The Surprising Pessimism of America's Founding Fathers

The Surprising Pessimism of America's Founding Fathers

When Americans think about their country's Founding Fathers, they tend to think of them as cool and competent figures, who were supremely confident in the superiority and longevity of the republican government they had created.

But my guest says that nearly all the founders experienced great internal and external conflict in conjunction with the new government, and came to be greatly pessimistic about the future of the democratic experiment they had helped birth. His name is Dennis C. Rasmussen and he's a professor of political theory and the author of Fears of a Setting Sun: The Disillusionment of America's Founders. Today on the show, Dennis unpacks how four of the founders — George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson — ultimately came to worry that the American republic wouldn't last past their own generation, based on concerns that ranged from the rise of partisanship to a lack of virtue amongst the American citizenry. Dennis also discusses why it was that one founder, James Madison, remained optimistic about the future of the country. We end our conversation with why the disillusionment of the founders actually carries a message of hope for us.

Get the show notes at aom.is/settingsun.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jaksot(1158)

The 5 Factors for Crafting Simple (Read: Effective!) Messages

The 5 Factors for Crafting Simple (Read: Effective!) Messages

Whether you’re a teacher, parent, or entrepreneur, you want to be able to persuade your students, children, and customers with your messages. That’s a tall task in the modern age, when people are bomb...

4 Maalis 202449min

The Misconceptions of HIIT (And the Role It Can Play in Your Fitness Routine)

The Misconceptions of HIIT (And the Role It Can Play in Your Fitness Routine)

You've probably heard of HIIT — high intensity interval training. In fact, you may feel so familiar with the idea that you think you understand it. But do you?People often hold some popular misconcept...

28 Helmi 202449min

The Making of a Stoic Emperor

The Making of a Stoic Emperor

Perhaps you've read Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, a book many turn to to learn and internalize the teachings of Stoic philosophy. But what do you know of the man who penned that seminal text?Here to h...

26 Helmi 202451min

The Secrets of Supercommunicators

The Secrets of Supercommunicators

Have you ever known one of those people who seemed to be able to connect with anyone? The kind of person who had the ability to make others feel understood and smoothly navigate even the trickiest of ...

21 Helmi 202444min

7 Journaling Techniques That Can Change Your Life

7 Journaling Techniques That Can Change Your Life

In my twenties and early thirties, I was a regular journaler. Several years ago, however, I stopped journaling almost entirely because I wasn’t getting anything out of it anymore. But my guest has hel...

19 Helmi 202449min

Busting the Myths of Marriage — Why Getting Hitched Still Matters

Busting the Myths of Marriage — Why Getting Hitched Still Matters

The marriage rate has come down 65% since 1970. There are multiple factors behind this decrease, but one of them is what we might call the poor branding that surrounds marriage in the modern day. From...

14 Helmi 202448min

Chasing Shackleton — Re-creating the World’s Greatest Journey of Survival

Chasing Shackleton — Re-creating the World’s Greatest Journey of Survival

If you’ve ever read the classic book Endurance, you probably shivered and shuddered as you wondered what it would have been like to have undertaken Ernest Shackleton’s famously arduous Antarctic rescu...

12 Helmi 202445min

Night Visions — Understand and Get More Out of Your Dreams

Night Visions — Understand and Get More Out of Your Dreams

When you really stop to think about it, it’s an astonishing fact that we spend a third of our lives asleep. And part of that time, we’re dreaming. What goes on during this unconscious state that consu...

7 Helmi 202442min

Suosittua kategoriassa Koulutus

rss-murhan-anatomia
psykopodiaa-podcast
voi-hyvin-meditaatiot-2
rss-narsisti
adhd-podi
rss-rahamania
psykologia
ihminen-tavattavissa-tommy-hellsten-instituutti
kesken
rss-liian-kuuma-peruna
rss-duodecim-lehti
rss-valo-minussa-2
rss-vapaudu-voimaasi
jari-sarasvuo-podcast
rss-tietoinen-yhteys-podcast-2
rahapuhetta
rss-turun-yliopisto
rss-arkea-ja-aurinkoa-podcast-espanjasta
rss-ranskaa-raakana
rss-uskonto-on-tylsaa