Dr. Benjamin Rush: The Founding Father Who Healed a Wounded Nation

Founding Father Benjamin Rush stands out above the rest for his completely selfless and lifelong dedication to the good of humanity. The only medical doctor to sign the Declaration of Independence, Rush was even more involved in alleviating the suffering of the marginalized around him — the poor and destitute, the enslaved, women and children, and the insane. His public contributions are far too numerous to mention here but well worth exploring; in addition, he was a loving husband, father, and friend, who most famously effected a reconciliation between Jefferson and Adams, which led to a correspondence that is one of the treasures of our national history.

Author Harlow Giles Unger presents this story with care and grace — Rush was not a perfect man, but really he was about a close as a mortal man can get, and Unger introduces him in a spirit of love and great admiration, fitting for such a man. At the same time, he illuminates the world of the Revolutionary era from an almost backdoor point of view, from which you see that issues often overlooked or seemingly tangential to the big arcs of history are actually what make history after all.