Rush Nutt speech

This collection contains a speech by Dr. Rush Nutt delivered in Greenville, Mississippi Territory on March 4, 1809. Nutt celebrates the just-concluded Jefferson Administration and commemorates the inauguration of James Madison. The address, fifteen and one-half pages in length, celebrates the accomplishments of Thomas Jefferson and attacks the preceding Adams administration which Nutt believed brought the Nation to the brink of tyranny and despotism.

Dr. Rush Nutt, planter, physician, and scientist of Jefferson County, Mississippi. A native of Virginia, he studied medicine at the University of Pennsylvania under Dr. Benjamin Rush. (He changed his first name from Rushworth to Rush in honor of his teacher). In 1805, he moved West, settling on a large plantation, Laurel Hill, near Rodney, Mississippi.

He taught and practiced medicine, and was one of the founders of the Agricultural and Mechanical College in Alcorn, Mississippi. Dr. Nutt was particularly interested in scientific principles and methods of agriculture. He was known for the development of a new brand of cottonseed, commonly known as Petit Gulf cotton. In 1834-1835, he traveled in Europe, Egypt, and other parts of the Middle East. He was married to Eliza Ker, daughter of Judge David Ker.

(From the description of Papers of Rush and Haller Nutt, 1805-1933 (bulk 1817-1862). (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 228734090)