University where the use of Princeton’s symbol is appropriate.

Source: “A Princeton Companion” by Alexander Leitch

U.S. Supreme Court

(from the Princeton Alumni Weekly, 3/8/06)

In the court’s service

With the confirmation of Justice Samuel Alito ’72, Princeton can claim 10 alumni on the roster of 110 justices who have served on the nation’s highest court, including several influential figures from the court’s formative years. The following sketches remember Alito’s Princeton predecessors.

By B.T.

(Images: Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States)

	William Paterson 1763 Nominated by President Washington Years on the court: 1793–1806 Best known for helping to shape the legislative branch at the Constitutional Convention, Paterson later made his mark on the judiciary, participating in the landmark Marbury v. Madison case, which established the court’s power to declare laws unconstitutional. (artist: Casimir Gregory Stapko)
	Oliver Ellsworth 1766 Nominated by President Washington Years on the court: 1796–1800 Ellsworth, Princeton’s lone chief justice, made few lasting contributions in his four years on the high court, but at least he helped cut down on paperwork. He pioneered the use of consensus opinions, rather than having each justice write his own. (artist: William Wheeler (after Ralph Earle))
	H. Brockholst Livingston 1774 Nominated by President Jefferson Years on the court: 1807–1823 Although one biographer wrote that Livingston “never left a mark” on the court, the justice’s pre-court career was a remarkable tale of survival. He fought in the Continental Army, survived a stint as a prisoner of war, ducked an assassination attempt in 1785, and killed a rival in a 1798 duel. (artist: Casimir Gregory Stapko)
	Smith Thompson 1788 Nominated by President Monroe Years on the court: 1823–1843 Preoccupied with political aspirations early in his career, Thompson eventually contributed to several important decisions, but according to biographer Donald M. Roper, he spent his career “in the shadow of legal giants” such as John Marshall. (artist: Ashur B. Durand)
	William Johnson Jr. 1790 Nominated by President Jefferson Years on the court: 1804–1834 Johnson’s independence earned him historical distinction as the “first dissenter,” and in many cases on the Marshall court, he was the only one. He wrote 34 minority opinions, far more than his contemporaries on the court. (artist: Unknown)
	Peter V. Daniel 1805 Nominated by President Van Buren Years on the court: 1842–1860 A gifted student, Daniel entered Princeton with the junior class, but he withdrew after less than a year on campus. At home in Virginia, he prepared for a law career under the tutelage of his father-in-law, Edmund Randolph, the first U.S. attorney general. (artist: Earl Clarke Daniel)
	James Moore Wayne 1808 Nominated by President Jackson Years on the court: 1835–1867 Wayne, Princeton’s longest-serving justice, concurred in the court’s infamous Dred Scott decision, supporting slavery. But his devotion to country outweighed loyalty to his native Georgia: When the Southern states seceded, Wayne remained on the court. (artist: John Maier)
	Mahlon Pitney 1879 Nominated by President Taft Years on the court: 1912–1922 Pitney studied law under his father, a prominent attorney. When the University secretary inquired about his degree in 1906, the then-New Jersey Supreme Court justice replied, “Dear Sir, I attended no law school and have no law degree. Yours very truly, Mahlon Pitney ’79.” (artist: Adrian Lamb)
	John Marshall Harlan ’20 Nominated by President Eisenhower Years on the court: 1955–1971 The grandson of a Supreme Court justice of the same name, Harlan was a key conservative voice on the Warren court. In his PAW memorial, classmates recalled their former class president’s “forthright character, his innate friendliness, and his superior intellect.” (artist: Gardner Cox)

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