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The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America
A fascinating examination of what “the pursuit of happiness” meant to our nation’s Founders and how that famous phrase defined their lives and became the foundation of our democracy.
The Declaration of Independence identified “the pursuit of happiness” as one of our unalienable rights, along with life and liberty. Jeffrey Rosen, the president of the National Constitution Center, profiles six of the most influential founders—Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton—to show what pursuing happiness meant in their lives.
By reading the classical Greek and Roman moral philosophers who inspired the Founders, Rosen shows us how they understood the pursuit of happiness as a quest for being good, not feeling good—the pursuit of lifelong virtue, not short-term pleasure. Among those virtues were the habits of industry, temperance, moderation, and sincerity, which the Founders viewed as part of a daily struggle for self-improvement, character development, and calm self-mastery. They believed that political self-government required personal self-government. For all six Founders, the pursuit of virtue was incompatible with enslavement of African Americans, although the Virginians betrayed their own principles.
The Pursuit of Happiness is more than an elucidation of the Declaration’s famous phrase; it is a revelatory journey into the minds of the Founders, and a deep, rich, and fresh understanding of the foundation of our democracy.
The Declaration of Independence identified “the pursuit of happiness” as one of our unalienable rights, along with life and liberty. Jeffrey Rosen, the president of the National Constitution Center, profiles six of the most influential founders—Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton—to show what pursuing happiness meant in their lives.
By reading the classical Greek and Roman moral philosophers who inspired the Founders, Rosen shows us how they understood the pursuit of happiness as a quest for being good, not feeling good—the pursuit of lifelong virtue, not short-term pleasure. Among those virtues were the habits of industry, temperance, moderation, and sincerity, which the Founders viewed as part of a daily struggle for self-improvement, character development, and calm self-mastery. They believed that political self-government required personal self-government. For all six Founders, the pursuit of virtue was incompatible with enslavement of African Americans, although the Virginians betrayed their own principles.
The Pursuit of Happiness is more than an elucidation of the Declaration’s famous phrase; it is a revelatory journey into the minds of the Founders, and a deep, rich, and fresh understanding of the foundation of our democracy.
368 pages, Paperback
Published September 2, 2025
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July 27, 2024
How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America
I have met Jeffrey Rosen in his capacity as President of the National Constitution Center. This is a different facet of the man, and one of which I wasn’t aware.
That, and the title of this book, are what prompted me to add it to my reading. What I learned was that the leadership of our young and forming nation were engaged in studying the wisdom of the previous centuries. Their pursuit of happiness was a really a pursuit of self-mastery to the desired end of “harmony.”
To that end, he does a deep-dive into the writings of Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton and their “reading lists.” What he finds is that they all have an affinity for “recent thinkers” such as David Hume, John Locke, and Adam Smith the classical thinkers such as Cicero, Epictetus, and Xenophon. The founders came to believe “that the quest for happiness is a daily practice, requiring mental and spiritual self-discipline, as well as mindfulness and rigorous time management.”
It was achieving the balance between reason and passion that was the driving force. They thus believed that “moderating emotions is the secret of tranquility of mind; that tranquility of mind is the secret of happiness; that daily habits are the secret of self-improvement; and that personal self-government is the secret of political self-government.”
Rosen further captured me by how he introduces his interest almost as a continuation of his liberal arts education.
"Intrigued by the fact that Cicero’s now forgotten self-help manual had inspired both Franklin and Jefferson to draft similar lists of twelve virtues for daily living, I decided to read Cicero myself. I then set out to read the other books of ancient wisdom that shaped Jefferson’s original understanding of the famous phrase in the Declaration of Independence about “the pursuit of happiness.”9 In 1825, writing to the historian Henry Lee, Jefferson said that the Declaration “was intended to be an expression of the American mind, resting on the harmonising sentiments of the day,” as expressed in conversations, letters, printed essays, and what he called “the elementary books of public right.” He named four authors in particular: Aristotle, Cicero, John Locke, and Algernon Sidney.10 But who were the other philosophers who influenced Jefferson, and which of their books did he consider most valuable?"
"Why was Cicero’s self-help book such a key text in influencing the Founders’ understanding of happiness? Because it offered a popular summary of the core of Stoic philosophy. To achieve freedom, tranquility, and happiness, according to the ancient Stoics, we should stop trying to control external events and instead focus on controlling the only things that we have the power to control: namely, our own thoughts, desires, emotions, and actions. In this sense, Stoic philosophy has many similarities with the Eastern wisdom traditions, including Buddhism and Hinduism."
"What I also learned from reading Cicero and the other ancient sources is that the Founders framed their quest for self-regulation and emotional intelligence through a psychological lens: the dramatic struggle between reason and passion."
"I discovered that, throughout American history, the meaning of the pursuit of happiness has evolved in unexpected ways. The ancient wisdom that defined happiness as self-mastery, emotional self-regulation, tranquility of mind, and the quest for self-improvement was distilled in the works of Cicero, summed up by Franklin in his thirteen virtues, and used by Adams in his “Thoughts on Government.” After Jefferson inscribed the idea in the Declaration of Independence, it showed up in The Federalist Papers, the essays Madison and Hamilton wrote in support of the Constitution, focusing on the promotion of public happiness. It was evoked by Presidents John Quincy Adams and Abraham Lincoln, as well as by the abolitionist Frederick Douglass, to defend the ideal of self-reliance and to advocate for the destruction of slavery. It became the basis of Alexis de Tocqueville’s idea of “self-interest properly understood” and of Justice Louis Brandeis’s idea of freedom of conscience."
"Following the classical and Enlightenment philosophers, the Founders believed that personal self-government was necessary for political self-government. In their view, the key to a healthy republic begins with how we address our own flaws and commit to becoming better citizens over time. In The Federalist Papers, Madison and Hamilton made clear that the Constitution was designed to foster deliberation so that citizens could avoid retreating into the angry mobs and partisan factions that can be inflamed by demagogues. Ancient Athens had fallen because the demagogue Cleon had seduced the Athenian assembly into continuing the war with the Peloponnesian League; Rome had fallen because the people were corrupted by Caesar, who offered them luxury in exchange for liberty. Only by governing their selfish emotions as individuals could citizens avoid degenerating into selfish factions that threatened the common good. The way for citizens to create a more perfect union, the Founders insisted, was to govern themselves in private as well as in public, cultivating the same personal deliberation, moderation, and harmony in our own minds that we strive to maintain in the constitution of the state."
He starts with the man who I consider to be the true father of the United States of America, Benjamin Franklin.
"TEMPERANCE Ben Franklin’s Quest for Moral Perfection"
"Ben Franklin summed up the classical understanding of happiness as a balance between reason and passion in his 1735 essay “On True Happiness.” “The desire of happiness in general is so natural to us, that all the world are in pursuit of it,” he wrote in The Pennsylvania Gazette. “Reason represents things to us not only as they are at present, but as they are in their whole nature and tendency; passion only regards them in the former light.”"
Perhaps reading straight through this isn’t the way to go about it. First, it is over 300 pages of what is basically, philosophic inquiry. But I have enjoyed reading some every week and then considering what I have been able to absorb. Good stuff!
5*
I have met Jeffrey Rosen in his capacity as President of the National Constitution Center. This is a different facet of the man, and one of which I wasn’t aware.
That, and the title of this book, are what prompted me to add it to my reading. What I learned was that the leadership of our young and forming nation were engaged in studying the wisdom of the previous centuries. Their pursuit of happiness was a really a pursuit of self-mastery to the desired end of “harmony.”
To that end, he does a deep-dive into the writings of Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton and their “reading lists.” What he finds is that they all have an affinity for “recent thinkers” such as David Hume, John Locke, and Adam Smith the classical thinkers such as Cicero, Epictetus, and Xenophon. The founders came to believe “that the quest for happiness is a daily practice, requiring mental and spiritual self-discipline, as well as mindfulness and rigorous time management.”
It was achieving the balance between reason and passion that was the driving force. They thus believed that “moderating emotions is the secret of tranquility of mind; that tranquility of mind is the secret of happiness; that daily habits are the secret of self-improvement; and that personal self-government is the secret of political self-government.”
Rosen further captured me by how he introduces his interest almost as a continuation of his liberal arts education.
"Intrigued by the fact that Cicero’s now forgotten self-help manual had inspired both Franklin and Jefferson to draft similar lists of twelve virtues for daily living, I decided to read Cicero myself. I then set out to read the other books of ancient wisdom that shaped Jefferson’s original understanding of the famous phrase in the Declaration of Independence about “the pursuit of happiness.”9 In 1825, writing to the historian Henry Lee, Jefferson said that the Declaration “was intended to be an expression of the American mind, resting on the harmonising sentiments of the day,” as expressed in conversations, letters, printed essays, and what he called “the elementary books of public right.” He named four authors in particular: Aristotle, Cicero, John Locke, and Algernon Sidney.10 But who were the other philosophers who influenced Jefferson, and which of their books did he consider most valuable?"
"Why was Cicero’s self-help book such a key text in influencing the Founders’ understanding of happiness? Because it offered a popular summary of the core of Stoic philosophy. To achieve freedom, tranquility, and happiness, according to the ancient Stoics, we should stop trying to control external events and instead focus on controlling the only things that we have the power to control: namely, our own thoughts, desires, emotions, and actions. In this sense, Stoic philosophy has many similarities with the Eastern wisdom traditions, including Buddhism and Hinduism."
"What I also learned from reading Cicero and the other ancient sources is that the Founders framed their quest for self-regulation and emotional intelligence through a psychological lens: the dramatic struggle between reason and passion."
"I discovered that, throughout American history, the meaning of the pursuit of happiness has evolved in unexpected ways. The ancient wisdom that defined happiness as self-mastery, emotional self-regulation, tranquility of mind, and the quest for self-improvement was distilled in the works of Cicero, summed up by Franklin in his thirteen virtues, and used by Adams in his “Thoughts on Government.” After Jefferson inscribed the idea in the Declaration of Independence, it showed up in The Federalist Papers, the essays Madison and Hamilton wrote in support of the Constitution, focusing on the promotion of public happiness. It was evoked by Presidents John Quincy Adams and Abraham Lincoln, as well as by the abolitionist Frederick Douglass, to defend the ideal of self-reliance and to advocate for the destruction of slavery. It became the basis of Alexis de Tocqueville’s idea of “self-interest properly understood” and of Justice Louis Brandeis’s idea of freedom of conscience."
"Following the classical and Enlightenment philosophers, the Founders believed that personal self-government was necessary for political self-government. In their view, the key to a healthy republic begins with how we address our own flaws and commit to becoming better citizens over time. In The Federalist Papers, Madison and Hamilton made clear that the Constitution was designed to foster deliberation so that citizens could avoid retreating into the angry mobs and partisan factions that can be inflamed by demagogues. Ancient Athens had fallen because the demagogue Cleon had seduced the Athenian assembly into continuing the war with the Peloponnesian League; Rome had fallen because the people were corrupted by Caesar, who offered them luxury in exchange for liberty. Only by governing their selfish emotions as individuals could citizens avoid degenerating into selfish factions that threatened the common good. The way for citizens to create a more perfect union, the Founders insisted, was to govern themselves in private as well as in public, cultivating the same personal deliberation, moderation, and harmony in our own minds that we strive to maintain in the constitution of the state."
He starts with the man who I consider to be the true father of the United States of America, Benjamin Franklin.
"TEMPERANCE Ben Franklin’s Quest for Moral Perfection"
"Ben Franklin summed up the classical understanding of happiness as a balance between reason and passion in his 1735 essay “On True Happiness.” “The desire of happiness in general is so natural to us, that all the world are in pursuit of it,” he wrote in The Pennsylvania Gazette. “Reason represents things to us not only as they are at present, but as they are in their whole nature and tendency; passion only regards them in the former light.”"
