Benjamin Rush 260899 223752166 2008-07-05T16:46:54Z 65.91.69.34 /* Religious views and vision */ [[Image:Benjamin Rush Painting by Peale.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Dr. Benjamin Rush, painted by [[Charles Willson Peale]], c. 1818]] [[Image:Benjamin Rush signature.png|thumb|right|148px|Rush's signature]] '''Benjamin Rush''' ([[December 24]] [[1745]] &ndash; [[April 19]] [[1813]]) was a [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Father]] of the [[United States]]. Rush lived in the [[U.S. state|state]] of [[Pennsylvania]] and was a devout [[Christian]], [[physician]], [[writer]], [[Education in the United States|educator]], and [[Humanitarianism|humanitarian]], as well as the founder of [[Dickinson College]] in [[Carlisle, Pennsylvania]]. Rush was also a signatory of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] and attended the [[Continental Congress]]. Later in life, he became a [[professor]] of medical theory and clinical practice at the [[University of Pennsylvania]]. Despite having a wide influence on the development of [[Federal Government of the United States|American government]], he is not as widely known as many of his American contemporaries. Rush was also an early opponent of [[slavery]] and [[capital punishment]]. Despite his great contributions to early American society, Rush is today most famous as the man who, in 1812, helped reconcile the friendship of two of the largest minds of the early Republic: [[Thomas Jefferson]] and [[John Adams]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trm136.html |title="Two Pieces of Homespun" (Memory): American Treasures of the Library of Congress |publisher=The Library of Congress |date=2002-11-22 |accessdate=2008-02-24 }}</ref>{{clarifyme|date=May 2008}} ==Life== {{cleanup|section|date=May 2008}} [[Image:BenjRushBirthplace.jpg|right|thumb|The birthplace of Benjamin Rush, photographed in 1959.]] Rush was born in the [[Act of Consolidation, 1854#Byberry.2C Township of|Township of Byberry]] in [[Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia County]], which was then about 14 miles outside [[Philadelphia]]. The township was incorporated into Philadelphia in 1854, and now remains one of its neighborhoods. His father died when he was six, and Rush spent most of his early life with his maternal uncle, [[the Reverend]] [[Samuel Finley]]. He attended Finley's academy at Nottingham which would later become [[West Nottingham Academy]]. In 1760, he completed the five-year program earning him a Bachelor of Arts degree at the College of New Jersey (now [[Princeton University]]), and then studied medicine under Dr. [[John Redman]] in Philadelphia. Redman encouraged him to further his studies at the [[University of Edinburgh]], where he earned a medical degree. While in [[Europe]] practicing medicine, he learned [[French language|French]], [[Italian language|Italian]], and [[Spanish language|Spanish]]. Returning to the [[Thirteen colonies|Colonies]] in 1769, Rush opened a medical practice in Philadelphia and became Professor of Chemistry at the [[The Academy and College of Philadelphia|College of Philadelphia]]. He published the first American textbook on [[chemistry]], several volumes on medical student education, and wrote influential patriotic essays. He was active in the [[Sons of Liberty]] and was elected to attend the provincial conference to send delegates to the [[Continental Congress]]. He consulted [[Thomas Paine]] on the writing of the profoundly influential pro-independence pamphlet, ''[[Common Sense]]''. He was appointed to represent Pennsylvania at the Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence. In 1777 he became surgeon-general of the middle department of the Continental Army. Conflicts with the Army Medical service, specifically with Dr. [[William Shippen, Jr.]], led to Rush's resignation. As General [[George Washington]] suffered a series of defeats in the war, Rush campaigned for his removal, as part of the [[Conway Cabal]], losing his trust and ending Rush's war activities. Rush later expressed regret for his actions against Washington. In a letter to John Adams in 1812, Rush wrote, "He [Washington] was the highly favored instrument whose patriotism and name contributed greatly to the establishment of the independence of the United States." In 1783 he was appointed to the staff of [[Pennsylvania Hospital]], of which he remained a member until his death. He was elected to the Pennsylvania convention which adopted the Federal constitution and was appointed treasurer of the U.S. Mint, serving from 1797-1813. He became Professor of medical theory and clinical practice at the [[University of Pennsylvania]] in 1791, though the quality of his medicine was quite primitive even for the time: he advocated bleeding (for almost any illness) long after its practice had declined. He became a social activist, an abolitionist, and was the most well-known physician in America at the time of his death. He was also founder of the private liberal arts college [[Dickinson College]], in [[Carlisle, Pennsylvania]]. Rush