A revealing biography of Dr. Benjamin Rush--fiery signer of the Declaration of Independence, prominent physician, ardent politician, zealous social reformer, passionate humanitarian, and dedicated educator
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Summary
A revealing biography of Dr. Benjamin Rush--fiery signer of the Declaration of Independence, prominent physician, ardent politician, zealous social reformer, passionate humanitarian, and dedicated educator
Description
Dr. Benjamin Rush was the Founding Father of an America that other Founding Fathers forgot or ignored--an America of women, African-Americans, Jews, Quakers, Roman Catholics, indentured workers, and the poor. Ninety percent of the people lived in that other America, but none could vote and none had rights to life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness, either before or after independence from Britain. Alone among the Founding Fathers who signed the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Rush heard their cries and stepped forth as the nation's first great humanitarian and social reformer.
Known primarily as America's most influential and leading physician, Rush was also among the first to call for the abolition of slavery, equal rights for women, free education and health care for the poor, slum clearance, city-wide sanitation facilities, an end to child labor, universal public education, humane treatment and therapy for the insane, prison reform, an end to capital punishment, and improved medical care for injured troops. Using archival material found in Edinburgh, London, and Paris, as well as significant new materials from Rush's descendants recently made available, Harlow Giles Unger's startling biography of Benjamin Rush is the first in more than a decade.Dr. Benjamin Rush is an important biography of the Founding Father who never forgot America's forgotten people.Critic Reviews
“"Unger has added another major contribution to his collection of profiles of America's Founding Fathers...[His] biography of Rush exposes the important work of a medical, political and social pioneer."-- Roanoke Times”
"[An] enjoyable read...Successfully present[s] a man who never quit, even in the face of failure or public humiliation."--Philadelphia Inquirer
"[Unger] delivers Rush from his inexplicable obscurity in this fine biography...If you love biography, you're in for some pleasant reading. If you love early American history, you're going to wonder how you've missed Dr. Rush for so long."--The Reagan Review
"A biography of the Founding Father of an America that other Founding Fathers forgot-an America of women, African Americans, Jews, Roman Catholics, Quakers, indentured workers, the poor, the mentally ill, and war veterans."--Taft Bulletin
"A highly readable account of a humanitarian who cared for others more than for himself. A hero of his era."--Washington Times
"A valuable introduction to a man justifiably characterized as 'the founding father of an America that other founding fathers forgot-an America of women, slaves, indentured workers, laborers, prisoners, the poor, the indigent sick and injured.'"--Publishers Weekly
"In an age of towering literary, political and military giants such as Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Washington, and others, it is indeed surprising that Rush should be as little remembered as he is by most Americans. Perhaps this biography can right this and return him to the pantheon of our greatest Founding Fathers."--New York Journal of Books
"Restores Dr. Benjamin Rush to his rightful place in American history as the Founding Father of American civil rights, medical care and psychiatry...Impressively informative, exceptional in scope and execution...An extraordinary and deftly written biography."
--Midwest Book Review
"Sympathetic and readable...Reveal[s] a dedicated humanitarian with an enduring influence upon American medicine."--Wall Street Journal
"Unger has added another major contribution to his collection of profiles of America's Founding Fathers...[His] biography of Rush exposes the important work of a medical, political and social pioneer."--Roanoke Times
About the Author
Acclaimed historian Harlow Giles Unger is a former Distinguished Visiting Fellow at George Washington's Mount Vernon. Named one of the nation's premier presidential biographers for his biography of James Monroe (The Last Founding Father), Unger is the author of twenty-four books, including eleven biographies of America's Founders and three histories of the early republic.
Dr. Benjamin Rush was the Founding Father of an America that other Founding Fathers forgot or ignored--an America of women, African-Americans, Jews, Quakers, Roman Catholics, indentured workers, and the poor. Ninety percent of the people lived in that other America, but none could vote and none had rights to life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness, either before or after independence from Britain. Alone among the Founding Fathers who signed the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Rush heard their cries and stepped forth as the nation's first great humanitarian and social reformer.Known primarily as America's most influential and leading physician, Rush was also among the first to call for the abolition of slavery, equal rights for women, free education and health care for the poor, slum clearance, city-wide sanitation facilities, an end to child labor, universal public education, humane treatment and therapy for the insane, prison reform, an end to capital punishment, and improved medical care for injured troops. Using archival material found in Edinburgh, London, and Paris, as well as significant new materials from Rush's descendants recently made available, Harlow Giles Unger's startling biography of Benjamin Rush is the first in more than a decade. Dr. Benjamin Rush is an important biography of the Founding Father who never forgot America's forgotten people.
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