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(1159)

How Doing a Life Review Can Help Your Understand Your Past, Present, and Future

How Doing a Life Review Can Help Your Understand Your Past, Present, and Future

Who and where do you want to be in the future? It's a question we typically answer by looking ahead. But, my guest would say, you can actually best find the answer by looking back. His name is William...

28 Heinä 202145min

What's Causing the Male Friendship Recession?

What's Causing the Male Friendship Recession?

According to a recent survey, the percentage of men with at least six close friends has fallen by half since 1990, and men today are 5X more likely to say they don't even have a single close friend th...

26 Heinä 202141min

The Curse of the Self

The Curse of the Self

What a gift the human self is. It enables you to sense and reflect upon your own existence; examine the past and plan for the future; check certain impulses in order to reach for other aims; and conce...

21 Heinä 202142min

The Strange Science of Sweat

The Strange Science of Sweat

Start jogging around the block, or simply sitting outside on a hot summer day, and you begin to feel moisture develop all over your body. Maybe a drop of sweat will roll down your face. Your clothes g...

19 Heinä 202148min

Men Without Chests

Men Without Chests

“We make men without chests and expect from them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.” While this quote from C.S. Lewis is often cited, few completel...

14 Heinä 202147min

Think More Strategically

Think More Strategically

A lot of organizations and individuals will set some aim for themselves, and then, when they reach the point where they should be seeing progress, but don't, seem surprised that things haven't worked ...

12 Heinä 202152min

The Psychology of Effective Weight Loss

The Psychology of Effective Weight Loss

When most people think about losing weight, they think about the details of a diet plan — what food to eat, how much of it to eat, and when to eat it. What they don’t spend enough time working on, are...

7 Heinä 202147min

A Guide for the Journey to Your True Calling

A Guide for the Journey to Your True Calling

Editor's Note: This is a rebroadcast. It originally aired June 2020. One of the most burning questions in life is what it is you’re called to do with it. What is your life’s purpose? What great work ...

5 Heinä 202153min

Suosittua kategoriassa Koulutus

rss-murhan-anatomia
voi-hyvin-meditaatiot-2
psykopodiaa-podcast
rss-narsisti
rss-liian-kuuma-peruna
adhd-podi
rss-rahamania
rss-niinku-asia-on
kesken
psykologia
rss-tietoinen-yhteys-podcast-2
rss-valo-minussa-2
leikitaanko-laakaria
puhutaan-koiraa
rss-duodecim-lehti
rahapuhetta
rss-psykalab
rss-hereilla
rss-kohti-tasapainoista-ja-lempeaa-elamaa
rss-rahataito-podcast