was also a founding member of the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons (known today as the Philadelphia Prison Society), which had great influence in the construction of [[Eastern State Penitentiary]] in Philadelphia. ==Corps of discovery== In 1803, [[Thomas Jefferson]] sent [[Meriwether Lewis]] to [[Philadelphia]] to prepare for the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]] under the tutelage of Rush, who taught Lewis about [[frontier]] [[illness]]es and the performance of [[bloodletting]]. Rush provided the corps with a medical kit that included: *[[Ottoman Empire|Turkish]] [[opium]] for nervousness *[[emetic]]s to induce [[vomit]]ing *[[medicine|medicinal]] [[wine]] *fifty dozen of ''Dr. Rush's Bilious Pills'', laxatives containing more than 50% [[mercury (element)|mercury]], which the corps called "thunderclappers". Their meat-rich diet and lack of clean water during the expedition gave the men cause to use them frequently. Though their efficacy is questionable, their high mercury content provided an excellent tracer by which [[archaeologist]]s have been able to track the corps' actual route to the Pacific. ==Abolitionism== In 1766 when Rush set out for his studies in Edinburgh, was outraged by the sight of 100 slave ships in Liverpool harbor.<ref>[http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-5037(196907%2F09)30%3A3%3C413%3ADBRATN%3E2.0.CO%3B2-W "Dr. Benjamin Rush and the Negro", Donald J. D'Elia, ''Journal of the History of Ideas'', Vol. 30, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1969), pp. 413-422, doi:10.2307/2708566 University of Pennsylvania Press]</ref> As a prominent Presbyterian doctor and professor of chemistry in Philadelphia, he provided a bold and respected voice against slave trade that could not be ignored. The highlight of his involvement in abolishing slavery might be the pamphlet he wrote that appeared in Philadelphia, Boston, and New York in 1773 entitled "An Address to the Inhabitants of the British Settlements in America, upon Slave-Keeping." In this first of his many attacks on the social evils of his day, he not only assailed the slave trade, but the entire institution of slavery. Dr. Rush argued scientifically that Negroes were not by nature intellectually or morally inferior. Any apparent evidence to the contrary was only the perverted expression of slavery, which "is so foreign to the human mind, that the moral faculties, as well as those of the understanding are debased, and rendered torpid by it." ==Contributions to medicine== Although anatomy was well understood in Rush's time, the causes of disease remained elusive. Doctors therefore relied on various unscientific treatments. Although Rush continued these practices, he actively sought new explanations and new approaches to treatment, some of which remain influential. ===Physical medicine=== Rush was a proponent of [[bloodletting]]<ref name="defence">{{cite journal| first=Benjamin|last=Rush| title=A Defence of Blood-letting, as a Remedy for Certain Diseases| journal=Medical Inquiries and Observations| volume=4|year=1815| url=http://www.geocities.com/bobarnebeck/defence.html|accessdate=2008-05-15}}</ref> and [[calomel]] therapy, forms of treatment that were widespread in America at the time. In his report on the Philadelphia [[yellow fever]] epidemic, he wrote: :I have found bleeding to be useful, not only in cases where the pulse was full and quick, but where it was slow and tense. I have bled twice in many, and in one acute case four times, with the happiest effect. I consider intrepidity in the use of the [[lancet]], at present, to be necessary, as it is in the use of [[mercury (element)|mercury]] and [[jalap]], in this insidious and ferocious disease. Some contemporaries, notably [[William Cobbett]], objected to Rush's extreme use of bloodletting. Cobbett accused Rush of killing more patients than he had saved. Rush sued Cobbett for [[libel]], winning a judgement of $500.<ref name="fruchtman">{{cite book| first=Jack|last=Fruchtman| title=Atlantic Cousins: Benjamin Franklin and His Visionary Friends| publisher=Thunder's Mouth Press|location=New York| year=2005}}</ref> Rush reviewed the case of Henry Moss, a slave who lost his dark skin color (probably through [[vitiligo]]). He proposed that being black was a hereditary skin disease, which he called "negroidism," and that it might be cured. Rush drew the conclusion that "Whites should not tyrannize over [blacks], for their disease should entitle them to a double portion of humanity. However, by the same token, whites should not intermarry with them, for this would tend to infect posterity with the 'disorder'... attempts must be made to cure the disease."<ref>{{cite journal|first=Benjamin|last=Rush|title=Observations Intended to Favour a Supposition That the Black Color (As It Is Called) of the Negroes Is Derived from the Leprosy|journal=Transactions of the American Philosophical Society|date=1799|volume=4}}</ref> Rush wrote a descriptive account of the [[yellow fever]] epidemic that struck Philadelphia in 1793 (during which he treated up to 120 patients per day), and what is considered to be the first case report on [[dengue fever]] (published in 1789 on a case from 1780).