Pursuit of Happiness - Jeffrey Rosen

A fascinating examination of what “the pursuit of happiness” meant to our nation’s Founders—and how that famous phrase shaped their lives and became a cornerstone of American democracy.

The Declaration of Independence identified “the pursuit of happiness” as one of our unalienable rights, alongside life and liberty. In this compelling work, Jeffrey Rosen—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, revealing what the pursuit of happiness truly meant in their lives.

Drawing on the classical Greek and Roman moral philosophers who inspired the Founders, Rosen demonstrates that happiness was understood not as pleasure, but as virtue. It was the lifelong pursuit of moral excellence—habits of industry, temperance, moderation, and sincerity—seen as essential to self-mastery and good citizenship. The Founders believed political self-government required personal self-government.

While all six Founders recognized that the pursuit of virtue was incompatible with the enslavement of African Americans, Rosen also confronts the painful reality that some, particularly the Virginians, failed to live up to their own ideals.

The Pursuit of Happiness is more than an exploration of a famous phrase—it is a revelatory journey into the moral philosophy of America’s Founders and a fresh, deeply insightful examination of the principles that shaped our democracy.