Perhaps reading straight through this isn’t the way to go about it. First, it is over 300 pages of what is basically, philosophic inquiry. But I have enjoyed reading some every week and then considering what I have been able to absorb. Good stuff!
5*
abandoned
May 2, 2024Sometimes it's the right book but the wrong time. Meaning: Yeah, I like to dip into both history and philosophy. But sometimes I'm impatient. I don't know why. I need a little more "Know thyself" time, maybe.
The gist of this book is the famous Thomas Jefferson stolen words, "The Pursuit of Happiness." Only it didn't mean happiness like most of us selfish, entitled 21st-century types take it -- to put it bluntly, happiness as in self-gratification.
The term comes from the ancient Romans (Cicero gets a lot of press here) and was embraced by Enlightenment types like, say, John Locke, and then co-opted by TJ. The happiness the ancient sages, Enlightenment sorts, and Founding Fathers meant? Happiness as VIRTUE. Living a good, decent, moralistic life. You know, all the things personified by contemporary "statesmen" like Donald Trump (Floundering Fathers?).
Each chapter is given over to a virtue and a Founding Father who personified it. Nice. Educational. Lots of back and forth background material on not only the days of Enlightenment (now reaching dusk in your local papers and news outlets) but on the days of the Ancient philosophers and statesmen, who actually fought (vs. embraced) their animal instincts. Me-first instincts. Aggrieved instincts. Selfish, entitled instincts.
Perfect for me, yep. A guy always trying to keep his Id in check. But you have to be in the mood, and so, after four chapters, I say, "Maybe again, some time in the future?" As for you, gentle GR review reader, if it sounds like your kind of book and you're in a more mellow mode than I am, pursue it. Virtue, I mean. Via this abandoned book.
The gist of this book is the famous Thomas Jefferson stolen words, "The Pursuit of Happiness." Only it didn't mean happiness like most of us selfish, entitled 21st-century types take it -- to put it bluntly, happiness as in self-gratification.
The term comes from the ancient Romans (Cicero gets a lot of press here) and was embraced by Enlightenment types like, say, John Locke, and then co-opted by TJ. The happiness the ancient sages, Enlightenment sorts, and Founding Fathers meant? Happiness as VIRTUE. Living a good, decent, moralistic life. You know, all the things personified by contemporary "statesmen" like Donald Trump (Floundering Fathers?).
Each chapter is given over to a virtue and a Founding Father who personified it. Nice. Educational. Lots of back and forth background material on not only the days of Enlightenment (now reaching dusk in your local papers and news outlets) but on the days of the Ancient philosophers and statesmen, who actually fought (vs. embraced) their animal instincts. Me-first instincts. Aggrieved instincts. Selfish, entitled instincts.
Perfect for me, yep. A guy always trying to keep his Id in check. But you have to be in the mood, and so, after four chapters, I say, "Maybe again, some time in the future?" As for you, gentle GR review reader, if it sounds like your kind of book and you're in a more mellow mode than I am, pursue it. Virtue, I mean. Via this abandoned book.
February 18, 2025
3 stars (= good)
Rosen explores the ideas that the American founders had about the pursuit of happiness by examining their favorite books on the topic. They lean pretty heavily on the Greek Stoics, but there are some other interesting items. Overall, this book reminds me of CSL’s top 10 Books but for the Founding Fathers. Others may consider it a stuffier version of The Book of Virtues. It really doesn’t help that Rosen includes his own sonnets to introduce each chapter.
To get a flavor of the topics discussed, here’s the table of contents:
1. ORDER: Twelve Virtues and the Pursuit of Happiness
2. TEMPERANCE: Ben Franklin's Quest for Moral Perfection
3. HUMILITY: John and Abigail Adams's Self-Accounting
4. INDUSTRY: Thomas Jefferson's Reading List
5. FRUGALITY: James Wilson and George Mason's Debts
6. SINCERITY: Phillis Wheatley and the Enslavers' Avarice
7. RESOLUTION: George Washington's Self-Command
8. MODERATION: James Madison and Alexander Hamilton's Constitution
9. TRANQUILITY: Adams and Jefferson's Reconciliation
10. CLEANLINESS: John Quincy Adams's Composure
11. JUSTICE: Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln's Self-Reliance
12. SILENCE: Pursuing Happiness Today
And this is the list of the books most commonly cited by the founders regarding the topic at hand:
Cicero, Tusculan Disputations and On Duties Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Seneca's Essays
Epictetus's Enchiridion
Plutarch's Lives
Xenophon's Memorabilia of Socrates
Hume's Essays
Montesquieu's The Spirit of the Laws
Locke's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding and Treatises on Government
Adam Smith's The Theory of Moral Sentiments
Here are some passages I found save-worthy:
Re unalienable rights:
‘Hutcheson also uses the phrase "pursue Happiness" in his Inquiry into the Original of Our Ideas of Beauty and Virtue. In defining our innate "moral sense," he writes that if anyone asks "how we can be moved to desire the Happiness of others, without any View to our own? It may be answer'd, 'That the same Cause which determines us to pursue Happiness for our selves'" leads us to feel benevolence for others. He then defines the difference between alienable and unalienable natural rights, which Jefferson made famous in the Declaration of Independence. A natural right comes from God or Nature, and it can be alienated, or transferred, to government for two reasons—first, if the transfer is within our power, and second, if it would serve some valuable purpose. The rights of conscience are unalienable for both reasons. First, it's not in our power to transfer our freedom of thought to others. "The Right of private Judgment, or of our inward Sentiments, is unalienable," Hutcheson writes,"since we cannot command ourselves to think what either we our selves, or any other Person pleases." Second, "it can never serve any valuable purpose" to make people worship God in any way that seems to them displeasing. Because our thoughts and opinions cannot be commanded by others, Hutcheson concludes, our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are also unalienable, as long as our actions do not harm others. (By contrast, the right to property is an alienable natural right, which is why Jefferson substituted "the pursuit of happiness" for "property" in the Declaration.)’
[p 99-100]
Re how the separation of powers in gov’t mirrors the separate faculties of the human mind:
‘In other words, the Founders believed that harmony that results from a well-tempered Constitution mirrors the harmony of a well-tempered mind. But instead of balancing the monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy, as ancient Constitutions had done, the American Constitution would balance the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, each of which corresponded to a different faculty of the mind. The executive branch, with the power of the sword, wielded force; the legislative branch, with the power of the purse, possessed will; and the judicial branch, as Hamilton wrote in "Federalist No. 78," had "neither FORCE nor WILL, but merely judgment," corresponding to the faculty of conscience that could resist the impulses of unreasonable passion.’
[p 175]
Re the pursuit of Leisure:
‘Brandeis was especially struck by Zimmern's definition of the Greek conception of leisure: the time away from business when the citizens could be free to develop their faculties through lifelong education. "The Greek word for 'unemployment' is 'leisure,'" Brandeis wrote to his wife, Alice, in 1914, citing Zimmern. "What a happy land that." Brandeis developed a similarly strenuous Athenian conception of leisure as time away from work that should be devoted to reading and other forms of industrious self-improvement. "Leisure does not imply idleness," he wrote in a 1915 speech on "True Americanism." It means ability to work not less but more, ability to work at something besides breadwinning, ability to work harder while working at breadwinning, and ability to work more years at breadwinning. Leisure, so defined, is an essential of successful democracy." Leisure, in other words, as the Greeks defined it: namely, the time we devote every day to the pursuit of self-improvement, which is synonymous with the pursuit of happiness.’
[p 265]
Re the perfectibility of the human mind:
‘The disagreement between Adams and Jefferson on the perfectibility of the human mind mirrored that between Hamilton and Madison, and between the Federalists and the Republicans more generally.’
[p 213]
Rosen explores the ideas that the American founders had about the pursuit of happiness by examining their favorite books on the topic. They lean pretty heavily on the Greek Stoics, but there are some other interesting items. Overall, this book reminds me of CSL’s top 10 Books but for the Founding Fathers. Others may consider it a stuffier version of The Book of Virtues. It really doesn’t help that Rosen includes his own sonnets to introduce each chapter.
To get a flavor of the topics discussed, here’s the table of contents:
1. ORDER: Twelve Virtues and the Pursuit of Happiness
2. TEMPERANCE: Ben Franklin's Quest for Moral Perfection
3. HUMILITY: John and Abigail Adams's Self-Accounting
4. INDUSTRY: Thomas Jefferson's Reading List
5. FRUGALITY: James Wilson and George Mason's Debts
6. SINCERITY: Phillis Wheatley and the Enslavers' Avarice
7. RESOLUTION: George Washington's Self-Command
8. MODERATION: James Madison and Alexander Hamilton's Constitution
9. TRANQUILITY: Adams and Jefferson's Reconciliation
10. CLEANLINESS: John Quincy Adams's Composure
11. JUSTICE: Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln's Self-Reliance
12. SILENCE: Pursuing Happiness Today
And this is the list of the books most commonly cited by the founders regarding the topic at hand:
Cicero, Tusculan Disputations and On Duties Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Seneca's Essays
Epictetus's Enchiridion
Plutarch's Lives
Xenophon's Memorabilia of Socrates
Hume's Essays
Montesquieu's The Spirit of the Laws
Locke's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding and Treatises on Government
Adam Smith's The Theory of Moral Sentiments
Here are some passages I found save-worthy:
Re unalienable rights:
‘Hutcheson also uses the phrase "pursue Happiness" in his Inquiry into the Original of Our Ideas of Beauty and Virtue. In defining our innate "moral sense," he writes that if anyone asks "how we can be moved to desire the Happiness of others, without any View to our own? It may be answer'd, 'That the same Cause which determines us to pursue Happiness for our selves'" leads us to feel benevolence for others. He then defines the difference between alienable and unalienable natural rights, which Jefferson made famous in the Declaration of Independence. A natural right comes from God or Nature, and it can be alienated, or transferred, to government for two reasons—first, if the transfer is within our power, and second, if it would serve some valuable purpose. The rights of conscience are unalienable for both reasons. First, it's not in our power to transfer our freedom of thought to others. "The Right of private Judgment, or of our inward Sentiments, is unalienable," Hutcheson writes,"since we cannot command ourselves to think what either we our selves, or any other Person pleases." Second, "it can never serve any valuable purpose" to make people worship God in any way that seems to them displeasing. Because our thoughts and opinions cannot be commanded by others, Hutcheson concludes, our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are also unalienable, as long as our actions do not harm others. (By contrast, the right to property is an alienable natural right, which is why Jefferson substituted "the pursuit of happiness" for "property" in the Declaration.)’
[p 99-100]
Re how the separation of powers in gov’t mirrors the separate faculties of the human mind:
‘In other words, the Founders believed that harmony that results from a well-tempered Constitution mirrors the harmony of a well-tempered mind. But instead of balancing the monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy, as ancient Constitutions had done, the American Constitution would balance the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, each of which corresponded to a different faculty of the mind. The executive branch, with the power of the sword, wielded force; the legislative branch, with the power of the purse, possessed will; and the judicial branch, as Hamilton wrote in "Federalist No. 78," had "neither FORCE nor WILL, but merely judgment," corresponding to the faculty of conscience that could resist the impulses of unreasonable passion.’
[p 175]
Re the pursuit of Leisure:
‘Brandeis was especially struck by Zimmern's definition of the Greek conception of leisure: the time away from business when the citizens could be free to develop their faculties through lifelong education. "The Greek word for 'unemployment' is 'leisure,'" Brandeis wrote to his wife, Alice, in 1914, citing Zimmern. "What a happy land that." Brandeis developed a similarly strenuous Athenian conception of leisure as time away from work that should be devoted to reading and other forms of industrious self-improvement. "Leisure does not imply idleness," he wrote in a 1915 speech on "True Americanism." It means ability to work not less but more, ability to work at something besides breadwinning, ability to work harder while working at breadwinning, and ability to work more years at breadwinning. Leisure, so defined, is an essential of successful democracy." Leisure, in other words, as the Greeks defined it: namely, the time we devote every day to the pursuit of self-improvement, which is synonymous with the pursuit of happiness.’
