The Virtues Behind the American Constitution with Jeffrey Rosen

Here's Where It Gets Interesting

Sharon McMahon

Government, History, Storytelling, Education

4.9 • 15.1K Ratings

🗓️ 19 May 2025

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We’ve heard it before: Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But what did the Founders mean by “the pursuit of happiness,” and how do virtue and moral philosophy shape our understanding of this unalienable right? Sharon is joined by Jeffrey Rosen, President and CEO of the National Constitution Center, to explore these questions, as well as to dive deeper into the history and meaning of the pursuit of life-long virtue. Learn how six of the Framers and Founders – flaws and all – embody different virtues, and consider the importance of electing leaders who will be virtuous and uphold the principles of Democracy. Credits: Host and Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon Supervising Producer: Melanie Buck Parks Audio Producer: Craig Thompson To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Amazon offers employees up to £8,000 for education and training, like Juliet.
0:07.0	She's now a trained technician.
0:10.0	And to her, the sound of machinery in need of repair, reminds her of how far she's come.
0:18.0	In two years, she's landed her dream job, providing her with valuable skills.
0:24.2	That's up to £8,000 for education and training at Amazon. Eligibility conditions apply.
0:34.4	Hey friends, welcome to Lidavit that you're with me today.
0:42.5	My guest is the director of the National Constitution Center, Jeffrey Rosen.
0:50.7	And what an interesting conversation about what the founders meant, why it even matters. Are we supposed to care what some dudes 250 years ago thought?
0:56.0	Jeffrey Rosen would argue yes, and maybe not for the reason you think.
1:01.0	So let's dive in.
1:03.0	I'm Sharon McMahon.
1:05.0	And here's where it gets interesting.
1:08.0	I'm always excited to chat with fellow Constitution nerds. So it's a delight
1:15.6	to have you here. And congrats on your book. Thank you so much. I would love to hear more about
1:21.6	how you conceptualized the pursuit of happiness. And what was it about these topics related to
1:31.5	virtue that you felt like this is a topic for today? The world needs this message now.
1:39.5	I mean, you could have written about quite a few things, Jeff. Why this and why now? Well, this was a labor of love,
1:47.5	and the topic came to me unexpectedly. It was during COVID, and there was just a synchronicity I noticed
1:55.3	that set me down this path of trying to understand what the founders meant when they talked about
2:00.5	the pursuit of happiness. It started with Ben Franklin's 13 virtues. I knew from previous reading
2:09.6	that when he was in his 20s, he set out to achieve moral perfection. And he came up with
2:15.0	this system of self-improvement where he had a list of 13
	...

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