Benjamin Rush - Life, Constitutional ideas, Corps of discovery, Controversial theories, Contributions to medicine, Religious views and vision, Sources

Physician, Revolutionary patriot, and educator, born in Byberry, Pennsylvania, USA. After studying medicine in Philadelphia, he completed his studies at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland (1768). He set up his practice in Philadelphia, taught chemistry at the medical college there, and published the first American chemistry text (1770). He also wrote on social and political subjects, and, as the American Revolution approached, he attached himself to the patriots. As a member of the Continental Congress, he signed the Declaration of Independence (1776). During the war, he served only a year as surgeon-general of the middle department of the Continental army because he had a dispute with his superior (and former professor), Dr William Shippen, and he was loosely linked to the Conway Cabal, accused of plotting to replace George Washington. He returned to his Philadelphia practice but helped lead the fight for Pennsylvania to adopt the new US Constitution, and later served as the treasurer of the US Mint (1797–1813).

Meanwhile, he served on the staff of the Philadelphia Hospital (1783–1813), also taught at the University of Pennsylvania (1792–1813), and established the first free clinic in the USA (1786). He helped found the first anti-slavery society in the USA (1803), and was outspoken on other social issues, calling for an end to capital punishment, the reform of education and prisons, and the promotion of temperance. He was also forward-looking in his attitudes toward the treatment of mental illness, and his Diseases of the Mind (1812) presaged some of the ideas of modern mental therapeutics.

His ideas on the cause of diseases, however, became so exotic as to be dangerous, believing, for example, that all diseases were caused by the ‘excitability’ of blood vessels and could be cured by bloodletting. He published Medical Inquiries and Observations (1789–93) to promote this theory, and when Philadelphia suffered an epidemic of yellow fever in 1793, he put his theory into practice, but his patients continued to die. This did not stop him from publishing his theories again in An Account of the Bilious Remitting Yellow Fever.... (1794), in which he actually came closer to the truth when he indicated that unsanitary conditions had also played a role in the epidemic.

Dr. Benjamin Rush (December 24, 1745 – April 19, 1813) was a Founding Father of the United States.

He also was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and attended the Continental Congress.

Life

Rush was born in Byberry, around 12 miles from Philadelphia.

He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), and then obtained a medical degree at the University of Edinburgh. Returning to the 13 colonies in 1769, Rush opened a medical practice in Philadelphia and became Professor of Chemistry at the College of Philadelphia.

It has been alleged that, prior to his marriage to Julia Stockton, Dr. Rush had been engaged in 1774 to a Miss Sarah Eve, daughter of gunpowder manufacturer and pro-British Loyalist, Oswell Eve Sr., but she died while under the care of Dr. Redman, through the consultation of Dr. Rush, two weeks before the wedding was to take place on Christmas.

On July 25, 1781 Dr. Rush and his wife Julia, bought a plantation in Oxford Township, Pennsylvania.

Facts about the summer residency were long under dispute until the recent discovery of an advertisement confirming the Summer Home ownership and residency.

“...the Improvements consist of a large stone Mansion House, Kitchen, &c. suitable for a large family, formerly the summer residence of the late Dr. Rush: a stone Spring House, a Pump of excellent water, a frame Barn and Stable, a good Garden, two Orchards of prime fruit; This farm is plentifully supplied with water from a number springs, and from Frankford Creek, which forms a part of the boundary line...”

The additional following advertisement appeared in several newspapers, definitively proving the Oxford Township Plantation, which served as Dr. Rush's cottage farm and summer residence:

"Philadelphia, March 22, 1786.

By virtue of a Writ of venditioni exponas to me directed, will be exposed to Public Sale by Vendue, at the premises on SATURDAY the 1st day of April next, at two o'clock in the afternoon, a certain Plantation, Tract or Piece of Land, situate, lying, and being in the township of Oxford in the county of Philadelphia, containing about 189 acres, (5 acres thereof meadows and 30 woodland) within 6 miles of the city of Philadelphia and from the village of Frankfort, being on the road which leads from Frankfort to the old York road, and bounded by lands of Dr. Rush, Dr. Redman, Captain Eves, Frankfort Creek, &c. Taken in execution, and sold as the property of Daniel Havartde Travah, by JOSEPH COWPERTHWAIT, sheriff"

(Please see new-notes* on this addition)

The proximity of the Rush summer residence may tie into the studies he had done on the Harrogate Mineral Springs located about a half mile away.

He published the first American textbook on Chemistry, several volumes on medical student education, and wrote influential patriotic essays.

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.

In 1783 he was appointed to the staff of Pennsylvania Hospital and remained a member of the hospital's staff 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 was also founder of the private liberal arts college Dickinson College, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania

Constitutional ideas

Rush believed that Americans should enshrine the right to medical freedom in their Constitution, much as the right to freedom of religion is expressly guaranteed in that document.

Rush is reported to have argued that "Unless we put Medical Freedom into the Constitution, the time will come when medicine will organize into an undercover dictatorship .

Also he urged Thomas Paine to write a book that strongly pushed revolution and suggested its title, "Common Sense" .

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 illnesses and the performance of bloodletting. Rush provided the corps with a medical kit that included:

Turkish opium for nervousness emetics to induce vomiting medicinal wine fifty dozen of Dr. Rush's Bilious Pills, laxatives containing more than 50% mercury, which the corps called "thunderclappers".

Controversial theories

Rush was an advocate of forced psychiatric treatment.

Contributions to medicine

Rush was far ahead of his time in the treatment of mental illness.

Besides his contributions to psychiatry, Benjamin Rush wrote a descriptive account of the yellow fever epidemic that struck Philadelphia in 1793 (during which he treated up to 100 patients per day), and what is considered to be the first case report on dengue fever (published in 1789 on a case from 1780).

Rush lived during the Age of Heroic Medicine (1780-1850), and is considered a strong advocate of “heroic medicine”.

During his career, he educated over 3000 medical students, and several of these established Rush Medical College (Chicago) in his honor after his death.

Religious views and vision

He is generally deemed Presbyterian, and was a founder of the Philadelphia Bible society.

That stated he may have had Universalist leanings, as the following quote on education seems to imply.

Sources

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Benjamin Rush

Levine, Harry G.