[p 265]
Re the perfectibility of the human mind:
‘The disagreement between Adams and Jefferson on the perfectibility of the human mind mirrored that between Hamilton and Madison, and between the Federalists and the Republicans more generally.’
[p 213]
February 28, 2024
The pursuit of happiness for the founding generation was the pursuit of virtue. Very different than our pursuit of a feeling of happiness.
This book is definitely an “eat your vegetables” kind of book. Not dessert. So I probably wouldn’t recommend it to most people. I will likely be reading it frequently just to remind myself of the virtues discussed in this book. But I’m also more boring than most people.
This book is definitely an “eat your vegetables” kind of book. Not dessert. So I probably wouldn’t recommend it to most people. I will likely be reading it frequently just to remind myself of the virtues discussed in this book. But I’m also more boring than most people.
August 10, 2025
This is like everyone grew up watching the same movies and now knows all the same references. But instead the references are 1700 years old
September 23, 2023
Jeffrey Rosen's book is an important contribution to early American historiography. The idea of virtue floats throughout the writings of the founders and the major historical figures of the early republic. This is the first work that I think does an adequate job of looking at how that philosophy is fleshed out by the founders, and where that philosophy comes from.
Most of the major Enlightenment thinkers of America are here: Franklin and the almanack, Jefferson and the Notes on Virginia. Readers of these early American texts won't find anything new in Rosen's book about what they say, but they will certainly walk away from the book understanding where it came from. Each of these thinkers' writings are traced back to ancient Roman and Greek thinkers, and Rosen shows where those ideas directly influence the men of the 1700s.
The Pursuit of happiness itself is tied to virtue, for happiness can only be found in this American polity, according to founders, when the spirit of the community is reflected inward, in an act of self-sacrificing towards the common good. Virtue is the ultimate trait of a good statesman, and a good statesman and virtue is best directed to the progress of the community.
The book's only drawback was that I felt it lacked some ruminating on the longterm history of virtue. While Rosen does seem to imply this and focus a bit on it, I couldn't help but question where this virtue went to. How did it seem to fade so fast? Or, maybe more accurately, how did it seem to fade to some and not others? And how do we make sense of virtue today, or lack thereof? Can we rekindle this virtuous identity somehow? Perhaps this book will start a conversation among historians about these questions
Most of the major Enlightenment thinkers of America are here: Franklin and the almanack, Jefferson and the Notes on Virginia. Readers of these early American texts won't find anything new in Rosen's book about what they say, but they will certainly walk away from the book understanding where it came from. Each of these thinkers' writings are traced back to ancient Roman and Greek thinkers, and Rosen shows where those ideas directly influence the men of the 1700s.
The Pursuit of happiness itself is tied to virtue, for happiness can only be found in this American polity, according to founders, when the spirit of the community is reflected inward, in an act of self-sacrificing towards the common good. Virtue is the ultimate trait of a good statesman, and a good statesman and virtue is best directed to the progress of the community.
The book's only drawback was that I felt it lacked some ruminating on the longterm history of virtue. While Rosen does seem to imply this and focus a bit on it, I couldn't help but question where this virtue went to. How did it seem to fade so fast? Or, maybe more accurately, how did it seem to fade to some and not others? And how do we make sense of virtue today, or lack thereof? Can we rekindle this virtuous identity somehow? Perhaps this book will start a conversation among historians about these questions
September 24, 2024
This is a serious work of political philosophy and history.
The unspoken subtext I read was "and we'd be a better people if we all read them, too." I found it charming in its disconnect with contemporary United States culture. It might as well have been a history of the Walt Disney ouvre or a sales tract for property on Mars.
Enumerating the classic stoic themes of humility, temperance, honesty, and so forth in a culture so thoroughly and abundantly awash in neo-liberal consumerism and greed is like a journey through a foreign and very alien culture, perhaps on another planet. Fundamental values of a life well-lived require a civilization permeated with an unspoken commitment to asking questions beyond those that can be answered by the marketplace. One value, above all, has reached ascendancy in our land--Greed. Worshipped beyond measure.
In the meantime, our university programs in liberal arts are closing down, in the last year our school libraries were strip-mined of 10,000 books, and 87% of our college students select their major based on how much money they'll be able to make. A convicted felon and documented fraud perpetrator, legally liable for sexual assault, manifestly morally bankrupt person is a serious contender for President of the United States, leader of us all. Representing one of our two political parties, he is supported by tens of millions of our fellow citizens.
What does that say about the likelihood of a serious discussion in this nation about the value of studying the classics?
Cicero? Epictetus? John Locke? Are you joking?
The unspoken subtext I read was "and we'd be a better people if we all read them, too." I found it charming in its disconnect with contemporary United States culture. It might as well have been a history of the Walt Disney ouvre or a sales tract for property on Mars.
Enumerating the classic stoic themes of humility, temperance, honesty, and so forth in a culture so thoroughly and abundantly awash in neo-liberal consumerism and greed is like a journey through a foreign and very alien culture, perhaps on another planet. Fundamental values of a life well-lived require a civilization permeated with an unspoken commitment to asking questions beyond those that can be answered by the marketplace. One value, above all, has reached ascendancy in our land--Greed. Worshipped beyond measure.
In the meantime, our university programs in liberal arts are closing down, in the last year our school libraries were strip-mined of 10,000 books, and 87% of our college students select their major based on how much money they'll be able to make. A convicted felon and documented fraud perpetrator, legally liable for sexual assault, manifestly morally bankrupt person is a serious contender for President of the United States, leader of us all. Representing one of our two political parties, he is supported by tens of millions of our fellow citizens.
What does that say about the likelihood of a serious discussion in this nation about the value of studying the classics?
Cicero? Epictetus? John Locke? Are you joking?
January 31, 2025
One of the most inspiring books I've ever read. I picked this up at a speaking event by Jeffrey Rosen, the author, on campus, and was just amazed during his lecture at how Rosen would quote at length both classical writers and the Founders. He clearly felt so passionately about the thesis of this book -- the idea of being good rather than seeking pleasure as the Constitutional "pursuit of happiness", and that one of the key ways to pursue that ideal is to read works that compel us to self-improvement. This book inspired me to strike up a return to daily reading in addition to writing more in my journal and just thoughts in general. I've become fascinated with the classical writers, Enlightenment thinkers, and Founders because of this book. This is probably the most inspiring work I've read on what a proper education should include.
November 5, 2025
This book unpacks what “the pursuit of happiness” meant to the founders, and how they did (or didn’t) live up to their own ideals. It ends up reading like a blend of American history and gentle self-help. It’s both well written and genuinely pleasant to read.
March 22, 2024
Please read.
September 22, 2025
What a deep dive into what our founders thought, believed, and valued!
July 3, 2024
I was expecting a comparison between the ancient sources the founders had read and their own writings and actions. I found rather more a grab bag that included not just the founders, but also John Quincy Adams, Frederick Douglass, Lincoln, Brandeis and more all the way to Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
The sources too are not limited to the Greeks and Romans, but include the bible, Bhagavad Gita and so forth, though probably the most frequent reference is to The Tusculan Disputations of Cicero.
It's a good concept for a book, to look at the ancient authors each of the founders read and how they applied or did not apply their wisdom to their own lives. For the most part it's interesting reading, but at times it does not dig deeply enough, not regarding the ancients, but respecting the founders. It implies, for example, that James Wilson originated the idea of the 3/5 clause, but fails to mention that the same idea had already been resolved in the Continental Congress, long before the writing of the constitution.
It discusses George Mason and implies that his chief objection to the constitution, which he refused to sign, was the absence of a bill of rights. In fact he had several objections and a reading of his biography reveals that the matter of the bill was one of the last and least vehement of his arguments.
The discussion of Jefferson discusses the children he had with Sarah (called Sally) Hemings and then draws attention to his writings against miscegenation. But those things happened at different times and in a life of 82 years, a man's views can change a great deal. Indeed it would be unusual if they did not, for anyone. But this book doesn't seem to recognize much possibility of evolution.
There are new things to learn here and the book is certainly a paean to the love of reading. Probably the best chapter is on the late life correspondence of Adams and Jefferson as they discussed the ancients and the pursuit of happiness.
The sources too are not limited to the Greeks and Romans, but include the bible, Bhagavad Gita and so forth, though probably the most frequent reference is to The Tusculan Disputations of Cicero.
It's a good concept for a book, to look at the ancient authors each of the founders read and how they applied or did not apply their wisdom to their own lives. For the most part it's interesting reading, but at times it does not dig deeply enough, not regarding the ancients, but respecting the founders. It implies, for example, that James Wilson originated the idea of the 3/5 clause, but fails to mention that the same idea had already been resolved in the Continental Congress, long before the writing of the constitution.
It discusses George Mason and implies that his chief objection to the constitution, which he refused to sign, was the absence of a bill of rights. In fact he had several objections and a reading of his biography reveals that the matter of the bill was one of the last and least vehement of his arguments.
The discussion of Jefferson discusses the children he had with Sarah (called Sally) Hemings and then draws attention to his writings against miscegenation. But those things happened at different times and in a life of 82 years, a man's views can change a great deal. Indeed it would be unusual if they did not, for anyone. But this book doesn't seem to recognize much possibility of evolution.
There are new things to learn here and the book is certainly a paean to the love of reading. Probably the best chapter is on the late life correspondence of Adams and Jefferson as they discussed the ancients and the pursuit of happiness.
January 11, 2025
A wonderful and insightful read. Explains in no uncertain terms how our understanding of the “pursuit of happiness”has ebbed and flowed over time. In short, the contemporary focus is on self gratification rather than self improvement as several classical writers would’ve argued. A fun read for anyone curious where the founders (and some later thinkers) got their inspiration from regarding how best to live.
May 29, 2025
This book is an excellent blend of history, biography, and philosophy, and a peak into a time which was not too cynical for moral exhortation. Professionals might quibble here and there with the details, but the author handled the popular presentation of great ideas well; he himself expresses the "harmonizing sentiments" of the day.
Really worth a read if you want to get inside the heads of the American founders, and you might be inspired to do better and more.
Really worth a read if you want to get inside the heads of the American founders, and you might be inspired to do better and more.
June 21, 2024
Affecting in me totally to improve my life in a day to day schedule
September 12, 2024
This well-written and comfortably-read book is packed with informative and convincing teachings/wisdom from statesmen, scholars, philosophers from all cultures, as well as from modern day leaders -- about individual responsibility to pursue (build) lasting happiness. From chapter ONE, ORDER (in which a baker's dozen virtues essential for achieving happiness are introduced) p. 9, "Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg told me that her mother gave her [this] advice. '[E]motions like anger, remorse, and jealousy are not productive. They will not accomplish anything, so you must keep them under control.'" Then in chapter TWELVE, SILENCE p. 269 the exact same words from Mother Ginsburg are quoted and further discussed -- followed by excellent, uplifting wisdom through p. 272. Each chapter is named after a happiness-essential virtue and is based on the life or lives of one or two prominent people and how they practiced or disregarded the essential virtue. Many authoritative and influential historical persons are frankly reviewed. Remembering and applying only Mother Ginsburg's advice would be worth reading the whole book. Each chapter adds much, much more about successfully great persons and essential happiness-essential virtues. In the final several pages the author clearly relates the pursuit of true lasting happiness to today's world and offers the challenge to follow the Founding Father's specific reading choices.
