Perhaps the most important person in getting American alcoholics to admit that they have a problem was Benjamin Rush. Rush is often a forgotten name when looking back at the colonial period of American history, but Rush was a famous person to the Founding Fathers of the United States.

In fact, Rush could be considered a founding father. He was a member of the Continental Congress, signed the Declaration of Independence, and was the physician-general for General George Washington’s Continental Army. Rush was Princeton educated and on the staff at the Philadelphia College of Physicians.

He was America’s doctor of that era. He was the past day Dr. Oz, and Rush was likely to be sought out if an important medical debate was happening in the colonies. While Rush was qualified to be sought out as an authority on alcohol abuse, he was also a motivated advocate in the field of alcohol treatments. Rush had a difficult relationship with his father. His parents were divorced, and it is believed that his father’s drinking was a major reason why. After his parent’s divorce his mother married a distiller who abused her.

Rush also witnessed alcohol abuse firsthand during his involvement with the Continental Army. It is also the first known time he tried to do something about controlling widespread alcohol abuse. Rush distributed a pamphlet to the soldiers of the army that condemned drinking and distributed the paper to the entire army. His career to raise the public’s awareness of alcohol was launched.

Rush continued his fight after the end of the American Revolution. He published a paper titled, “An Enquiry into the Effects of Spirituous Liquors Upon the Human Body, and Their Influence Upon the Happiness of Society” The 36-page manifesto was the most influential anti-alcohol work of its day. But its ultimate importance was in creating a starting point. Rush was able to define alcohol as a disease, which trumped his lack of scientific research into the field. The seeds had be planted and a movement grew to understand and prevent alcoholism from damaging society.