In this episode, Jeffrey Rosen, Professor David Blight and filmmaker Ken Burns explore how a lifelong love of learning and a desire to promote justice shaped the life of abolitionist Frederick Douglass. He met Abraham Lincoln three times, and those three meetings helped shape Lincoln’s evolving views on emancipation.

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By the end of his life, John Quincy Adams was an ardent opponent of slavery, earning the nickname “Old Man Eloquent” for his fierce advocacy in the House of Representatives. In this episode, Jeffrey Rosen, Professor David Waldstreicher and filmmaker Ken Burns unpack how this son of the Revolution became Congress’s primary enemy of slavery.

Now that you’ve learned that the pursuit of happiness means being good, not feeling good, how has that affected your daily life? Send a voice message with your thoughts on this question and we may even include excerpts in our final episode.

Stay Connected and Learn More

• Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org
• Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr
• Explore the America at 250 Civic Toolkit
• Learn more about the NCC’s and Arizona State University's new online course on civic virtue, 'What the Founders Meant by “Happiness”: A Journey Through Virtue and Character’ and sign up for email updates
• Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate
• Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen
• Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube
• Support our important work:

While at Princeton, James Madison was exposed to faculty psychology, the idea that balancing the different parts of the soul achieves harmony. Jeffrey Rosen, Professor Colleen Sheehan and filmmaker Ken Burns explore how Madison infused these lessons about faculty psychology into his political philosophy and embraced the notion that personal self-government is necessary for political self-government.

Now that you’ve learned that the pursuit of happiness means being good, not feeling good, how has that affected your daily life? Send a voice message with your thoughts on this question and we may even include excerpts in our final episode.

Stay Connected and Learn More

• Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org
• Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr
• Explore the America at 250 Civic Toolkit
• Learn more about the NCC’s and Arizona State University's new online course on civic virtue, 'What the Founders Meant by “Happiness”: A Journey Through Virtue and Character’ and sign up for email updates
• Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate
• Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen
• Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube
• Support our important work: