Richard Rush
17thUnited States Minister to France
In office July 31, 1847 – October 8, 1849
President	James Polk Zachary Taylor
Preceded by	William King
Succeeded by	William Rives
8thUnited States Secretary of the Treasury
In office March 7, 1825 – March 5, 1829
President	John Quincy Adams Andrew Jackson
Preceded by	William Crawford
Succeeded by	Samuel Ingham
8thUnited States Minister to the United Kingdom
In office February 12, 1818 – April 27, 1825
President	James Monroe John Quincy Adams
Preceded by	John Quincy Adams
Succeeded by	Rufus King
ActingUnited States Secretary of State
In office March 10, 1817 – September 22, 1817
President	James Monroe
Preceded by	John Graham (acting)
Succeeded by	John Quincy Adams
8thUnited States Attorney General
In office February 10, 1814 – November 12, 1817
President	James Madison James Monroe
Preceded by	William Pinkney
Succeeded by	William Wirt
Comptroller of the Treasury
In office 1811–1812
President	James Madison
Attorney General of Pennsylvania
In office January 26, 1811 – December 13, 1811
Governor	Simon Snyder
Preceded by	Joseph Reed
Succeeded by	Jared Ingersoll
Personal details
Born	(1780-08-29)August 29, 1780 Philadelphia, Province of Pennsylvania, British America
Died	July 30, 1859(1859-07-30) (aged 78) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Resting place	Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party	Federalist (before 1830) National Republican (1830–1834) Democratic (1834–1859)
Spouse	Catherine Rush
Children	Benjamin Rush Richard H. Rush
Relatives	Benjamin Rush (father) James Rush (brother)
Education	College of New Jersey(BA) (renamed Princeton)
Signature

Richard Rush (August 29, 1780 – July 30, 1859) was an American lawyer, politician and diplomat who served as the 8thUnited States Attorney General from 1814 to 1817 and the 8thUnited States Secretary of the Treasury from 1825 to 1829. He served asJohn Quincy Adams's running mate on theNational Republican ticket during the1828 United States presidential election.

He served asAttorney General of Pennsylvania in 1811 and asComptroller of the Treasury during theJames Madison administration. Rush became one of Madison's closest advisers during theWar of 1812 and Madison elevated him to United States Attorney General in 1814. Rush remained in that position afterJames Monroe took office. He served as the actingSecretary of State briefly in 1817 and negotiated theRush–Bagot Treaty, which limited naval forces on theGreat Lakes.

Rush served as theambassador to Britain from 1818 to 1825. He negotiated theTreaty of 1818 which set the boundary between the U.S. and Canada and had discussions withGeorge Canning that led to the announcement of theMonroe Doctrine. He served asminister to France from 1847 to 1849. He helped establish and served on the board of regents for theSmithsonian Institution. He was the last surviving member of the Madison^[1] and Monroe Cabinets.

Rush was born on August 29, 1780, inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania. He was the second son, and third child, ofBenjamin Rush and Julia (Stockton) Rush, daughter ofRichard Stockton andAnnis Boudinot Stockton.^[2] He entered the College of New Jersey (now known asPrinceton University) at the age of 14, and graduated in 1797 as the youngest member of his class. He studied law in the practice ofWilliam Lewis and was admitted to the bar in 1800.^[3]

Rush married Catherine Eliza Murray on the fall of 1809.^[4] They were the parents of eleven children including the lawyer and writerBenjamin Rush andUnion Army colonelRichard H. Rush.^[5]

As a lawyer, Rush first gained attention with a speech he gave which condemned the British naval attack during theChesapeake-Leopard affair.^[6] In 1811 he was appointedAttorney General of Pennsylvania. He successfully acquittedWilliam Duane in a libel suit brought forth by the Pennsylvania GovernorThomas McKean. His popularity prompted an offer to run for Congress but he declined.^[7] In November 1811, PresidentJames Madison appointed RushComptroller of the Treasury.^[8]

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 theWar of 1812. Rush was on the field of battle along with Madison during theBattle of Bladensburg.^[6] He was one of theWar Hawks who advocated war with Britain. In 1814 Madison offered Rush the choice ofSecretary of the Treasury orAttorney General of the United States, and Rush chose Attorney General.^[6] 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 editedLaws of the United States, which codified all the federal statutes implemented between 1789 and 1815.^[9]

He was actingSecretary of State briefly in 1817. During this time Rush concluded theRush-Bagot Convention, which demilitarized the Canadian boundary on theGreat Lakes.^[9]

