Author Jeffrey Rosen told a packed auditorium at the University of Richmond that the argument between the Founding Fathers over the meaning of liberty remains an ongoing debate today. 

Drawing on his book, The Pursuit of Liberty, Rosen traced that debate through the enduring tensions between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson during a campus visit last week. Rosen is the Jepson School’s first Leadership and Humanities Scholar.

“We wanted a scholar with broad appeal, one who writes on big themes, so that students can make connections to leadership, past and present,” said Sandra Peart, dean of the Jepson School of Leadership Studies. “Rosen’s work, with its emphasis on happiness and freedom and its connections to the classical world of philosophy, immediately caught our attention.”

Students in Leadership Studies 101 read sections of The Pursuit of Liberty in January.

Lunch discussion and evening lecture

Before the event, a small group of students, including first-year Victoria Gipp, joined Rosen for lunch. Gipp enjoyed hearing more about the ideas her class had analyzed directly from the person who developed them.

“What I found particularly interesting about Rosen's book is the outline of how the individuals who shaped our nation thought about future generations,” Gipp said. “Liberty was not just a settled principle but was portrayed as part of an ongoing argument that is still present today.”

Later that night, Rosen spoke to a large audience gathered in the Ukrop Auditorium.

“I want to tell you how the battle between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson defined all of American history,” Rosen began.  

He explained that the two founders disagreed on national power (Hamilton) and states’ rights (Jefferson), as well as on executive and judicial powers, on liberal versus strict interpretations of the Constitution, and on democracy versus a society ruled by elites.

He shared an observation Gipp made during the lunch discussion about how Jefferson always distrusted power, and Hamilton always distrusted the people. These struggles “are the golden and silver threads woven throughout the tapestry of American history,” Rosen said.

The tension between the two approaches is productive, he said, but polarization and even violence can occur when the threads are pulled too far in one direction.

Deep reading encouraged

In his advice to young historians, Rosen recommended deep reading of primary texts, such as those by the Founding Fathers and the thinkers who inspired them. He said that deep reading values slow, reflective contemplation of passages in response to the modern tendency to scroll and skip through digital texts.

His advice resonated with Olivia Cranshaw, a 2024 graduate who was a McDowell Institute Fellow while at UR. The American history buff left work early to attend Rosen’s lecture. “The deep reading aspect has been something I've been focusing on for the past few years, but it takes dedication,” she said. “I've never lived in a world without having my phone on me all the time.”

After the talk, guests lined up to continue conversations with Rosen and get books signed. This is his second visit to campus. Last semester, Rosen met with the students in Leadership Studies 101 classes who read his Pursuit of Happiness book.

“It's been so inspiring to work with students here at the University of Richmond. I've been impressed by the depth of their questions, by their curiosity and their open-mindedness,” Rosen said. “It’s really exciting to see the enthusiasm for deep reading and learning about history.”