Alexander Hamilton: Closet Monarchist or Visionary Nationalist?

We the People

National Constitution Center

History, News Commentary, News

4.6 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 30 October 2025

⏱️ 70 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This episode is a two-part show on Alexander Hamilton. First, in a new episode of the podcast Pursuit: The Founders’ Guide to Happiness, Jeffrey Rosen, historian Stephen Knott, and filmmaker Ken Burns unpack Hamilton’s life and legacy to see what lessons he can teach us about restraint. Then, Jeffrey Rosen and acclaimed historian and biographer Ron Chernow further explore the meteoric rise, inspiring life, and tragic death of Hamilton in a conversation from the NCC’s 2025 Liberty Medal Ceremony. Resources Pursuit: The Founders’ Guide to Happiness Ron Chernow, Alexander Hamilton (2005) Jeffrey Rosen, The Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton vs. Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle Over Power in America (2025) The National Constitution Center’s 37th annual Liberty Medal Pursuit of Happiness, Song Cycles by Jeffrey Rosen,CSPAN Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Explore the⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠America at 250 Civic Toolkit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen Join us for an upcoming ⁠⁠live program⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or watch recordings on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support our important work: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Donate⁠

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hello, friends. I'm Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, and welcome to We the People, a weekly show of constitutional debate.
0:12.0	The National Constitution Center is a nonpartisan nonprofit, chartered by Congress, to increase awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American people.
0:20.9	This week, we have a two-part show on Alexander Hamilton.
0:24.7	First, I'm delighted to share a new episode of our podcast Pursuit,
0:28.7	the Founder's Guide to Happiness.
0:30.5	Stephen Knott and Ken Burns join me to explore Hamilton's life and legacy,
0:34.5	including the lessons he can teach us about how to control our ruling passion.
0:39.1	Then you'll hear my recent conversation with the great Ron Chernow. I was honored to award Ron the
0:44.6	25 Liberty Medal for his Hamilton biography, and I can't wait for you to hear our conversation.
0:50.5	Here's moderation with Alexander Hamilton from Pursuit, the Founders Guide to Happiness.
0:56.1	Look, as somebody who admires Hamilton, I never dreamed that Hamilton would become something of a pop icon.
1:04.4	That depends. Who's asking?
1:05.7	Oh, well, sure.
1:06.5	Sir, I'm Alexander Hamilton.
1:08.5	I'm not your service.
1:09.7	That's Stephen Not.
1:11.2	He wrote his book Alexander Hamilton
1:12.8	and The Persistence of Myth in 2002.
1:16.1	Thank God for Lin-Manuel Miranda.
1:18.3	When I wrote the book,
1:19.4	I had to explain to people,
1:20.8	including my own mother, God rest her soul,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from National Constitution Center, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of National Constitution Center and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.