July 16, 2025
The head of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Jeffrey Rosen, published a book titled "The Pursuit of Happiness" in 2024. The subtitle of the book is How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America. The book primarily explores how the moral philosophy of Ancient Greece and Rome influenced the founders of the United States. The book also explores how classical moral philosophy and the founders influenced notable figures such as John Quincy Adams, Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, Louis Brandeis, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Rosen writes that he was "intrigued by the fact that Cicero’s now forgotten self-help manual had inspired both Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson to draft similar lists of twelve virtues for daily living, I decided to read Cicero myself” (Rosen 3). Rosen then read more of the books by ancient philosophers that influenced Thomas Jefferson and other founders. Reading the classical writers that influenced Thomas Jefferson made Rosen realize that he believes “Classical and Enlightenment thinkers defined happiness as the pursuit of virtue-as being good, rather than feeling good” (Rosen 6). A different virtue from Classical writers defines each chapter. Rosen is a little starry-eyed about the effect that reading classical writers can have on a person, but parts of the book are thoughtful.
February 9, 2024
The Pursuit of Happiness by Jeffrey Rosen is a fascinating and thought-provoking deep dive into a subject that is often misused and or even misunderstood.
Mr. Rosen presents an interesting investigation into some of our Founding Fathers and their quest for all of us in the Pursuit of Happiness. Their search for the Pursuit of Happiness was not to be happy in the short term themselves but the pursuits that lead doing good for others, more of a spiritual nature than immediate personal gratification. These men read the Bible, and writings that can be traced back to ancient Roman and Greek thinkers. Rosen after much research details how these thoughts, and ideas influenced our Founding Fathers.
It would appear that the Pursuit of Happiness is also tied to virtue, meaning behavior showing high moral standards, a quality considered morally good or desirable in a person. I think many of us want our children to be inspired by teachers, people of authority and therefore they themselves are inspired to good and be good people.
I was impressed by the depth of the information, and insightful manner was presented that gave me pause on what I believed the phrase to mean. The Constitution is a written document that is often misused to justify rights and freedoms. But in a time where the founding fathers thought and spoke differently, we cannot take the words used in a literal meaning. There is a broader and deeper meaning for the chosen words than we non-scholars understand.
I received an ARC from NetGalley for an unbiased review.
Mr. Rosen presents an interesting investigation into some of our Founding Fathers and their quest for all of us in the Pursuit of Happiness. Their search for the Pursuit of Happiness was not to be happy in the short term themselves but the pursuits that lead doing good for others, more of a spiritual nature than immediate personal gratification. These men read the Bible, and writings that can be traced back to ancient Roman and Greek thinkers. Rosen after much research details how these thoughts, and ideas influenced our Founding Fathers.
It would appear that the Pursuit of Happiness is also tied to virtue, meaning behavior showing high moral standards, a quality considered morally good or desirable in a person. I think many of us want our children to be inspired by teachers, people of authority and therefore they themselves are inspired to good and be good people.
I was impressed by the depth of the information, and insightful manner was presented that gave me pause on what I believed the phrase to mean. The Constitution is a written document that is often misused to justify rights and freedoms. But in a time where the founding fathers thought and spoke differently, we cannot take the words used in a literal meaning. There is a broader and deeper meaning for the chosen words than we non-scholars understand.
I received an ARC from NetGalley for an unbiased review.
July 17, 2025
This was a fascinating and excellent book! It's about the books and thoughts that may have influenced the Founding Fathers as they were considering the principles that would help create the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and the new country. It's based on Benjamin Franklin's list of twelve virtues, a type of "spiritual accounting system" he created that he felt led to happiness: temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity... and a bonus added later--humility. These are characteristics that others at the time agreed were important and demonstrated. I admit that some of these ideas go over my head, but it's a great reminder to read books and learn! I've added more to my list to read soon. Here are some quotes I liked:
"'Without virtue man can have no happiness in this world' (Benjamin Franklin, p. 2)."
"Jefferson, like Franklin, was inspired by Tusculan Disputations to draft his own list of twelve virtues... thathe believed were key to the pursuit of happiness (p. 3)."
"Inspired by Jefferson's daily reading schedule, I got up every morning before sunrise, read a selection from his list, and found myself taking notes on the reading in sonnet form, so that I could easily remember the daily lesson (p. 5)."
"For the Founders, happiness required the daily cultivation of virtue (p. 6)."
"To achieve freedom, tranquility, and happiness, according to the ancient Stoics, we should stop trying to control external events and instead focus on controlling the only things that we have the power to control: namely, our own thoughts, desires, emotions, and actions (p. 6)."
"For the Founders, the pursuit of happiness included reading in the wisdom traditions of the East and West, always anchored by the canonical text of the Bible, in an attempt to distill their common wisdom about the need to achieve through emotional and spiritual self-discipline (p. 7)."
"The Founders didn't mean we should lack emotion; only that we should manage our emotions in productive ways (p. 8)."
"The goal of education was to strengthen the intellect, or reason, so that it could moderate and control the will and the emotions in order to achieve the self-control that was key to happiness (p. 9)."
"We need to use our powers of reason to check our immediate emotions and desires so that we can achieve the harmony of the soul that allows us to flourish, emphasizing that 'all true happiness, as all that is truly beautiful, can only result from order' (p. 10)."
"The ancient wisdom that defined happiness as self-mastery, emotional self-regulation, tranquility of mind, and the quest for self-improvement was distilled in the works of Cicero (p. 11)."
"After reading the books that shaped the Founders' original understanding of the pursuit of happiness, I set out to explore how they applied the ancient wisdom in their own lives (p. 11)."
"They tried to calm their anxieties through the daily practice of the habits of mindfulness and time management... They created disciplined schedules for reading, writing, and exercise, adn they kept daily accounts of their successes and failures in living up to the ideasl they found in the books of ancient wisdom (p. 12)."
"My reading also changed the way I thought about how to be a good citizen (p. 13)."
"The way for citizens to create a more perfect union, the Founders insisted, was to govern themselves in private as well as in public, cultivating the same personal deliberation, moderation, and harmony in our own minds that we strive to maintain in the constiution of the state (p. 13)."
"They believed that the pursuit of happiness includes responsibilities as well as rights--the responsibility to limit ourselves, restrain ourselves, and master ourselves, so that we achieve the wisdom and harmony that are necessary for true freedom (p. 14)."
"'To temperance [Benjamin Franklin] ascribes his long-continued health, and what is still left to him of a good constitution' (p. 17)."
"It's remarkable that Franklin attributed the happiness of hls long life to his 'evenness of temper' rather than his public accomplishments (p. 18)."
"Always practical, Franlin decided to focus on improving one virtue a week for thirteen weeks, to avoid distracting himself with multitasking. He made a little self-accounting book (p. 21)."
"Even after he abandoned his daily self-accounting, Franklin continued in his twenties to devise practical projects to help him and his friends practice the classical virtues (p. 23)."
"'Let Rev'rence of thy self thy THoughts controul,
And guard the sacred Temple of thy Soul.'
Pythagoras's injunction 'Reverence Thyself' was so influential that the Founders quoted it frequently, although sometimes they forgot its source (p. 28)."
"If Pythagoras inspired Franklin to pursue happiness by disciplining his body and his thoughts, Socrates gave him another model for improving his soul. 'There was nobody he wanted to resemble more than Socrates' (p. 29)."
"Franklin took from Socrates a model for how to achieve moral perfection through emtoional self-regulation (p. 30)."
"Even a lifetime of faith and good works couldn't save couldn't save you if God had chosen to assign you to hell rather than heaven (p. 34)."
"We don't know precisely what persuaded Franklin to return to his original idea that individuals are free to choose to live virtuous lives... But by 1728, he had composed for his own private use a prayer to the Deity he caleld his 'Articles of Belief and Acts of Religion' (p. 37)."
"In addition to serving as a kind of moral textbook for the American Revolution, [Dr. Samuel] Johnson's book is a practical how-to manual for what he repeatedly calls 'the pursuit of happiness' (p. 41)."
"The 'evenness of temper'... provoed to be crucial in allowing Franklin to play the role of moderator and conciliator throughout a series of important diplomatic assignments (p. 45)."
"The central passion Adams struggled to subdue was vanity (p. 50)."
"[Abigail Adams] always regretted her lack of formal education and became a powerful advocate for the equal education of women (p. 58)."
"Adams was channeling Aristotle's warning that governments based entirely on one part of society... could degenerate into a corrupt form. Monarchy, based on rule by the one, could degenerate into tyranny Atristocracy, based on rule by the few, could degenerate into oligarchy (p. 71)."
"Adams's conclusion was that by promoting virtue through education, a republic could fulfill its primary end: to increase the happiness of the people (p. 73)."
"Like Adams, [Mercy Otis Warren] favored a republic to a monarchy but feared 'that American virtue has not yet reach'd that sublime pitch' necessary to sustain it (p. 75)."
"Notes on Seneca's 'On Saving Time'...
'Happy the man who knows each day we die
Nothing is ours but time; let's seize its power' (p. 82)."
"Jefferson learned from Cicero the overriding importance of pursuing happiness by cultivating a 'soul tranquilized by restraint and consistency' (p. 85)."
"If Adams invited conflict, Jefferson avoided it (p. 86)."
"'Determine never to be idle' (p. 86)."
"'Give about two hours every day to exercise; for health must not be sacrificed to learning. A strong body makes the mind strong' (p. 87)."
"'1. Neverer put off to tomorrow what you can do today.
2. Never trouble another with what you can do yourself.
3. Never spend your money before you have it.
4. Never buy a thing you do not want, because it is cheap, it will be dear to you.
5. Take care of your cents: dollars will take care of themselves!
6. Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst and cold.
7. We never repent of having eaten too little.
8. Nothing is troublesome that one does willingly.
9. How much pain have cost us the evils which have never happened!
10. Take things away by their smooth handle.
11. Think as you pleace, and so let others, and you will have no disputes.
12. When angry, count to 10 before you speak; if every angry, 100' (Thomas Jefferson, p. 87)."
"John Locke recommends that young students who are learning the habits of virtue need read only two tooks on morality and ethics: the Bible and Cicero's On Duties (p. 94)."
"Locke defines liberty as the freedom to deploy our powers of reason to think twice before acting on our 'impetuous uneasiness' (p. 97)."
"'Almighty God hath created the mind free, and manifested his supreme will that free it shall remain by making it altogether insusceptible of restraint' (Jefferson)... We can't give presidents, priests, professors, or fellow citizens the power to think for us, even if we wanted to, because we are endowed by our Crfeator with the capacity to reason and therefore can't help thinking for ourselves (p. 101)."
"'The felicity of the people is the end of government' (Jean-Jacques Burlamaqui, p. 111)."
"'Let the safety of people be the supreme law' (p. 113)."
"'Let our progress in every excellence be proportionately great... while liberty, virtue, and religion go hand in hand, harmoniously protecting, enlivening, and exalting all!' (p. 115)"
"'Liberty is the unalienable right of all mankind' (p. 121)."
"Mixing expeidiency and principle, Jefferson and other leading Virginians became fierce opponents of the international slave trade and called for the ultimate abolition of slavery in the distant future (p. 137)."
"For Mason and Jefferson, slavery was inconsistent with the pursuite of happiness (p. 140)."
"'Courageous souls are fearless for what's right
All brave men must at the same time be good
Their fortitude scorns praise in outward sight
Embracing risk of danger as they should
Why anger, desire, and fear? All men are brothers
Be self-controlled and calm, and think of others' (p. 142)."
"Washington was famous for his self-command (p. 143)."
"Washington had averted mutiny by inspiring the troops to display the same mastery of emotions that he attempted to embody (p. 145)."
"Washington's classical reading also helped him draw the connection between personal self-government and political self-government (p. 145)."
"Washington's confidence that Americans would, in fact, find the emotional and spiritual self-discipline to govern their tempers, as individuals and citizens, waxed and waned with the fate of America itself (p. 159)."
"The greatest threat to public virtue, Washington emphasized, was American greed (p. 160)."
"After the war, Washington warned... that the greatest threat to the virtue of the new republic was not greed but factions (p. 161)."
"Exemplifying the virtue of self-disciplined silence, Washington weighed his words carefully and avoided sharing his opinions in the heat of the moment (p. 163)."
"Washington was willing to listen to private criticism from trusted subordinates (p. 164)."
"'Passions are feelings that bring pleasure or pains...
