Benjamin Rush

Benjamin Rush (1745-1813) was a colonial physician known as the "Father of American Medicine." He signed the Declaration of Independence. He served as the Surgeon General of the Continental Army, and he opened the first free medical clinic at the Pennsylvania Hospital.

He also founded the Philadelphia Bible Society and was an abolitionist who founded the Society for the Abolition of Slavery.

He felt that education must be based on the foundation of religion: "I proceed ... to inquire what mode of education we shall adopt so as to secure to the state all of the advantages that are to be derived from the proper instruction of the youth; and here I beg leave to remark that the only foundation for a useful education in a republic is to be laid on the foundation of religion. Without this there can be no virtue, and without virtue there can be no liberty, and liberty is the object and life of all republican governments. ... But the religion I mean to recommend in this place is that of the New Testament... Its doctrines and precepts are calculated to promote the happiness of society and the safety and well-being of civil government." Thoughts Upon the Mode of Education Proper in a Republic (1786).