{{Fact|date=October 2007}} ===Mental health=== [[Image:Benjamin Rush Painting by Peale 1783.jpg|240px|thumb|Dr. Benjamin Rush painted by [[Charles Willson Peale]], 1783]] Rush was far ahead of his time in the treatment of [[mental illness]]. In fact, he is considered the "Father of American Psychiatry", publishing the first textbook on the subject in the [[United States]], ''Medical Inquiries and Observations upon the Diseases of the Mind'' (1812).<ref>{{The Timetables of Science|pages=261}}</ref> He undertook to classify different forms of mental illness and to theorize as to their causes and possible cures. Rush believed (incorrectly) that many mental illnesses were caused by disruptions of the [[blood circulation]], and treated them with devices meant to improve circulation to the brain such as a restraining chair and a [[centrifugal]] spinning board. After seeing mental patients in appalling conditions in the Pennsylvania Hospital, Rush led a successful campaign in 1792 for the state to build a separate mental ward where the patients could be kept in more humane conditions. Rush is sometimes considered the father of therapeutic [[horticulture]], particularly as it pertains to the institutionalized. In ''Diseases of the Mind'' Rush wrote: :"It has been remarked, that the maniacs of the male sex in all hospitals, who assist in cutting wood, making fires, and digging in a garden, and the females who are employed in washing, ironing, and scrubbing floors, often recover, while persons, whose rank exempts them from performing such services, languish away their lives within the walls of the hospital". Rush pioneered the therapeutic approach to [[addiction]].<ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=63_19D3jPDgC&pg=PA131&lpg=PA131&dq=%22benjamin+rush%22+%22harry+levine%22&source=web&ots=07lL1cEmUy&sig=RjpGoGVvj0Dk8IQkx9tODaQGQLk |title=Strong Feelings: Emotion, Addiction, and Human Behavior |first=Jon |last=Elster |publisher=MIT Press |date=1999 |pages=131 |isbn=0262550369 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book| first=Russil|last=Durrant| coauthors=Jo Thakker| title=Substance Use & Abuse: Cultural and Historical Perspectives| publisher=Sage Publications|location=Thousand Oaks, CA| date=2003}}</ref> Prior to his work, drunkenness was viewed as being sinful and a matter of choice. Rush believed that the [[Alcoholism|alcoholic]] loses control over himself and identified the properties of alcohol, rather than the alcoholic's choice, as the causal agent. He developed the conception of alcoholism as a form of medical disease and proposed that alcoholics should be weaned from their addiction via less potent substances.<ref>{{cite book| first=Benjamin|last=Rush| title=Inquiry into the Effects of Ardent Spirits upon the Human Body and Mind| publisher=Bartam|location=Philadelphia| date=1805}}</ref> ===Education=== During his career, he educated over 3000 medical students, and several of these established [[Rush Medical College]] (Chicago) in his honor after his death. One of his last apprentices was [[Samuel A. Cartwright]], later a [[Confederate States of America]] surgeon charged with improving sanitary conditions in the camps around [[Vicksburg, Mississippi]], and [[Port Hudson, Louisiana]].{{Fact|date=October 2007}} [[Rush University Medical Center]] in Chicago, formerly Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center, was named in his honor. ==Religious views and vision== He is generally deemed [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]] and was a founder of the Philadelphia Bible Society.<ref>[http://www.adherents.com/people/pr/Benjamin_Rush.html Benjamin Rush, Signer of Declaration of Independence<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> He was an advocate for Christianity in public life and in particular in education. In line with that, he advocated the [[Bible]] as a textbook in the public schools.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/declaration/bio42.htm |title=Signers of the Declaration (Benjamin Rush) |publisher=U. S. National Park Service |accessdate=2007-12-13 }}</ref> That stated, some suggest that he had [[Universalist Church of America|Universalist]] leanings. Those that say so look to the following quote on education as evidence.<ref>[http://www.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/benjaminrush.html Benjamin Rush<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> It states, "Such is my veneration for every religion that reveals the attributes of the Deity, or a future state of rewards and punishments, that I had rather see the opinions of [[Confucius]] or [[Muhammad|Mahomed]] inculcated upon our youth, than see them grow up wholly devoid of a system of religious principles. But the religion I mean to recommend in this place, is that of the [[New Testament]]."