The Selected Writings of Benjamin Rush

Benjamin Rush was a Founding Father of the United States. Rush lived in the state of Pennsylvania and was a physician, writer, educator, humanitarian and a devout Christian, as well as the founder of Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Rush was a signatory of the Declaration of Independence and attended the Continental Congress. Later in life, he became a professor of medical theory and clinical practice at the University of Pennsylvania. Despite having a wide influence on the development of American government, he is not as widely known as many of his American contemporaries. Rush was also an early opponent of slavery and capital punishment. Despite his great contributions to early American society, Rush may be more famous today as the man who, in 1812, helped reconcile the friendship of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams by encouraging the two former Presidents to resume writing to each other. The editor of the preface of this book gives an in depth look into Benjamin Rush’s life. The writings of Rush, which are mentioned in this book, show a wide range of interest and knowledge embracing agriculture and the mechanical arts, chemistry and medicine, political science, and theology. Including letters he wrote in effort to dispel prejudice, to fight oppression, and to elevate the lot of the lowly. Dagobert D. Runes was a philosopher and author. He was the founding publisher of The Philosophical Library, where he worked to bring philosophical texts to a general audience. Runes was a colleague and friend of Albert Einstein and many other influential philosophers and scientists. Runes is responsible for publishing an English translation of Marx’s On the Jewish Question, which he published under the title A World without Jews, and for editing The Dictionary of Philosophy, published in 1942. 3