Thomas Jefferson was the only president who could read and understand Newton's Principia. Benjamin Franklin is credited with establishing the science of electricity. John Adams had the finest education in science that the new country could provide, including Pnewmaticks, Hydrostaticks,...
This work examines the scientific education of four important figures of the American republic, looking at how they employed their knowledge in shaping the political issues of the day and how they incorporated scientific reasoning into the constitution.