Virtues are habits of moderation
Use reason to follow the middle way
All thoughts and actions in balanced station
Vice comes when excess or shortfalls outweigh' (p. 170)."
" The Federalist Papers are a how-to manual for achieving public happiness (p. 175)."
"'When we reflect on the shortness and uncertainty of life, how despicable seem all our pursuits of happiness?' (p. 181)"
"'Always act without selfish attachment...
Reality lies in the eternal
Not in the impermanent we're seeing' (p. 198)."
"'Sometimes it is said that man cannot be trusted with the government of himself. Can he then be trusted with the government of others?' (p. 199)"
"It took the intervention of their mutual friend Benjamin Rush to reunite the estranged patriots (p. 200)."
"Both Adams and Jefferson concluded that happiness consists in tranquility of mind and that it can be found not in the success or failure of our efforts to achieve inner harmony but from the pursuit itself (p. 201)."
"Adams distilled the common teaching of the Greek and Roman philosophers and the Old and New Testaments into a single sentance... 'Rejoice always in all things' (p. 206)."
"For Jefferson, too, virtue consisted in benevolence to all (p. 207)."
"Until the end of his days, Jefferson wrote letters to his daughters and his friends about the importance of improving their faculties through industrious exercise of body and mind, never ceasing in the daily pursuit of self-improvement (p. 211)."
"After a lifetime of reflection... Adams and Jefferson agreed that the pursuit of happiness was the goal of life, tranquility of mind the key to the pursuit of happiness, and moderation of the passions the key to tranquility of mind (p. 212)."
"The disagreement between Adams and Jefferson on the perfectibility of the human mind mirrored that between Hamilton and Madison, and between the Federalists and the Republicans more generally (p. 213)."
"'Washington became disillusioned above all because of the rise of parties and partisanship, Hamilton because he felt that the federal government was not sufficiently vigorous or energetic, Adams because he believed that the American people lacked the requisite civic virtue for republican government, and Jefferson because of sectional divisions that were laid bare by conflict over the spread of slavery' (p. 215)."
"'Life is short, and that's all there is to say
Unrestrained moderation: the only way' (p. 218)."
"From the age of eleven until he died at eighty-one, Adams kept a diary of his daily attempts to pursue happiness through Stoical self-mastery (p. 220)."
"By avoiding 'luxury, trifling amusements, and vain discourses,' and bering in mind that 'all the happiness of this life' depends entirely on improving our own character, every individual has the capacity to develop a soul 'judicious, free and great' (p. 224)."
"'Nothing is more certaintly written in the book of fate, than that these peop;e are to be free' (p. 237)."
"In Adams's view, 'the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer's missoin upon earth' and 'laid the corner stone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity (p. 237)."
"It would fall to Douglas and Abraham Lincoln to carry on the quest to make the ideals of the Declaration of Independence a reality (p. 241)."
"'Notes from Seneca's 'On Anger'...
From Socrates to Dr. King, the way
Past hate is pure compassion, agape' (p. 242)."
"'Faith, in the absence of work, seems to be worth little, if anything' (Douglas, p. 247)."
"From the beginning of his career, Lincoln insisted that slavery was immoral because it violated the natural rights of equal liberty and self-government articulated int he Declaration of Independence (p. 251)."
"'The existence of slavery in this country brands your republicanism as a sham, your humainity as a base pretence, and your Christianity as a lie' (p. 253)."
"Lincoln rarely displayed his temper in public (p. 254)."
"The solution to racial prejudice, in Douglass's view, was sipmly to allow African Americans to vote, as guaranteed by the Fifteenth Amendment (p. 258)."
"Douglas believed the federal goernment had some role to play when it came to voting rights and education... In the end, Douglass believed that the solution to the violent passion of prejudice was the cool reason of education (p. 259)."
"It would take another century for the civil rights movement and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the Washington Mall to resurrect the promise once again and begin to make it a reality (p. 261)."
"'They believed liberty to be the secret of happiness, and courage to be the secret of liberty' (p. 264)."
"Both Jefferson and Brandeis recognized the value of silence... thinking before you speak (p. 267)."
"'The makers of the Constitution undertook to secure conditions favorable to the pursuit of happiness... They recognized the significance of man's spiritual nature, of his feelings and of his intellect... They knew that only a part of the pain, pleasure and satisfactions of life are to be found in material things. They sought to protect Americans in their beliefs, their thoughts, their emotions and their sensations,' conferring 'the right to be let alone--the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men.'... Brandeis was not the only Supreme Court justice to connect the pursuit of happiness with the quest for the good life (p. 268)."
"America's understanding of the pursuit of happiness in popoular culture was transformed in the 1960s and 1970s from being good to feeling good; from... the pursuit of virtue to... the pursuit of pleasure (p. 271)."
"Alexis de Tocqueville hoped that 'the spirit of religion' in America would remind its citizens that 'in democracies, as elsewhere, it is only through resisting the thousand trivial urges that the universal and anguished longing for happines can be assuaged' (p. 272)."
"Mann stressed the importance of daily reading about moral examples throughout history. Even fifteen minutes a day, he stressed, would inspire habits of self-mastery and good citizenship (p. 274)."
"If our cell phones and screens represent the Founders' nightmare, they also offer a potential benefit. The most striking difference between the daily schedules of the FOunders and our schedules today is how much time they spent reading books (p. 279)."
"As I stood in the Great Hall of the magnificent Thomas Jefferson Building, I was filled with wonder at the thought that all the books in the world could be found in one place. Only a few decades later, for the first time in human history, we carry in our pockets all the wisdo of the ages, incudling the complete works of the ancient thinkers who inspired the Founders and actual copies of books and editions that the Founders themselves read... In the hope that you may be inspired by the Founders' reading habits to read or listen to the books that shaped their pursuit of the good life, I've included the Founders' reading list in the appendix. There's a vast library of wisdom to inspire us every day to learn and grow (p. 280)."
"Cicero, Tusculan Disputations and On Duties...
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations...
Seneca's Essays...
Epictetus's Enbiridion...
Plutarch's Lives...
Xenophon's Memorabilia of Socrates...
Hume's Essays...
Montesquieu's The Spirit of the Laws...
Locke's An Essay Concering Human Understanding and Treatises on Government...
Adam Smith's THe Theory of Moral Sentiments (p. 283)"
"'Without virtue man can have no happiness in this world' (Benjamin Franklin, p. 2)."
"Jefferson, like Franklin, was inspired by Tusculan Disputations to draft his own list of twelve virtues... thathe believed were key to the pursuit of happiness (p. 3)."
"Inspired by Jefferson's daily reading schedule, I got up every morning before sunrise, read a selection from his list, and found myself taking notes on the reading in sonnet form, so that I could easily remember the daily lesson (p. 5)."
"For the Founders, happiness required the daily cultivation of virtue (p. 6)."
"To achieve freedom, tranquility, and happiness, according to the ancient Stoics, we should stop trying to control external events and instead focus on controlling the only things that we have the power to control: namely, our own thoughts, desires, emotions, and actions (p. 6)."
"For the Founders, the pursuit of happiness included reading in the wisdom traditions of the East and West, always anchored by the canonical text of the Bible, in an attempt to distill their common wisdom about the need to achieve through emotional and spiritual self-discipline (p. 7)."
"The Founders didn't mean we should lack emotion; only that we should manage our emotions in productive ways (p. 8)."
"The goal of education was to strengthen the intellect, or reason, so that it could moderate and control the will and the emotions in order to achieve the self-control that was key to happiness (p. 9)."
"We need to use our powers of reason to check our immediate emotions and desires so that we can achieve the harmony of the soul that allows us to flourish, emphasizing that 'all true happiness, as all that is truly beautiful, can only result from order' (p. 10)."
"The ancient wisdom that defined happiness as self-mastery, emotional self-regulation, tranquility of mind, and the quest for self-improvement was distilled in the works of Cicero (p. 11)."
"After reading the books that shaped the Founders' original understanding of the pursuit of happiness, I set out to explore how they applied the ancient wisdom in their own lives (p. 11)."
"They tried to calm their anxieties through the daily practice of the habits of mindfulness and time management... They created disciplined schedules for reading, writing, and exercise, adn they kept daily accounts of their successes and failures in living up to the ideasl they found in the books of ancient wisdom (p. 12)."
"My reading also changed the way I thought about how to be a good citizen (p. 13)."
"The way for citizens to create a more perfect union, the Founders insisted, was to govern themselves in private as well as in public, cultivating the same personal deliberation, moderation, and harmony in our own minds that we strive to maintain in the constiution of the state (p. 13)."
"They believed that the pursuit of happiness includes responsibilities as well as rights--the responsibility to limit ourselves, restrain ourselves, and master ourselves, so that we achieve the wisdom and harmony that are necessary for true freedom (p. 14)."
"'To temperance [Benjamin Franklin] ascribes his long-continued health, and what is still left to him of a good constitution' (p. 17)."
"It's remarkable that Franklin attributed the happiness of hls long life to his 'evenness of temper' rather than his public accomplishments (p. 18)."
"Always practical, Franlin decided to focus on improving one virtue a week for thirteen weeks, to avoid distracting himself with multitasking. He made a little self-accounting book (p. 21)."
"Even after he abandoned his daily self-accounting, Franklin continued in his twenties to devise practical projects to help him and his friends practice the classical virtues (p. 23)."
"'Let Rev'rence of thy self thy THoughts controul,
And guard the sacred Temple of thy Soul.'
Pythagoras's injunction 'Reverence Thyself' was so influential that the Founders quoted it frequently, although sometimes they forgot its source (p. 28)."
"If Pythagoras inspired Franklin to pursue happiness by disciplining his body and his thoughts, Socrates gave him another model for improving his soul. 'There was nobody he wanted to resemble more than Socrates' (p. 29)."
"Franklin took from Socrates a model for how to achieve moral perfection through emtoional self-regulation (p. 30)."
"Even a lifetime of faith and good works couldn't save couldn't save you if God had chosen to assign you to hell rather than heaven (p. 34)."
"We don't know precisely what persuaded Franklin to return to his original idea that individuals are free to choose to live virtuous lives... But by 1728, he had composed for his own private use a prayer to the Deity he caleld his 'Articles of Belief and Acts of Religion' (p. 37)."
"In addition to serving as a kind of moral textbook for the American Revolution, [Dr. Samuel] Johnson's book is a practical how-to manual for what he repeatedly calls 'the pursuit of happiness' (p. 41)."
"The 'evenness of temper'... provoed to be crucial in allowing Franklin to play the role of moderator and conciliator throughout a series of important diplomatic assignments (p. 45)."
"The central passion Adams struggled to subdue was vanity (p. 50)."
"[Abigail Adams] always regretted her lack of formal education and became a powerful advocate for the equal education of women (p. 58)."
"Adams was channeling Aristotle's warning that governments based entirely on one part of society... could degenerate into a corrupt form. Monarchy, based on rule by the one, could degenerate into tyranny Atristocracy, based on rule by the few, could degenerate into oligarchy (p. 71)."
"Adams's conclusion was that by promoting virtue through education, a republic could fulfill its primary end: to increase the happiness of the people (p. 73)."
"Like Adams, [Mercy Otis Warren] favored a republic to a monarchy but feared 'that American virtue has not yet reach'd that sublime pitch' necessary to sustain it (p. 75)."
"Notes on Seneca's 'On Saving Time'...
'Happy the man who knows each day we die
Nothing is ours but time; let's seize its power' (p. 82)."
"Jefferson learned from Cicero the overriding importance of pursuing happiness by cultivating a 'soul tranquilized by restraint and consistency' (p. 85)."
"If Adams invited conflict, Jefferson avoided it (p. 86)."
"'Determine never to be idle' (p. 86)."
"'Give about two hours every day to exercise; for health must not be sacrificed to learning. A strong body makes the mind strong' (p. 87)."
"'1. Neverer put off to tomorrow what you can do today.
