Benjamin Rush was a great patriot who represented Pennsylvania at the First Continental Congress. He received one of the best educations you could get at that time. He played a big part in the Continental Army. These are the reasons why I think he is one of the important people that helped this country.

Benjamin Rush was born on December 24, 1745, in Byberry, Pennsylvania. At a very young age, Rush went to the college of New Jersey which is now called Princeton. There he got his Bachelor of Arts. He graduated at the age of 15. Then he went to the college of Edinburgh, Scotland, and studied there for six years. That is where he got his medical degree and became a Philadelphia physician. After graduating, Rush worked at hospitals in London and Paris. Later on in his life, in 1769, he became a professor of chemistry at the College of Philadelphia. He was known for his efforts to help the mentally ill. After that he became a surgeon for the Continental Army. In 1783, Benjamin Rush was a staff member at The Pennsylvania Hospital. There he founded the first free dispensary in the United States.

Benjamin Rush served as a Son of Liberty. The Sons of Liberty were a group of patriots who were trying to get independence from England. He was appointed Surgeon General to the armies of the Middle Department in the Continental Army in 1777. He was also a member of the First Continental Congress. Benjamin Rush was a great man who was very influential as a doctor. He helped the mentally ill. He felt strongly that America should be a country who ruled itself. While he was devoted to his patients, Dr. Rush would do anything that might lead to independence for the colonies. He was absolutely sure that America would become independent. He predicted that "Britain and America will hereafter be distinct empires. America is the only vivid principle of the whole world."

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