Core 3 - Fever 1793

DR. BENJAMIN RUSH:

• He was a founding father and and a civic leader in philadelphia
• He signed the declaration of independence and attended the continental congress
• His father died when he was six so his uncle took care of him and educated him
• He was the first to believe that mental illness is a disease of the mind and not a "possession of demons."
• Rush had a major impact on the developing medical profession
• He was born on January 4th, 1746 and died April 13th, 1813

Stephen Girard:

• He personally saved the U.S. government from financial collapse during the War of 1812.
• He became one of the wealthiest people in America, estimated to have been the fourth richest American of all time.
• In 1793, there was an outbreak of yellow fever in Philadelphia instead of fleeing like many people Girard stayed to care for the sick and dying.
• He supervised the conversion of a mansion outside the city limits into a hospital and recruited volunteers to nurse victims, and personally cared for patients.
• For his efforts, Girard was deemed a hero by the City Hall after the outbreak subsided.