In this engaging discussion, Stephen Fried, author of 'Rush: Revolution, Madness, and Benjamin Rush, the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father', shines a light on Benjamin Rush, a key yet often forgotten Founding Father. He reveals Rush's roles as a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a medical innovator, and a bridge-builder between Jefferson and Adams. Listeners learn about Rush's suppressed memoir, his revolutionary approaches to medicine, and the challenges he faced, including his strained relationship with George Washington.
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Rush's Rise
Benjamin Rush, unlike many Founding Fathers, rose from humble beginnings.
His father, a blacksmith, died when he was five, leaving his mother to support the family.
insights INSIGHT
The Power of Note-Taking
Rush's meticulous note-taking in his commonplace book, despite differing opinions on memory, proved invaluable.
It offers a unique, contemporary view into his life and the Revolutionary period.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Medical Mentors and Rivalries
Rush was mentored by rival doctors, John Morgan and William Shippen Jr., who later became key figures in the Continental Army's medical department.
This early exposure to professional rivalries shaped Rush's understanding of human dynamics.
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This book tells the remarkable story of Benjamin Rush, a medical pioneer and one of America's most provocative and unsung Founding Fathers. Rush was a key figure in the American Revolution, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and a visionary in the field of mental health. The biography explores his multifaceted life, including his contributions to medicine, education, and social reform.
The 18th century doctor, civic leader, and renaissance man Benjamin Rush was one of the youngest signers of the Declaration of Independence, edited and named Thomas Paine's Common Sense, implemented medical practices that helped the Continental Army win the Revolutionary War, made sure Benjamin Franklin attended the Constitutional Convention, and shaped the medical and political landscape of the newly formed United States.
Yet despite his outsized influence, the varied and interesting life he led, and the close relationships he had with other founding fathers like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams, Rush is hardly remembered today. That's because of just how close his relationship with those other founders was. Rush was a personal physician to them and their families, and after his death, they suppressed his legacy, not wanting the intimate and unflattering details he had recorded in his letters and journals to be publicized. In fact, his memoir was considered too dangerous to be published and wasn't found for nearly 150 years.
My guest will re-introduce us to this forgotten figure. His name is Stephen Fried, and he's the author of Rush: Revolution, Madness, and Benjamin Rush, the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father. Today on the show, Stephen takes us through Rush's fascinating life, from his self-made rise out of inauspicious childhood, to how he was able to reconcile an estranged Jefferson and Adams before his death, and what Stephen has learned from studying a character who lived through very fraught and not totally unfamiliar times.
The Art of Manliness 