2. Never trouble another with what you can do yourself.
3. Never spend your money before you have it.
4. Never buy a thing you do not want, because it is cheap, it will be dear to you.
5. Take care of your cents: dollars will take care of themselves!
6. Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst and cold.
7. We never repent of having eaten too little.
8. Nothing is troublesome that one does willingly.
9. How much pain have cost us the evils which have never happened!
10. Take things away by their smooth handle.
11. Think as you pleace, and so let others, and you will have no disputes.
12. When angry, count to 10 before you speak; if every angry, 100' (Thomas Jefferson, p. 87)."
"John Locke recommends that young students who are learning the habits of virtue need read only two tooks on morality and ethics: the Bible and Cicero's On Duties (p. 94)."
"Locke defines liberty as the freedom to deploy our powers of reason to think twice before acting on our 'impetuous uneasiness' (p. 97)."
"'Almighty God hath created the mind free, and manifested his supreme will that free it shall remain by making it altogether insusceptible of restraint' (Jefferson)... We can't give presidents, priests, professors, or fellow citizens the power to think for us, even if we wanted to, because we are endowed by our Crfeator with the capacity to reason and therefore can't help thinking for ourselves (p. 101)."
"'The felicity of the people is the end of government' (Jean-Jacques Burlamaqui, p. 111)."
"'Let the safety of people be the supreme law' (p. 113)."
"'Let our progress in every excellence be proportionately great... while liberty, virtue, and religion go hand in hand, harmoniously protecting, enlivening, and exalting all!' (p. 115)"
"'Liberty is the unalienable right of all mankind' (p. 121)."
"Mixing expeidiency and principle, Jefferson and other leading Virginians became fierce opponents of the international slave trade and called for the ultimate abolition of slavery in the distant future (p. 137)."
"For Mason and Jefferson, slavery was inconsistent with the pursuite of happiness (p. 140)."
"'Courageous souls are fearless for what's right
All brave men must at the same time be good
Their fortitude scorns praise in outward sight
Embracing risk of danger as they should
Why anger, desire, and fear? All men are brothers
Be self-controlled and calm, and think of others' (p. 142)."
"Washington was famous for his self-command (p. 143)."
"Washington had averted mutiny by inspiring the troops to display the same mastery of emotions that he attempted to embody (p. 145)."
"Washington's classical reading also helped him draw the connection between personal self-government and political self-government (p. 145)."
"Washington's confidence that Americans would, in fact, find the emotional and spiritual self-discipline to govern their tempers, as individuals and citizens, waxed and waned with the fate of America itself (p. 159)."
"The greatest threat to public virtue, Washington emphasized, was American greed (p. 160)."
"After the war, Washington warned... that the greatest threat to the virtue of the new republic was not greed but factions (p. 161)."
"Exemplifying the virtue of self-disciplined silence, Washington weighed his words carefully and avoided sharing his opinions in the heat of the moment (p. 163)."
"Washington was willing to listen to private criticism from trusted subordinates (p. 164)."
"'Passions are feelings that bring pleasure or pains...
Virtues are habits of moderation
Use reason to follow the middle way
All thoughts and actions in balanced station
Vice comes when excess or shortfalls outweigh' (p. 170)."
" The Federalist Papers are a how-to manual for achieving public happiness (p. 175)."
"'When we reflect on the shortness and uncertainty of life, how despicable seem all our pursuits of happiness?' (p. 181)"
"'Always act without selfish attachment...
Reality lies in the eternal
Not in the impermanent we're seeing' (p. 198)."
"'Sometimes it is said that man cannot be trusted with the government of himself. Can he then be trusted with the government of others?' (p. 199)"
"It took the intervention of their mutual friend Benjamin Rush to reunite the estranged patriots (p. 200)."
"Both Adams and Jefferson concluded that happiness consists in tranquility of mind and that it can be found not in the success or failure of our efforts to achieve inner harmony but from the pursuit itself (p. 201)."
"Adams distilled the common teaching of the Greek and Roman philosophers and the Old and New Testaments into a single sentance... 'Rejoice always in all things' (p. 206)."
"For Jefferson, too, virtue consisted in benevolence to all (p. 207)."
"Until the end of his days, Jefferson wrote letters to his daughters and his friends about the importance of improving their faculties through industrious exercise of body and mind, never ceasing in the daily pursuit of self-improvement (p. 211)."
"After a lifetime of reflection... Adams and Jefferson agreed that the pursuit of happiness was the goal of life, tranquility of mind the key to the pursuit of happiness, and moderation of the passions the key to tranquility of mind (p. 212)."
"The disagreement between Adams and Jefferson on the perfectibility of the human mind mirrored that between Hamilton and Madison, and between the Federalists and the Republicans more generally (p. 213)."
"'Washington became disillusioned above all because of the rise of parties and partisanship, Hamilton because he felt that the federal government was not sufficiently vigorous or energetic, Adams because he believed that the American people lacked the requisite civic virtue for republican government, and Jefferson because of sectional divisions that were laid bare by conflict over the spread of slavery' (p. 215)."
"'Life is short, and that's all there is to say
Unrestrained moderation: the only way' (p. 218)."
"From the age of eleven until he died at eighty-one, Adams kept a diary of his daily attempts to pursue happiness through Stoical self-mastery (p. 220)."
"By avoiding 'luxury, trifling amusements, and vain discourses,' and bering in mind that 'all the happiness of this life' depends entirely on improving our own character, every individual has the capacity to develop a soul 'judicious, free and great' (p. 224)."
"'Nothing is more certaintly written in the book of fate, than that these peop;e are to be free' (p. 237)."
"In Adams's view, 'the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer's missoin upon earth' and 'laid the corner stone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity (p. 237)."
"It would fall to Douglas and Abraham Lincoln to carry on the quest to make the ideals of the Declaration of Independence a reality (p. 241)."
"'Notes from Seneca's 'On Anger'...
From Socrates to Dr. King, the way
Past hate is pure compassion, agape' (p. 242)."
"'Faith, in the absence of work, seems to be worth little, if anything' (Douglas, p. 247)."
"From the beginning of his career, Lincoln insisted that slavery was immoral because it violated the natural rights of equal liberty and self-government articulated int he Declaration of Independence (p. 251)."
"'The existence of slavery in this country brands your republicanism as a sham, your humainity as a base pretence, and your Christianity as a lie' (p. 253)."
"Lincoln rarely displayed his temper in public (p. 254)."
"The solution to racial prejudice, in Douglass's view, was sipmly to allow African Americans to vote, as guaranteed by the Fifteenth Amendment (p. 258)."
"Douglas believed the federal goernment had some role to play when it came to voting rights and education... In the end, Douglass believed that the solution to the violent passion of prejudice was the cool reason of education (p. 259)."
"It would take another century for the civil rights movement and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the Washington Mall to resurrect the promise once again and begin to make it a reality (p. 261)."
"'They believed liberty to be the secret of happiness, and courage to be the secret of liberty' (p. 264)."
"Both Jefferson and Brandeis recognized the value of silence... thinking before you speak (p. 267)."
"'The makers of the Constitution undertook to secure conditions favorable to the pursuit of happiness... They recognized the significance of man's spiritual nature, of his feelings and of his intellect... They knew that only a part of the pain, pleasure and satisfactions of life are to be found in material things. They sought to protect Americans in their beliefs, their thoughts, their emotions and their sensations,' conferring 'the right to be let alone--the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men.'... Brandeis was not the only Supreme Court justice to connect the pursuit of happiness with the quest for the good life (p. 268)."
"America's understanding of the pursuit of happiness in popoular culture was transformed in the 1960s and 1970s from being good to feeling good; from... the pursuit of virtue to... the pursuit of pleasure (p. 271)."
"Alexis de Tocqueville hoped that 'the spirit of religion' in America would remind its citizens that 'in democracies, as elsewhere, it is only through resisting the thousand trivial urges that the universal and anguished longing for happines can be assuaged' (p. 272)."
"Mann stressed the importance of daily reading about moral examples throughout history. Even fifteen minutes a day, he stressed, would inspire habits of self-mastery and good citizenship (p. 274)."
"If our cell phones and screens represent the Founders' nightmare, they also offer a potential benefit. The most striking difference between the daily schedules of the FOunders and our schedules today is how much time they spent reading books (p. 279)."
"As I stood in the Great Hall of the magnificent Thomas Jefferson Building, I was filled with wonder at the thought that all the books in the world could be found in one place. Only a few decades later, for the first time in human history, we carry in our pockets all the wisdo of the ages, incudling the complete works of the ancient thinkers who inspired the Founders and actual copies of books and editions that the Founders themselves read... In the hope that you may be inspired by the Founders' reading habits to read or listen to the books that shaped their pursuit of the good life, I've included the Founders' reading list in the appendix. There's a vast library of wisdom to inspire us every day to learn and grow (p. 280)."
"Cicero, Tusculan Disputations and On Duties...
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations...
Seneca's Essays...
Epictetus's Enbiridion...
Plutarch's Lives...
Xenophon's Memorabilia of Socrates...
Hume's Essays...
Montesquieu's The Spirit of the Laws...
Locke's An Essay Concering Human Understanding and Treatises on Government...
Adam Smith's THe Theory of Moral Sentiments (p. 283)"
July 29, 2025
A really excellent intellectual history. Very few books have impacted my view of my country and the world as much as this one.
I finished with a resolve to live a more virtuous life. What more could I ask for?
I finished with a resolve to live a more virtuous life. What more could I ask for?
January 30, 2024
Who inspired those who inspire you? To me that was the central question that drove me to read Jeffrey Rosen’s “The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America.” Here we dive into how the early founders of America (including the likes of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison) were influenced by, and sought to emulate, the philosophies and teachings of Epictetus, Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, and others. Interestingly, this is the third book I’ve read in the last year that’s focused either on the founders and their influences from Greek and Roman philosophers or the definition of the pursuit of happiness (the other books being “First Principles” by Thomas Ricks and “The Enlightenment” by Ritchie Robertson). I was a bit skeptical heading into this, feeling that I’d read what I’d needed to about this subject before. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case.
Rosen does a great job showing how the personal lives of the founders are influenced by these writers and philosophers of centuries past, and where the founders succeeded in emulating them along with where these presidents and other American leaders fell short. Virtues such as frugality and chastity were laudable to strive for, but often difficult or impossible to obtain for some of these men. Which to me, makes these at times mythically intelligent men feel all that more human. I could have used less of Rosen’s own interjections into the overall narrative (especially in the beginning which started the book on a slower pace than I would have liked) and I think some readers who are unfamiliar with the works of Livy or Cicero may struggle at times. With all that said, “The Pursuit of Happiness” is a fascinating read that also goes beyond what you expect (covering the likes of John Quincy Adams and Frederick Douglass) to offer valuable lessons for how we, like these intellects of years past, can improve and find our own happiness.
Thank you Simon & Schuster for the copy of this book.
Rosen does a great job showing how the personal lives of the founders are influenced by these writers and philosophers of centuries past, and where the founders succeeded in emulating them along with where these presidents and other American leaders fell short. Virtues such as frugality and chastity were laudable to strive for, but often difficult or impossible to obtain for some of these men. Which to me, makes these at times mythically intelligent men feel all that more human. I could have used less of Rosen’s own interjections into the overall narrative (especially in the beginning which started the book on a slower pace than I would have liked) and I think some readers who are unfamiliar with the works of Livy or Cicero may struggle at times. With all that said, “The Pursuit of Happiness” is a fascinating read that also goes beyond what you expect (covering the likes of John Quincy Adams and Frederick Douglass) to offer valuable lessons for how we, like these intellects of years past, can improve and find our own happiness.
Thank you Simon & Schuster for the copy of this book.
September 27, 2024
I DNF'd this book.
I heard about this book on the Art of Manliness podcast. I really enjoyed the podcast and thought I'd read the author's book.
