The Pursuit Of Happiness: How Classical Writers On Virtue Inspired The Lives Of The Founders And Defined America,New

A fascinating examination of what the pursuit of happiness meant to our nations 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 foundersBenjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamiltonto 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 goodthe pursuit of lifelong virtue, not shortterm pleasure. Among those virtues were the habits of industry, temperance, moderation, and sincerity, which the Founders viewed as part of a daily struggle for selfimprovement, character development, and calm selfmastery. They believed that political selfgovernment required personal selfgovernment. 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 Declarations 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.