Jeffrey Rosen: The Pursuit of Liberty

Nov 29, 2025

Join Jeffrey Rosen, President and CEO of the National Constitution Center and law professor, as he explores the enduring clash between Hamilton's desire for a strong federal government and Jefferson's emphasis on individual liberties. Dive into how these foundational debates influenced pivotal moments in American history, from Lincoln's fight against slavery to modern presidential powers. Rosen also examines the relevance of these ideas today, the complexities of constitutional interpretations, and the importance of restoring civil discourse in political discussions.

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INSIGHT

What 'Corruption' Meant Then

'Corruption' meant political influence or patronage in 18th-century discourse, not moral rot.
Hamilton invoked 'corruption' as necessary executive influence to govern effectively, per David Hume's view.

INSIGHT

Jefferson's Slavery Contradictions

Jefferson's views on slavery were contradictory and shifted with political opportunity.
His early calls to ban slavery in territories flipped when expansion or politics made slavery politically useful.

ANECDOTE

Indian Removal And Slavery Expansion

Andrew Jackson enforced Indian removal to clear land for white farmers and slavery, calling it humane.
The policy produced the Trail of Tears and revealed Jeffersonian hypocrisies about federal power.

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Commonwealth Club World Affairs welcomes back Jeffrey Rosen, this time to explore the clashing visions of Hamilton and Jefferson about how to balance liberty and power in a debate that continues to define—and divide—our country. Hamilton pushed for a strong federal government and a powerful executive, while Jefferson championed states’ rights and individual liberties. This ongoing tug-of-war has shaped all the pivotal moments in American history, including Abraham Lincoln’s fight against slavery and Southern secession, the expansion of federal power under Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, and Ronald Reagan’s and Donald Trump’s conservative pushes to attempt to shrink the size of the federal government.

Rosen will explain how Hamilton’s and Jefferson’s disagreement over how to interpret the Constitution has shaped landmark debates in Congress and the Supreme Court about executive power, from John Marshall’s early battles with Andrew Jackson to the current divisions among the justices on issues from presidential immunity to control over the administrative state.

More than ever, the clash between Hamiltonian and Jeffersonian ideals resonates today in our most urgent national debates over the question of whether modern presidents have been consolidating power and subverting the Constitution—the very threat to American democracy that both Hamilton and Jefferson were determined to avoid. Rosen explores all of this in his new book The Pursuit of Liberty, and he'll join us in-person to offer a compelling history of the opposing forces that have shaped our country since its founding, and the ongoing struggle to define the balance between liberty and power.

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