Benjamin Rush was born in 1745 on a plantation near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father, who was a slaveowner, died when he was five years old, leaving his mother to care for Rush and his six siblings by herself. Despite the setbacks that may have occurred following his father's death, Rush was able to receive an impressive education, receiving his first degree from the University of New Jersey (Princeton University) in 1760. He then studied medicine in Philadelphia for five years under Dr. John Redman before going to the University of Edinburgh in Scotland to finish his education. Edinburgh would largely shape Rush's political and intellectual views; the University of Edinburgh has often been viewed as one of the hubs of the Enlightenment period. After spending two years in Scotland, Rush went to London, the city where he first met his longtime friend, Benjamin Franklin, to finish his studies.
|
Benjamin Rush had extensive, sometimes conflicting views, regarding race and slavery. Such extensive views will require an extensive look into his life and his ties to abolition, slavery, and race relations. Click below to learn more about Benjamin Rush and his views regarding blacks and slavery during the first few years of out country's founding.
|