Benjamin Rush's Argument Analysis

In his argument for the establishment of a public school system, Benjamin Rush does not waste any time addressing the obvious issue of taxpayer burden. While acknowledging this would warrant an initial investment, he insists that by establishing a system of public education in America would overtime cut taxes, and taxpayers would see a return on their initial investment [JEH1] [Rush, pg.678]. Rush maintains a position that as we acknowledge the benefits of learning spoken languages of the world, our youth would benefit as much learning the languages of finance and markets. To properly defend our liberties against the throes of tyranny, we must be aware of defending ourselves from economic tyranny. He establishes the potential merits of educating the youth in the matters of economics, arguing it provides “the best security

I find this argument convincing, as history is rife with stories of the establishment robbing the poor blind, taxation their weapon of choice. By educating the public of the nature of these subjects, Rush insists government spending will fall. An obvious example is the prison system (presumably infantile by today’s standards), which Rush argues is in part perpetuated by a lack of education. Providing quality education should elicit a decrease in criminal activity, resulting in a decrease necessity for prison funds [Rush, 678].

Central to Rush’s arguments is the idea that a proper education must lay its foundation upon religious text. Insisting that religion plays a key role in the moral and educational development of the mind, he argues that “Without religion, there can be no virtue, and without virtue there can be no liberty, and liberty is the object and life of all