Perhaps you’ve heard of Benjamin Rush.
Most likely, however, you have not.
Well, Benjamin Rush was one of the more obscure Founding Fathers, but he was kind of a big deal back in the day.
Rush signed the Declaration of Independence, served as surgeon general of the Continental Army, and was an all-around Enlightenment intellectual. He opposed slavery, advocated for free public education, supported women’s rights, and lobbied for a more equitable justice system — all edgy ideas for the 1700s. He is also regarded as the father of American psychiatry, and he left a legacy of philanthropy and scientific excellence.
Wow, he sounds great, doesn’t he?
Oh, he also believed that being Black was a horrible disease, and that with proper “treatment,” African Americans could be “cured” and become White.
So there’s that as well.
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