In October 1817, Rush was appointedMinister to Britain^[10] to succeedJohn Quincy Adams, who had taken the position ofSecretary of State upon his return. He remained in Britain for almost eight years, and negotiated a number of important treaties, including theTreaty of 1818.^[9]

In 1823, Rush negotiated withGeorge Canning over British proposals that the two countries issue a joint declaration against French involvement in Spain's rebelling American colonies, but Britain would not agree to American demands for recognition of the newly independent republics, leading to the separate American declaration of theMonroe Doctrine.^[9] He wrote about his experience as Minister to Britain inA Residence in the Court of St. James.^[11]

Upon the election of John Quincy Adams in 1825, Rush (having made a study of Britain, and the British Navy in particular, while he was there) desired to become theSecretary of the Navy. Adams, however, immediately nominated him for the post ofSecretary of the Treasury, which he accepted.^[6]

In1828, he was a candidate forVice President on the re-election ticket with John Quincy Adams, but was defeated.^[6]

In 1829, he went overseas at the behest of the cities ofAlexandria, Virginia, andGeorgetown, to secure funds for the construction of a canal connecting theChesapeake Bay and theOhio River.^[12]

In 1836, PresidentAndrew Jackson sent him to England as Commissioner to secure for theUnited States the legacy left the government byJames Smithson. He was successful in this undertaking, bringing to this country the sum of $508,318.46, which would eventually be used to establish theSmithsonian Institution inWashington, D.C. Rush later became one of the first regents of the institution.^[13]

After a short time with theAnti-Masonic Party, in the later 1830s Rush became a member of the Democratic Party.^[14] He was opposed to anti-slavery sentiments because he believed they threatened the stability of the Union.^[6]

In 1847, Richard Rush was appointed asMinister to France by PresidentJames K. Polk. When his negotiations were interrupted by the overthrow of KingLouis-Philippe, he was among the first foreign diplomats to recognize the newFrench Second Republic.^[6]

Rush was elected a member of theAmerican Antiquarian Society in 1814.^[15] In 1817, Rush elected a member of theAmerican Philosophical Society.^[16] 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 presidentsAndrew Jackson andJohn Quincy Adams and many prominent men of the day, including well-known representatives of the military, government service, medical and other professions.^[17]

He died in Philadelphia on July 30, 1859,^[8] and was interred atLaurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.^[18][19]

FiveUnited States Coast Guard vessels were named in his honor:

• USRCRichard Rush 1831Morris-Taney class cutter^[20]
• USGCRichard Rush 1874 Dexter-class cutter^[21]
• USRCRush 1885revenue cutter,^[22]
• USSRush II (WSC-151) 1927 cutter^[23]
• USCGCRush (WHEC-723) 1969Hamilton-class cutter^[24]

TheUSCGCRush (WMSM-918)Heritage-class cutter^[25] is under construction and scheduled for delivery in 2026.^[26]

• 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

Citations

Sources

• Powell, J.H. (1942).Richard Rush Republican Diplomat 1780-1859. University of Pennsylvania Press.ISBN 9781512805819.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)

Wikisource has the text of an 1879American Cyclopædia article aboutRichard Rush.

• Works by Richard Rush atProject Gutenberg
• Works by or about Richard Rush at theInternet Archive
• Richard Rush atFind a Grave

• 1780 births
• 1820 United States vice-presidential candidates
• 1828 United States vice-presidential candidates
• 1859 deaths
• 19th-century American diplomats
• 19th-century American politicians
• Acting United States secretaries of state
• Ambassadors of the United States to France
• Ambassadors of the United States to the United Kingdom
• Anti-Masonic Party politicians from Pennsylvania
• Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia)
• Candidates in the 1832 United States presidential election
• Comptrollers of the United States Treasury
• John Quincy Adams administration cabinet members
• Madison administration cabinet members
• Members of the American Philosophical Society
• Monroe administration cabinet members
• Pennsylvania attorneys general
• Pennsylvania Democrats
• Pennsylvania lawyers
• Politicians from Philadelphia
• Princeton University alumni
• Pennsylvania Federalists
• Pennsylvania National Republicans
• Smithsonian Institution people
• Stockton family (New Jersey)
• Attorneys general of the United States
• United States secretaries of the treasury

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• CS1 errors: ISBN date
• Articles with Project Gutenberg links
• Articles with Internet Archive links