A Constellation of Great Men: Exploring the Character Sketches of Dr. Benjamin Rush of Pennsylvania of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence

One of the most gifted of America’s founding fathers, Dr. Benjamin Rush of Pennsylvania not only signed the Declaration of Independence, but also utilized his keen powers of observation to describe most of his fellow delegates to the Second Continental Congress. His character sketches thus complement later descriptions that William Pierce of Georgia drafted of delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. In addition to describing Rush’s own optimistic hopes for the new republic, which were later tempered by his concerns over the early direction of American politics, this volume utilizes Rush’s letters and other writing to examine his relationship with other key participants (especially John Adams and Thomas Jefferson) and discusses his own proposals for education and prison reform. Talbot Publishing (an imprint of The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd.) xix, 261 pp.