430 The Founding Father of American Medicine: Benjamin Rush

Ben Franklin's World

Liz Covart

History, Society & Culture

4.6 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 30 December 2025

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Benjamin Rush was one of early America’s most fascinating figures. He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a leading Philadelphia physician, and a thinker who believed that a healthy body was the foundation of a healthy republic. In this episode, historian Sarah Naramore, author of Benjamin Rush, Civic Health and Human Illness in the Early American Republic, introduces us to Rush as both doctor and political philosopher. We’ll explore: How Rush developed an “American system” of medicine His groundbreaking ideas on mental health and addiction And why he believed the human body modeled the ideal form of government. Rush may be what Sarah calls a “B-list Founding Father,” but his influence on early American science, politics, and public health was anything but minor. Sarah’s Website | Book |Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/430 EPISODE OUTLINE00:00:00 Introduction00:01:06 Episode Introduction00:04:48 Who Was Benjamin Rush00:13:52 Benjamin Rush's Medical Practice00:17:01 The American System of Medicine00:22:30 Rush's Ideas about Civic Health00:29:07 Rush's Approach to Mental Health00:33:53 Rush's Views on Addiction00:48:00 Rush's Legacy00:52:13 Time Warp00:55:00 ConclusionRECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Episode 174: Yellow Fever in the Early American Republic🎧 Episode 193: Partisans: The Friendship & Rivalry of Adams & Jefferson🎧 Episode 263: The Medical Imagination🎧 Episode 279: Benjamin Rush, Founding Father🎧 Episode 301: From Inoculation to Vaccination, Part 1🎧 Episode 302: From Inoculation to Vaccination, Part 2SUPPORT OUR WORK🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin’s WorldREQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 [email protected] YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community🌍 Join the History Explorers ClubLISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 PandoraCONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s WebsiteSAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify*Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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1:03.1	You're listening to an Airwave Media podcast. So Rush is one of those figures I affectionately
1:09.6	refer to as being sort of a B-list founding father.
1:13.2	Rush was a physician in Philadelphia.
1:15.5	Unlike some of the founders, his background is a little bit more ordinary.
1:18.8	So he was born in 1745, just north of the city in Bybury, Pennsylvania.
1:23.8	And his father was a farmer, Aunt Gunsmith.
1:27.0	When he died, his mother moved the family to the city and was a grocer.
1:31.6	He's a really interesting figure to study this time period in American history because he's a connection maker.
1:38.7	He's making personal connections and political connections between a lot of individuals in what will be the United
1:46.5	States and in Europe.
	...

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