I expected the book to be about how the founders created their list of character traits to work on and then describe how a founder (or a few of them) worked on each of those traits based on historical letters, journals, etc. Instead this book is about the history of the philosophy of each of the traits. The author digs into which Greek philosopher focused on a particular trait and how one of the founders read and enjoyed that Greek philosopher. I like reading books about history, but I don't really enjoy philosophy. So digging into the history of philosophy was just boring to me.
I heard about this book on the Art of Manliness podcast. I really enjoyed the podcast and thought I'd read the author's book.
I expected the book to be about how the founders created their list of character traits to work on and then describe how a founder (or a few of them) worked on each of those traits based on historical letters, journals, etc. Instead this book is about the history of the philosophy of each of the traits. The author digs into which Greek philosopher focused on a particular trait and how one of the founders read and enjoyed that Greek philosopher. I like reading books about history, but I don't really enjoy philosophy. So digging into the history of philosophy was just boring to me.
September 25, 2024
Gee, it only seems to have been a couple months since I read America's Revolutionary Mind: A Moral History of the American Revolution and the Declaration That Defined It by C. Bradley Thompson, another effort to examine where the Founders' heads were at when they decided to split up with Britain, even at the risk of their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.
Ah. That's because it has only been a couple months since I read that book.
I liked Thompson's book quite a bit, and I liked this one, by Jeffrey Rosen, quite a bit too. You might expect (given the titles and subtitles) there to be a lot of overlap, with both authors covering pretty much the same ground. Instead, the books are complementary, with each author emphasizing things the other didn't discuss much. That's the way it seemed to me, anyway. History professors: if you're teaching a course on the guiding philosophies of the American Revolution, you won't go far wrong in assigning both these as texts. (Probably also Bernard Bailyn's The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution; although I haven't read that, it got the Pulitzer.) (I really should read it, I own a copy.)
This book was inspired, more or less, when Rosen noticed that Cicero's Tusculan Disputations appeared on the "goodreads" recommendations of the American thinkers of the day, including Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin. After some more research, he came up with a "top ten" authors of works that inspired the founders, with particular emphasis on that mysterious "pursuit of happiness" phrase that Jefferson worked into the Declaration.
Without further ado: (1) Cicero, Tusculan Disputations and On Duties; (2) Marcus Aurelius, Meditations; (3) Seneca, Essays; (4) Epictetus, Enchiridion; (5) Plutarch, Lives; (6) Xenophon, Memorabilia of Socrates; (7) David Hume, Essays; (8) Montesquieu, The Spirit of the Laws; (9) John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding and Treatises on Government; and (10) Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments.
Even a dilettante like me recognizes this list as pretty Stoic-heavy.
And I can't help but think: can you imagine Donald Trump or Kamala Harris reading any of these works? Let alone discussing them knowledgeably?
Anyway: Rosen examines the lives of the Founders (and some post-Founders), showing their philosophical underpinnings: Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Phillis Wheatley (!), Louis Brandeis, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, … And a lot of Adamses: John, John Quincy, and Abigail weighs in thoughtfully too. It's "warts and all" coverage. Jefferson, Mr. All-Men-Created-Equal, is specifically excoriated for his slaveholding ways, and occasional racist remarks. In a memorable section, it's noted that James Wilson lived a profligate lifestyle, and died "as he railed against his creditors." Tsk.
And, as a bit of red meat thrown to us anti-Progressives, Rosen bemoans the transformation of the Presidency by Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson "in precisely the direction the Founders hoped to avoid". (Wilson was pretty upfront about this, demanding that the government move away from its clunky "Newtonian" machinery of the Founders, and into a "Darwinian" conception of a "living Constitution".)
Rosen convincingly argues that the "pursuit of happiness" was viewed as seeking eudaimonia, the life lived in virtue, moderation, peaceableness, and reason. He distinguishes that from hedonia, or base pleasure. He contends that's Where It All Went Wrong for America, when the latter pursuit shouldered out the former. Certainly, as a sometimes-conservative, I'm open and sympathetic to that argument. (But as a sometimes-libertarian, I wonder if there isn't room for both.)
A style note I found interesting: Rosen often refers to "enslavers" instead of "slave owners"; "enslaved people" instead of "slaves". This seemed clunky to me, maybe a tad "woke", but I (eventually) got it: a small linguistic nod to the reality of the relationship between those in bondage and those that held them in bondage. It's not a dry pigeonholing of people into two states; it emphasizes the ongoing oppressive action of enslavement. So I'm all for it, despite (and maybe because of) the clunkiness: it reminds the reader of the evil reality.
It's why I often say "baby killing" instead of "abortion".
November 25, 2024
I just finished reading “The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America”! It made me feel patriotic 🦅🇺🇸🦅🇺🇸 and proud of all the thought that went into creating the U.S.A. Each chapter talks about a specific virtue, a Founder or President, and the classic philosophers that inspired them. The chapters that were dedicated to Benjamin Franklin, John Quincy Adams, and Frederick Douglas & Abraham Lincoln were my favorite.
I was particularly inspired by their rigid reading regimens. I love this quote by the author Rosen “In their quest to become more perfect, the Founders fell short of many of their own ideals- except for lifelong learning, where youthful habits led most of them to keep up a disciplined daily reading schedule until the end of their life.” The fallibility of our Founding Fathers is well documented but it is noteworthy and impressive that all of our Founding Fathers had a love for learning. 📚📚
The chapter on Benjamin Franklin discussed his strive for moral perfection. He wrote out a list of twelve or so virtues and would daily go through to see if he lived up to it. He’d fill in a circle next to the virtue daily if he didn’t live up to it. I found it absolutely hilarious to learn that the virtue he struggled with the most was chastity. LOL I can’t!!! Anyway, I loved the idea of holding myself to a higher moral standard and found it extremely admirable.
The next chapter I really enjoyed was the chapter about John Quincy Adams. Let me tell you, this man is so underrated. I think he’s my new favorite president. The chapter talked about how reflective and hard on himself he was. We have access to a lot of his journal entries so we can see how high the bar is that he set for himself. He started his diary in 1785 with a Volataire quote, “Indolence is sweet, its consequences bitter”. His most notable work was his early call for the end of slavery and his defense of the Africans who had been captured on the Amistad. Henry Wise referred to him as “The acutest, the astutest, the archest enemy of Southern Slavery that ever existed.” He brought up slavery so much in the House of Representatives that a ‘gag rule’ was put in place to prevent the conversation of slavery from coming up. I also just loved how humble? he was. Not sure the right word to use here but it is remarkable and unprecedented that someone who formerly held the Presidency would take what most people consider to be ‘lesser’ role in our government and join the House of Representatives. So sick!! The more I read about this guy the more I liked him. Unfortunately, like all of us, he too was flawed. His scrupulous quest for moral perfection within himself spilled over into demanding the same perfection from his son (George Washington Adams). George Washington Adams spiraled into a deep depression and eventually committed suicide. Through JQA’s journals we can see that he had remorse about how hard he was on him.
The chapter about Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass was also great! It talked about how the book “The Columbian Orator” profoundly shaped both Lincoln and Douglass at a young age in terms of their views of slavery. I downloaded it on my kindle and hope to eventually get to it. “Its antislavery message was so threatening to the slavocracy that in 1850, the leading Southern newspaper included it on a blacklist of abolitionist books effectively banned it”. This to me sounded eerily familiar with the recent book bans in states like Texas, Missouri, Utah, etc. and the banning of critical race theory in schools. I think it is interesting that the party that is against censorship on social media is against freedom of speech when it comes to books. I think that the Founding Fathers would say that social media encourages mob mentality which has resulted in the rise of populism…and I personally think they would be for some censorship. “In the Federalist Papers, Madison and Hamilton made clear that the Constitution was designed to foster deliberation so that citizens could avoid retreating into the angry mobs and partisan factions that can be inflamed by demagogues.” The founding fathers were hopeful and optimistic about the creation of the printing press because they believed this would prevent fake news from spreading like wildfire. Again, I’m under the impression that they most definitely would’ve wanted more guardrails on the fake news and lack of deliberation that is rewarded on social media.
Overall, I found this book to be really great! I’m definitely inspired to read more about the classical philosophers. At the end of the book the author includes a book list that inspired our Founding Fathers and it’s now my goal to get through as many of those as possible.
I was particularly inspired by their rigid reading regimens. I love this quote by the author Rosen “In their quest to become more perfect, the Founders fell short of many of their own ideals- except for lifelong learning, where youthful habits led most of them to keep up a disciplined daily reading schedule until the end of their life.” The fallibility of our Founding Fathers is well documented but it is noteworthy and impressive that all of our Founding Fathers had a love for learning. 📚📚
The chapter on Benjamin Franklin discussed his strive for moral perfection. He wrote out a list of twelve or so virtues and would daily go through to see if he lived up to it. He’d fill in a circle next to the virtue daily if he didn’t live up to it. I found it absolutely hilarious to learn that the virtue he struggled with the most was chastity. LOL I can’t!!! Anyway, I loved the idea of holding myself to a higher moral standard and found it extremely admirable.
The next chapter I really enjoyed was the chapter about John Quincy Adams. Let me tell you, this man is so underrated. I think he’s my new favorite president. The chapter talked about how reflective and hard on himself he was. We have access to a lot of his journal entries so we can see how high the bar is that he set for himself. He started his diary in 1785 with a Volataire quote, “Indolence is sweet, its consequences bitter”. His most notable work was his early call for the end of slavery and his defense of the Africans who had been captured on the Amistad. Henry Wise referred to him as “The acutest, the astutest, the archest enemy of Southern Slavery that ever existed.” He brought up slavery so much in the House of Representatives that a ‘gag rule’ was put in place to prevent the conversation of slavery from coming up. I also just loved how humble? he was. Not sure the right word to use here but it is remarkable and unprecedented that someone who formerly held the Presidency would take what most people consider to be ‘lesser’ role in our government and join the House of Representatives. So sick!! The more I read about this guy the more I liked him. Unfortunately, like all of us, he too was flawed. His scrupulous quest for moral perfection within himself spilled over into demanding the same perfection from his son (George Washington Adams). George Washington Adams spiraled into a deep depression and eventually committed suicide. Through JQA’s journals we can see that he had remorse about how hard he was on him.
The chapter about Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass was also great! It talked about how the book “The Columbian Orator” profoundly shaped both Lincoln and Douglass at a young age in terms of their views of slavery. I downloaded it on my kindle and hope to eventually get to it. “Its antislavery message was so threatening to the slavocracy that in 1850, the leading Southern newspaper included it on a blacklist of abolitionist books effectively banned it”. This to me sounded eerily familiar with the recent book bans in states like Texas, Missouri, Utah, etc. and the banning of critical race theory in schools. I think it is interesting that the party that is against censorship on social media is against freedom of speech when it comes to books. I think that the Founding Fathers would say that social media encourages mob mentality which has resulted in the rise of populism…and I personally think they would be for some censorship. “In the Federalist Papers, Madison and Hamilton made clear that the Constitution was designed to foster deliberation so that citizens could avoid retreating into the angry mobs and partisan factions that can be inflamed by demagogues.” The founding fathers were hopeful and optimistic about the creation of the printing press because they believed this would prevent fake news from spreading like wildfire. Again, I’m under the impression that they most definitely would’ve wanted more guardrails on the fake news and lack of deliberation that is rewarded on social media.
Overall, I found this book to be really great! I’m definitely inspired to read more about the classical philosophers. At the end of the book the author includes a book list that inspired our Founding Fathers and it’s now my goal to get through as many of those as possible.
November 23, 2025
I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. Rosen offers a clear, accessible, and surprisingly narrative-driven exploration of what the Founders meant by the phrase “the pursuit of happiness.” He traces how Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, Washington, Wheatley, Madison, Hamilton, and Douglass understood happiness not as pleasure or self-expression, but as a lifelong pursuit of virtue, moral discipline, and inner freedom.