<ref>[http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch18s30.html Epilogue: Securing the Republic: Benjamin Rush, Of the Mode of Education Proper in a Republic<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. But many others believe this quote is not evidence of Universalist leanings, but rather, his strong belief in the importance of Christian teaching in education. In this quote, it is said that he is stating that any religious teaching in primary education is better than none at all. His religious views were influenced around 1780 by what he described as "Fletcher's controversy with the Calvinists in favor of the Universality of the atonement." After hearing [[Elhanan Winchester]] preach, Rush indicated that Winchester's theology "embraced and reconciled my ancient calvinistical, and my newly adopted ([[Arminian]]) principles. From that time on I have never doubted upon the subject of the salvation of all men." Rush did, however, believe in a state of punishment after death for the wicked, "and of long, long duration." In his later years, Rush, in a letter to [[John Adams]], described his religious views as "a compound of the orthodoxy and heterodoxy of most of our Christian churches."<ref>[http://www25.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/benjaminrush.html Benjamin Rush]. ''Dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist Biography. '' Accessed Nov. 25, 2007.</ref> He also helped [[Richard Allen (reverend)|Richard Allen]] in the founding of the [[African Methodist Episcopal Church]]. ==Family== Rush married Julia Stockton in 1776. They had 13 children, 9 of whom survived their first year. Rush's eldest son, John, initially followed his father into medicine, then joined the navy. During his tour, a friend and fellow officer challenged him to a [[duel]]. John shot and killed the challenger and was soon consumed by feelings of guilt. When he returned home unable to care for himself, Rush placed him in the mental ward at the Pennsylvania Hospital, where he died 27 years later without having recovered.<ref>http://books.google.com/books?id=Lh_WhUAzsm0C&pg=PA259&lpg=PA259&dq=%22john+rush%22+duel&source=web&ots=oMwbtphB4M&sig=QcGkPTE1qfKPCkqgtxAjjkaW2O4&hl=en#PPA257,M1</ref> ==Writings== *''Letters of Benjamin Rush, volume 1: 1761-1792'' (1951), editor L.H. Butterfield, Princeton University Press *''Essays: Literary, Moral, and Philosophical'' (1798) Philadelphia: Thomas & Samuel F. Bradford, 1989 reprint: Syracuse University Press, ISBN 0-912756-22-5, includes "A Plan of a Peace-Office for the United States" *''The Autobiography of Benjamin Rush: His "Travels Through Life" Together with his Commonplace Book for 1789-1813'', 1970 reprint: Greenwood Press, ISBN 0-83713037-9 *''Medical Inquiries And Observations Upon The Diseases Of The Mind'', 2006 reprint: Kessinger Publishing, ISBN 1-42862669-7 *''The Spur of Fame: Dialogues of John Adams and Benjamin Rush, 1805-1813'' (2001), Liberty Fund, ISBN 0-86597287-7 *''Benjamin Rush, M.D: A Bibliographic Guide'' (1996), Greenwood Press, ISBN 0-31329823-8 *''An Address to the Inhabitants of the British Settlements in America, Upon Slave-keeping. Philadelphia: Printed by J. Dunlap, 1773. ==Notes== {{reflist|2}} ==Sources== {{wikiquote}} *Levine, Harry G. "The Discovery of Addiction: Changing Conceptions of Habitual Drunkenness in America." ''Journal of Studies on Alcohol''. 1978; 15: pp: 493-506. Also available at: http://www.soc.qc.cuny.edu/Staff/levine/doa.htm ==Further reading== *Brodsky, Alyn. ''Benjamin Rush: Patriot and Physician''. New York: Truman Talley Books/St. Martin's Press, 2004. *David Freeman Hawke, ''Benjamin Rush: Revolutionary Gadfly''. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1971. ==External links== *[http://www.colonialhall.com/rush/rush.php Biography by Rev. Charles A. Goodrich, 1856] *[http://www.archives.upenn.edu/histy/features/1700s/people/rush_benj.html Biographical sketch] at the [[University of Pennsylvania]] {{congbio|R000514}} *[http://www.lewis-clark.org/content/content-article.asp?ArticleID=2332 Article and portrait at "Discovering Lewis & Clark"] *{{Find A Grave|id=915}} *[http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.pa0790 Benjamin Rush Birthplace] at the [[Historic American Buildings Survey]] *[http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.pa1416 Benjamin Rush Birthplace, Springhouse] at the [[Historic American Buildings Survey]] {{USDecOfIndSig}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Rush, Benjamin}} [[Category:1745 births]] [[Category:1813 deaths]] [[Category:American abolitionists]] [[Category:American activists]] [[Category:American chemists]] [[Category:American physicians]] [[Category:American psychiatrists]] [[Category:American writers]] [[Category:Continental Congressmen from Pennsylvania]] [[Category:People from Philadelphia]] [[Category:Princeton University alumni]] [[Category:Signers of the U.S. Declaration of Independence]] [[Category:Dickinson College]] [[Category:English Americans]] [[Category:Irish-Americans]] [[Category:American Presbyterians]] [[Category:American Christian universalists]] [[de:Benjamin Rush]] [[fr:Benjamin Rush]] [[ja:ベンジャミン・ラッシュ]]