Order: twelve virtues and the pursuit of happiness -- Temperance: Ben Franklin's quest for moral perfection -- Humility: John and Abigail Adams's self-accounting -- Industry: Thomas Jefferson's reading list -- Frugality: James Wilson and George Mason's debts -- Sincerity: Phillis Wheatley and the enslavers' avarice -- Resolution: George Washington's self-command -- Moderation: James Madison and Alexander Hamilton's Constitution -- Tranquility: Adams and Jefferson's reconciliation -- Cleanliness: John Quincy Adams's composure -- Justice: Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln's self-reliance -- Silence: pursuing happiness today.
Summary:
"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"-- Amazon.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.