Leaning-In to the Civic Lessons of Our Namesakes

Muhlenberg College was named to commemorate Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg (1711-1787), German immigrant and patriarch of Lutheranism in the United States. The choice linked the College to the Lutheran faith and to a political dynasty exemplifying the promise — and responsibility — of democratic engagement. This is revealed in oft-repeated stories of college lore that I share with my students at the start of each new semester.

The first takes us back to the American Revolution before Muhlenberg College existed to Henry’s son and Virginia Lutheran minister, John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg (1746-1807), who reportedly openly struggled with the question of revolution. Standing before his congregation in January of 1776 and drawing inspiration from Ecclesiastes, General Muhlenberg is said to have ripped off his clerical robes to reveal his officer’s uniform, shouting: “There is a time to preach and a time to pray. But there is also a time to fight, and that time has come now!” Legend has it that more than 150 men kissed their families, left the church with Muhlenberg leading the way, and joined the Revolutionary cause, becoming the core of Virginia’s 8th regiment.

Historians doubt the veracity of the account of “General Pete’s” famous 1776 speech, but his legacy nonetheless lives on — a copy of the original marble statue of General Muhlenberg found in Statutory Hall in the U.S. Capitol sits at the center of our campus green and it is in his honor that one of our eateries — the “General’s Quarters,” or “GQ” — is named. After the war, General Muhlenberg resettled in Pennsylvania, where he was elected to the first U.S. Congress. His brother, Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg (1750-1801), was also elected from Pennsylvania, becoming the first Speaker of the House of Representatives and the first to sign the Bill of Rights.

This is the history — itself a lesson about civic engagement and the nation’s founding–that Frederick Augustis Muhlenberg (1818-1901) (Henry’s great-grandson and General Pete’s great-nephew) inherited and transmitted to Muhlenberg College when he became our first president. Although less dramatic than General Pete’s call to fellow patriots, President Muhlenberg’s inaugural address continues to inspire teaching and learning at the College. He said: “No education is complete unless it prepares a man to discharge all his duties properly in this world…this kind of education contemplates the education of his conscience and the cultivation of his heart.” If they are observant, students will find references to the “education of conscience” and “cultivation of heart” on our website and note familiarity with phrases like “ethical and civic values” and “lives of leadership and service” in the College’s mission statement.

Whether or not my students themselves are Lutheran, I seek to convince them that they are part of the community forged by our namesakes.

I share these stories with my students not only because I hope to clue them into the statues they encounter on campus–although seeing the history around us is a useful goal. Most of my students are unfamiliar with the Muhlenbergs; many are surprised to learn of the College’s links to the ELCA (we certainly do not hide this connection, but it is evidently not something we emphasize in admissions). Whether or not my students themselves are Lutheran, I seek to convince them that they are part of the community forged by our namesakes. We are part of Muhlenberg civic history. We can — and should — lean-in to the Muhlenbergs. Their shared values, sense of civic duty, and willingness to lead when it is “time to fight” offer inspiration for our own education and democratic engagement today.

Work Cited

Susan Clemens Bruder, “Connecting the Past, Present, and Future: Muhlenberg College,” The Periodical 57, no. 1A2 (1013-2014): 3-44.