Although higher education has taken a turn for the Communist in recent decades, during the Founder's day, having a college degree was a source of pride and accomplishment.
Learned men like Benjamin Franklin were not to be had on every street corner, so for dozens of them to all gather in one place and not only declare a separation from the King of England, but to invent the most free and grassroots government in the world is nothing short of divine handiwork.
One man in this unprecedented assembly was Benjamin Rush. Born in Byberry Township, Pennsylvania in 1746, Rush was one of seven children, and when his father passed away, young Benjamin was placed under the tutelage of his Reverend uncle at just six years of age. A bright young man, Benjamin received his Bachelor of Arts degree at age 14 from New Jersey College. At first looking to become a lawyer, he soon changed tracks and pursued the physician trade.
By 1770, Benjamin Rush had earned an M.D. from Edinburgh, Scotland. He became fast friends with Benjamin Franklin, opened a medical practice in Philadelphia then became the first professor of chemistry in America, as well as an opponent of the slave trade. He was 23 years old.
As the revolution neared, Rush began to advocate for colonial independence, and was an influence on Thomas Paine. He became an official founding father when he added his signature to the Declaration on July 4th, and maintained an army post as surgeon general of the Middle Department throughout the war.
After freedom was won, Rush returned to his medical practice, advancing his careers in both medicine and professorship. In 1783, he chartered Dickinson College, the very first in the new nation, and gained a reputation for his reform care for the mentally ill, earning him the moniker Father of American Psychiatry.
Benjamin and his wife Julia had 13 children before his death, and he was buried at Christ Church in Philadelphia in 1813. Dr. Benjamin Rush led a full and productive life, restoring health to both his patients and his country, and his steadfastness and wisdom would certainly have led him to support the Convention of States.
Join the movement to save America, and sign the petition to call a Convention of States.
