Dr. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was a prominent nineteenth century medical doctor and politician. However, he is best remembered for his efforts on behalf of temperance and his original work--called a "masterpiece"--was a radical challenge to the traditional dictum that drinking was a positive good.
The pamphlet seen here was one of the several dozen which appeared after the original publication in 1785 of Rush's An Inquiry into the Effects of Ardent Spirits on the Human Mind and Body. Although Rush had no concern with wine and beer, he felt that the consumption of distilled liquor over time could be lethal and he was the first American to call chronic drunkenness a distinct disease.
Later generations of temperance workers would come to call Benjamin Rush the "father" of the temperance movement.
Click image below for life-size view.
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