"While Benjamin Rush appears often and meaningfully in biographies about John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin, this legendary man is presented as little more than a historical footnote. Yet he was a propelling force in what culminated in the Declaration of Independence, of which he was a cosigner." "Rush was an early agitator for independence, a member of the First Continental Congress, and one of the leading surgeons of the Continental Army during the early phase of the American Revolution. He was a constant and indefatigable adviser to the most prominent figures of the American Revolution, notably George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams." "Even if he had not played a major role in our country's creation, Rush would have left his mark in history as an eminent physician and a foremost social reformer in such areas as medical teaching, treatment of the mentally ill (he is considered the Father of American Psychiatry), international prevention of yellow fever, establishment of colleges and medical schools, implementation of improved higher education for women, and much more."--BOOK JACKET.