The standout chapter for me was Washington’s “self-command.” Rosen shows how Washington synthesized the moral ideals others often articulated and actually lived them—less talk, more action. His quiet mastery of temper and ego made him, in many ways, the moral vanguard of the new republic. Franklin’s chapters were a close second; his blend of classical self-examination and democratic accessibility resonated strongly.
The book definitely deepened my understanding of “the pursuit of happiness.” Rosen demonstrates convincingly that the Founders saw happiness as something that arises from within—through virtue, continual self-improvement, and the harmonizing of reason and passion. Happiness is an inward discipline, not a product of external circumstances.
The writing is clear and engaging, though occasionally Rosen veers off topic abruptly, and I found myself wondering how we ended up in certain digressions. A tighter focus in places would have strengthened the book, but it never undermined my overall enjoyment.
One of the most striking passages comes from Frederick Douglass, who challenges the idea that prejudice is tied to any one race or era. Instead, he argues that its true source is the human desire to dominate—“the same feeling the Brahmin feels toward the lower caste, the Norman toward the Saxon, the Turk toward Christians, Christians toward Jews.” Only reason and enlightenment, he insists, can overcome prejudice rooted in ignorance and vice. It’s a brilliant and sobering reminder that the fight for moral clarity is universal and ongoing.
Highly recommended for civic-minded readers and anyone curious to dig deeper into the moral foundations of the American experiment.
The standout chapter for me was Washington’s “self-command.” Rosen shows how Washington synthesized the moral ideals others often articulated and actually lived them—less talk, more action. His quiet mastery of temper and ego made him, in many ways, the moral vanguard of the new republic. Franklin’s chapters were a close second; his blend of classical self-examination and democratic accessibility resonated strongly.
The book definitely deepened my understanding of “the pursuit of happiness.” Rosen demonstrates convincingly that the Founders saw happiness as something that arises from within—through virtue, continual self-improvement, and the harmonizing of reason and passion. Happiness is an inward discipline, not a product of external circumstances.
The writing is clear and engaging, though occasionally Rosen veers off topic abruptly, and I found myself wondering how we ended up in certain digressions. A tighter focus in places would have strengthened the book, but it never undermined my overall enjoyment.
One of the most striking passages comes from Frederick Douglass, who challenges the idea that prejudice is tied to any one race or era. Instead, he argues that its true source is the human desire to dominate—“the same feeling the Brahmin feels toward the lower caste, the Norman toward the Saxon, the Turk toward Christians, Christians toward Jews.” Only reason and enlightenment, he insists, can overcome prejudice rooted in ignorance and vice. It’s a brilliant and sobering reminder that the fight for moral clarity is universal and ongoing.
Highly recommended for civic-minded readers and anyone curious to dig deeper into the moral foundations of the American experiment.
January 20, 2025
In elementary school, I vaguely recall seeing a painting of a white man, half dressed in a robe, holding a drink, surrounded by some other white people. What it was all about, was no real interest to me. Many years later, most likely, when I was in the Humanities program in high school, I found out this famous picture depicted Socrates taking his hemlock. Still, not too much interest there, I have to admit. Now all these decades later, as time will do, I find some relevance to my life. I had no deep understanding of what the framers of American government were thinking about when they began writing the constitution. A good document for sure, just not widely followed. That aside, I found out that there actually was some thought, other than their own, that these framers referenced. The writings of Socrates, Cicero, Seneca, and other moral philosophers who inspired Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, etc are examined in this book. The reading is weighty at times, nevertheless, it offers the opportunity to learn about concepts that made America. All generations think that what they think is new but in reading these philosophers writings, we find out there is nothing new under the sun. I agree with some of the philosophy and I disagree with others. I love that Frederick Douglass was included, even though, he was never a president. But, to know what he read when he finally was able to read was the same as the presidents was amazing. He definitely would have contributed much as a founding father himself if he was alive at that point in history. More than anything, this book for me encourages more critical thinking. While we dwell in this life, what could be better than to work at the self-discipline of becoming better for ourselves and other, which I would say was the purpose of the book.
December 4, 2025
Some context: years ago, I set a goal to read a biography of each Founding Father. Spoiler: I’ve only read three (one on Washington and two on Adams). I set this goal when I was deeply interested in politics, mostly to have better context for what exactly was the intent behind our founding documents.
While I’ve made little progress toward my goal, it’s remained in the back of my head all these years.
Enter a podcast on stoicism — a more recent interest of mine — which mentioned this book. Considering the times in which we live and how this book seemed to capture an old interest and a new one, I decided to check it out.
I opted for the audio, which is a better format for me to digest dense information. I’m glad I did.
The content itself was fascinating. The book covers a lot of ground, but primarily focuses on Washington, Jefferson and John Adams, with mentions of the remaining founders, some of their contemporaries, and eventually the final 10% or so includes insight into Fredrick Douglass, Lincoln and finally Brandeis and RBG.
As someone who appreciates stoic philosophy and the concept of self improvement, it was interesting to hear how — even centuries apart — the idea of happiness isn’t so different between then and now. Ultimately, it’s not a destination we reach, but an ongoing action of finding contentment.
I also enjoyed the analysis of the Founders’ writings, and how those writings apply to today’s challenges of social media, fake news, cruelty culture, etc.
If you are concerned about the state of the world, read this book. It may make you feel slightly less crazy.
If you are pleased with the state of the world because of an inflated sense of patriotism, read this book. True patriots should understand what they’re fighting for and toward — and you may be surprised what the Founders seem to have thought that should be.
While I’ve made little progress toward my goal, it’s remained in the back of my head all these years.
Enter a podcast on stoicism — a more recent interest of mine — which mentioned this book. Considering the times in which we live and how this book seemed to capture an old interest and a new one, I decided to check it out.
I opted for the audio, which is a better format for me to digest dense information. I’m glad I did.
The content itself was fascinating. The book covers a lot of ground, but primarily focuses on Washington, Jefferson and John Adams, with mentions of the remaining founders, some of their contemporaries, and eventually the final 10% or so includes insight into Fredrick Douglass, Lincoln and finally Brandeis and RBG.
As someone who appreciates stoic philosophy and the concept of self improvement, it was interesting to hear how — even centuries apart — the idea of happiness isn’t so different between then and now. Ultimately, it’s not a destination we reach, but an ongoing action of finding contentment.
I also enjoyed the analysis of the Founders’ writings, and how those writings apply to today’s challenges of social media, fake news, cruelty culture, etc.
If you are concerned about the state of the world, read this book. It may make you feel slightly less crazy.
If you are pleased with the state of the world because of an inflated sense of patriotism, read this book. True patriots should understand what they’re fighting for and toward — and you may be surprised what the Founders seem to have thought that should be.
May 4, 2024
What exactly did the founders mean by “the pursuit of happiness?” They did not mean it as a self-serving, self-pleasure type of happiness. Jeffrey Rosen explains that the pursuit of happiness is the pursuit of lifelong virtue and bettering oneself, and therefore bettering society. As stated in the jacket of the book, “that famous phrase defined for them what it means to live a life of spiritual and moral purpose, how to be a good person as well as a good citizen.” Examining the readings of the Founders (Cicero, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, etc) and laid out in chapters titled by virtues that Benjamin Franklin ATTEMPTED to keep each day (temperance, silence, order, frugality, etc…..except Rosen does not include chastity 🙃), Rosen details the struggles the Founders had with these virtues (Jefferson and frugality, Adams and humility, many founders and avarice and their justification for owning enslaved people, etc) as well as what these virtues meant for future American figures and politicians (Frederick Douglass, Lincoln, etc). Each chapter begins with a sonnet created by Rosen based on one of the readings of the Founders. These were like mini-life lessons! Rosen is so talented! To note: I do not think most Americans realize that the “pursuit of happiness” was not a Jefferson thing - he did not “create” this idea. Rosen follows the long path of that phrase up to Jefferson using it.
I had the pleasure of meeting Rosen in person and having a ten minute chat with him. He’s a really interesting and down-to-earth guy, and of course, highly intelligent!
I highly recommend! It certainly is a slow read because you will want to pause a lot to think of what Rosen writes and then think about the Founders.
I had the pleasure of meeting Rosen in person and having a ten minute chat with him. He’s a really interesting and down-to-earth guy, and of course, highly intelligent!
I highly recommend! It certainly is a slow read because you will want to pause a lot to think of what Rosen writes and then think about the Founders.
January 4, 2025
The Founding Fathers of the American Republic, together with the leaders that came immediately after, like Abraham Lincoln, were strongly influenced by the Greco-Roman tradition of philosophy as a way of life. And even if these men did not always live up to their own expectations (e.g., Jefferson and slavery), the country and the world at large are better off because of their ideas and the hard work they did to implement them. The book is a refreshing (if occasionally imprecise: Cicero was not a Stoic) discussion of the importance of character and virtue for the fiber of a country and for that famous concept, the pursuit of happiness. It turns out that people like Franklin, George Washington, John and Abigail Adams, John Quincy Adams, Frederick Douglass, and many others did not mean—when they used the word “happiness”—the pursuit of self-indulgent pleasure. They meant, like Cicero, Seneca, and Plutarch before them, the pursuit of virtue. The leading thinkers and statesmen of the 18th and 19th century clearly grasped the connection between personal character and happiness on the one hand, and the thriving of a society on the other. Especially in a democracy, it turns out, you can’t have the latter without the former. Which brings the author to briefly discuss, in the last chapter of the book, what happened that led the United States to its current cultural and political nadir. The answer is complex, but it includes the shift from eudaimonia (happiness understood as virtue) to hedonia (happiness understood as pleasure), the “me generation” of the ‘70s, the pursuit of greed of the ‘80s and ‘90s, and of course the rise of the infamous social media. We can still turn things around, but it will take time, effort, and character.
December 31, 2024
Legal scholar Jeffrey Rosen provides deeper understanding of both words and people embraced in the title The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America. The pandemic gave Rosen the opportunity to read works familiar to Colonial Americans. The founders typically read material from classical eras in Greek or Latin. It's unclear if Enlightenment material was in the vernacular or Latin. What is abundantly clear is that the "pursuit of happiness" meant cultivating virtue rather than feeling happy.
Rosen read Cicero, Epictetus, et al., in translation. Readers should be prepared for our founders' fondness for capitalizing words. This emphasis was less enlightening and more annoying for me.
Organized in twelve chapters, each coupling a virtue with specific founders or significant Americans, Rosen keeps a pace that, while not breezy, is genial. He wrote sonnets to introduce chapters, but I occasionally found myself skipping those. I did appreciate his inclusion of Abigail Adams, Mercy Otis Warren and the enslaved Philis Wheatley. Poet Wheatley had fans on both sides of the Atlantic including a future Lord Mayor of London, Benjamin Franklin and George Washington. Thomas Jefferson was not among them due to the depths of his racism. Jefferson is in the Sincerity chapter with Wheatley, not for pursuit of that virtue but for being bogged down by avarice.
Feeling pressure to finish this book, I did sample its audio version. I returned to the book, but am considering buying the audio because it will make good evening listening.
Rosen read Cicero, Epictetus, et al., in translation. Readers should be prepared for our founders' fondness for capitalizing words. This emphasis was less enlightening and more annoying for me.
Organized in twelve chapters, each coupling a virtue with specific founders or significant Americans, Rosen keeps a pace that, while not breezy, is genial. He wrote sonnets to introduce chapters, but I occasionally found myself skipping those. I did appreciate his inclusion of Abigail Adams, Mercy Otis Warren and the enslaved Philis Wheatley. Poet Wheatley had fans on both sides of the Atlantic including a future Lord Mayor of London, Benjamin Franklin and George Washington. Thomas Jefferson was not among them due to the depths of his racism. Jefferson is in the Sincerity chapter with Wheatley, not for pursuit of that virtue but for being bogged down by avarice.
Feeling pressure to finish this book, I did sample its audio version. I returned to the book, but am considering buying the audio because it will make good evening listening.
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