Description
The bestselling author of The Pursuit of Happiness shows how the opposing constitutional visions of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton have defined our country for 250 years, influenced presidents from Washington to Trump, and continue to drive the debate over the power of government today.
In The Pursuit of Liberty, bestselling author and president of the National Constitution Center Jeffrey Rosen explores the clashing visions of Hamilton and Jefferson about how to balance liberty and power in a debate that continues to defineand divideour country: Jefferson championed states rights and individual liberties, while Hamilton pushed for a strong Federal government and a powerful executive. This ongoing tug-of-war has shaped all the pivotal moments in American history, including Abraham Lincolns fight against slavery and southern secession, the expansion of federal power under Franklin Roosevelts New Deal, and Ronald Reagans and Donald Trumps conservative push to shrink the size of the federal government.
Rosen also shows how Hamilton and Jeffersons disagreement over how to read the Constitution has shaped landmark debates in Congress and the Supreme Court about executive power, from John Marshalls early battles with Andrew Jackson to the current divisions among the justices on issues from presidential immunity to control over the administrative state.
More than ever, the clash between Hamiltonian and Jeffersonian ideals resonates today in our most urgent national debates over the question of whether modern presidents are consolidating power and subverting the Constitutionthe very threat to American democracy that both Hamilton and Jefferson were determined to avoid. The Pursuit of Liberty is a compelling history of the opposing forces that have shaped our country since its founding, and the ongoing struggle to define the balance between liberty and power.
Author: Jeffrey Rosen
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 10/21/2025
Pages: 448
Weight: 1.21lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.91d
ISBN: 9781668053744
Language: English
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