In this bonus episode, we’re sharing a live conversation with Jeffrey Rosen, Joanne Freeman, George F. Will, and Sean Wilentz exploring Rosen’s new book, which is out this week: The Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton vs. Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle Over Power in America. Their conversation explores how the opposing constitutional visions of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton have defined the nation since its founding and continued to drive today’s debates over the balance between liberty and power.
This conversation was originally recorded on February 22, 2025, as part of the NCC’s President’s Council Retreat in Miami, FL.
Follow We the People, Live at the National Constitution Center, and Pursuit: The Founders’ Guide to Happiness on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.
This episode was produced by Samson Mostashari, Bill Pollock, and Griffin Richie. It was recorded by Advanced Staging Productions and mixed by Bill Pollock. Research was provided by Yara Daraiseh, Gyuha Lee, Samson Mostashari, and Cooper Smith.
Participants
Joanne Freeman is the Class of 1954 Professor of American History and of American Studies at Yale University. She is the author of several books, including, The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War. She is a cohost of the podcast, BackStory, and has worked on documentaries for PBS and the History Channel. Freeman also served as a historical consultant for the National Park Service.
George F. Will writes a twice-weekly column on politics and domestic and foreign affairs for The Washington Post. He began his column with The Post in 1974, and he received the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 1977. He is also a regular contributor to MSNBC and NBC News. His books include, The Conservative Sensibility; One Man’s America: The Pleasures and Provocations of Our Singular Nation; Restoration: Congress, Term Limits and the Recovery of Deliberative Democracy; among others.
Sean Wilentz is the George Henry Davis 1886 Professor of American History at Princeton University. He is the author of numerous books on American history and politics, including The Rise of American Democracy, which won the Bancroft Prize and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He is a contributing editor to The New Republic, a member of the editorial boards of Dissent and Democracy, and has written some 300 articles, reviews, and op-ed pieces for a number of publications.
Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about the U.S. Constitution. He is also professor of law at the George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic. His new book is Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton vs. Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle over Power in America.
Additional Resources
- Jeffrey Rosen, The Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton vs. Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle Over Power in America, (2025)
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