Richard Rush

Early life and education

Rush was born on August 29, 1780, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the second son, and third child, of Benjamin Rush and Julia (Stockton) Rush, daughter of Richard Stockton and Annis Boudinot Stockton. He entered the College of New Jersey (now known as Princeton University) at the age of 14, and graduated in 1797 as the youngest member of his class. He studied law in the practice of William Lewis and was admitted to the bar in 1800.

Rush married Catherine Eliza Murray on the fall of 1809. They were the parents of eleven children including the lawyer and writer Benjamin Rush and Union Army colonel Richard H. Rush.

Career

As a lawyer, Rush first gained attention with a speech he gave which condemned HMS Leopard's attack on the USS Chesapeake during the Chesapeake-Leopard affair. In 1811 he was appointed Attorney General of Pennsylvania. He successfully acquitted William Duane in a libel suit brought forth by the Pennsylvania Governor Thomas McKean. His popularity prompted an offer to run for Congress but he declined. In November 1811, President James Madison appointed Rush Comptroller of the Treasury.

From the position as Comptroller of the Treasury, albeit a subordinate position, Rush functioned as one of President Madison's closest friends and confidential advisors throughout the War of 1812. Rush was on the field of battle along with Madison during the Battle of Bladensburg. He was one of the war hawks who advocated war with Britain. In 1814 Madison offered Rush the choice of Secretary of the Treasury or Attorney General of the United States, and Rush chose Attorney General.

With his appointment as Attorney General, Rush became the youngest person to serve in that office. Rush served as United States Attorney General from 1814 to 1817. At this time the attorney generalship was a part-time position, and so Rush also maintained his private law practice while in this office. He edited Laws of the United States, which codified all the federal statutes implemented between 1789 and 1815. He was acting Secretary of State briefly in 1817. During this time Rush concluded the Rush-Bagot Convention, which demilitarized the Canadian boundary on the Great Lakes.

In October 1817, Rush was appointed Minister to Britain to succeed John Quincy Adams, who had taken the position of Secretary of State upon his return. He remained in Britain for almost eight years, and negotiated a number of important treaties, including the Treaty of 1818.

Upon the election of John Quincy Adams in 1825, Rush (having made a study of Britain, and the Royal Navy in particular, while he was there) desired to become the Secretary of the Navy. Adams, however, immediately nominated him for the post of Secretary of the Treasury, which he accepted. In 1828, he was a candidate for Vice President on the re-election ticket with John Quincy Adams, but was defeated.

In 1829, he went overseas at the behest of the cities of Alexandria, Virginia, and Georgetown, to secure funds for the construction of a canal connecting the Chesapeake Bay and the Ohio River. In 1836, President Andrew Jackson sent him to England as Commissioner to secure for the United States the legacy left the government by James Smithson. He was successful in this undertaking, bringing to this country the sum of $508,318.46, which would eventually be used to establish the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Rush later became one of the first regents of the institution.

After a short time with the Anti-Masonic Party, in the later 1830s Rush became a member of the Democratic Party. He was opposed to anti-slavery sentiments because he believed they threatened the stability of the Union. In 1847, Richard Rush was appointed as Minister to France by President James K. Polk. When his negotiations were interrupted by the overthrow of King Louis-Philippe, he was among the first foreign diplomats to recognize the new French Second Republic.

Societies

Rush was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1814. In 1817, Rush elected a member of the American Philosophical Society. During the 1820s, Rush was a member of the prestigious society, Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences, who counted among their members former presidents Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams and many prominent men of the day, including well-known representatives of the military, government service, medical and other professions.

Death and legacy

He died in Philadelphia on July 30, 1859, and was interred at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.

Five United States Coast Guard vessels were named in his honor:

• USRC Richard Rush 1831 Morris-Taney class cutter
• USGC Richard Rush 1874 Dexter-class cutter
• USRC Rush 1885 revenue cutter,
• USS Rush II (WSC-151) 1927 cutter
• USCGC Rush (WHEC-723) 1969 Hamilton-class cutter

The USCGC Rush (WMSM-918) Heritage-class cutter is under construction and scheduled for delivery in 2026.

Publications

• Thoughts on the Administration of Justice in Pennsylvania., Philadelphia: Hopkins and Earle, 1809
• Memoranda of a Residence at the Court of London, Philadelphia: Carey, Lea & Blanchard, 1833
• Two Letters on Public Subjects., Philadelphia: L.R. Bailey, Printer, 1851
• Washington in Domestic Life. From Original Letters and Manuscripts., Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott and Co., 1857

References

Citations

Sources

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References

1. (August 2, 1859). "Death of Hon. Richard Rush, of Pennsylvania". New York Daily Herald.
2. "Richard Rush papers, 1812-1856". University of Michigan Library.
3. (2017). "Historical Dictionary of the Early American Republic - Second Edition". Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc..
4. "Rush, Richard". Encyclopedia.com.
5. (23 October 2014). "Attorney General: Richard Rush". U.S. Department of Justice.
6. (1980). "Attorneys General of the United States 1789-1979". United States Department of Justice.
7. Heather Ewing (2007). ''The Lost World of James Smithson: Science, Revolution, and the Birth of the Smithsonian''. Bloomsbury USA.
8. G. G. van D., "Review of Richard Rush Diplomat" in ''The English Historical Review'' vol. 61, no. 239 (Jan. 1946) p. 120
9. "Members". American Antiquarian Society.
10. "American Philosophical Society Member History". American Philosophical Society.
11. Rathbun, Richard. (1904). "The Columbian institute for the promotion of arts and sciences: A Washington Society of 1816–1838.". Bulletin of the United States National Museum, October 18, 1917.
12. "Richard Rush". Britannica.
13. [https://books.google.com/books?id=aMiA05P92h8C&dq=richard+rush+laurel+hill&pg=PA309 ''Biographical Dictionary of the United States Secretaries of the Treasury'']
14. "Richard Rush". webCemeteries.
15. "Rush, 1831 (Richard Rush; USRCS & USLHS)". United States Coast Guard.
16. "Rush (Richard Rush), 1874". United States Coast Guard.
17. "Rush, 1885 (Richard Rush)". United States Coast Guard.
18. "Rush II (WSC-151)". Naval History and Heritage Command.
19. "RUSH WHEC 723". Naval Cover Museum.
20. "USCGC Rush (WMSM-918)". United States Coast Guard.
21. "Steel cutting for fourth offshore patrol cutter begins". United States Coast Guard.