‘He Has Done More Good in the World than Franklin or Washington’
Among our Founding Fathers there was no shortage of genius, starting with the talents exhibited by Jefferson, Madison, Franklin, Adams, Hamilton, and Washington. However, it can be reasonably argued that the brilliant light of one Founding Father has been inexplicably and unfairly overshadowed by his contemporaries.
Benjamin Rush, Princeton Class of 1760, was a polymath. He was the only physician signer of the Declaration of Independence, an early abolitionist and women’s advocate, and a confidant and adviser to Thomas Paine. Although his actions during the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia in 1793 have not withstood the scrutiny of modern medicine, he nonetheless trained many of the notable North American physicians of the next generation.
Rush was an avid patriot and in response to Parliament’s passage of the Tea Act, he wrote a letter, under a pseudonym, in 1773, that culminated in the Boston Tea Party later that year. He was an active participant at the Continental Congress. When Paine brought him a copy of a manuscript which he had titled, “Plain Truth,” Rush suggested that he change the title to “Common Sense” and helped him find a publisher.
As a physician, he is credited with being one of the founders of American psychiatry and in 1812 published his treatise, “Medical Inquiries and Observation Upon the Diseases of the Mind.” He was one of the physician leaders in the response to the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia and contracted the disease himself. Nonetheless, he erroneously thought the disease was caused by a “noxious miasma” and was also a proponent of bloodletting to treat a variety of maladies.
Perhaps his greatest accomplishment was serving as the conciliator of the relationship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Although Adams and Jefferson had worked together closely during the formation of the Republic, the acrimonious election of 1800 placed a wedge between the former friends. Adams wanted, and thought he deserved, a second term as president. Jefferson ran against him. The Federalists painted Jefferson as a radical and Francophile, whereas the Democratic-Republicans portrayed Adams as someone who aspired to monarchial power.
After Jefferson emerged victorious, both the nation and the personal relationship were fractured. Evidence for the depth of the national acrimony was evidenced in Jefferson’s inaugural address when he said, “We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists.”
It was only through the intervention of Rush that the disrupted friendship began to be repaired. In an 1809 letter to Adams, Rush recounted a dream where he envisioned the reconciliation between Adams and Jefferson. This began a series of letters from Rush to both Adams and Jefferson initiating the rapprochement between the two men which was completed before their simultaneous deaths on July 4, 1826.
It is fitting that prior to their deaths, but after the death of Rush, Adams wrote in a letter to Jefferson, “No man would apologize for me if I could say that in the estimation of unprejudiced philosophy, he has done more good in the world than Franklin or Washington.”
Among our Founding Fathers there was no shortage of genius, starting with the talents exhibited by Jefferson, Madison, Franklin, Adams, Hamilton, and Washington. However, it can be reasonably argued that the brilliant light of one Founding Father has been inexplicably and unfairly overshadowed by his contemporaries.
Benjamin Rush, Princeton Class of 1760, was a polymath. He was the only physician signer of the Declaration of Independence, an early abolitionist and women’s advocate, and a confidant and adviser to Thomas Paine. Although his actions during the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia in 1793 have not withstood the scrutiny of modern medicine, he nonetheless trained many of the notable North American physicians of the next generation.
Rush was an avid patriot and in response to Parliament’s passage of the Tea Act, he wrote a letter, under a pseudonym, in 1773, that culminated in the Boston Tea Party later that year. He was an active participant at the Continental Congress. When Paine brought him a copy of a manuscript which he had titled, “Plain Truth,” Rush suggested that he change the title to “Common Sense” and helped him find a publisher.
As a physician, he is credited with being one of the founders of American psychiatry and in 1812 published his treatise, “Medical Inquiries and Observation Upon the Diseases of the Mind.” He was one of the physician leaders in the response to the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia and contracted the disease himself. Nonetheless, he erroneously thought the disease was caused by a “noxious miasma” and was also a proponent of bloodletting to treat a variety of maladies.
Perhaps his greatest accomplishment was serving as the conciliator of the relationship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Although Adams and Jefferson had worked together closely during the formation of the Republic, the acrimonious election of 1800 placed a wedge between the former friends. Adams wanted, and thought he deserved, a second term as president. Jefferson ran against him. The Federalists painted Jefferson as a radical and Francophile, whereas the Democratic-Republicans portrayed Adams as someone who aspired to monarchial power.
After Jefferson emerged victorious, both the nation and the personal relationship were fractured. Evidence for the depth of the national acrimony was evidenced in Jefferson’s inaugural address when he said, “We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists.”
It was only through the intervention of Rush that the disrupted friendship began to be repaired. In an 1809 letter to Adams, Rush recounted a dream where he envisioned the reconciliation between Adams and Jefferson. This began a series of letters from Rush to both Adams and Jefferson initiating the rapprochement between the two men which was completed before their simultaneous deaths on July 4, 1826.
It is fitting that prior to their deaths, but after the death of Rush, Adams wrote in a letter to Jefferson, “No man would apologize for me if I could say that in the estimation of unprejudiced philosophy, he has done more good in the world than Franklin or Washington.”