Book Forum 

# *The Pursuit of Happiness*

### *How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America* 

Published By Simon & Schuster • 2024 

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Date and Time 

**May 30, 2024** 
5:30 — 8:30 PM EDT 

Location 

Cato Institute, 1000 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC 

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##### Featuring 

![Jeffrey Rosen](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2024-05/jeffrey-rosen.jpeg?itok=BLCcGCSV) 

Jeffrey Rosen 

President and CEO, National Constitution Center; and author of *The Pursuit of Happiness*

![Michael Poliakoff](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2024-05/Michael-Poliakoff.jpeg?itok=uK1bdS54) 

Michael Poliakoff 

President and CEO of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni

[![Jonathan Fortier headshot](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2023-07/jonathan-fortier-hs.jpeg?itok=O3VQO0k9)](/people/jonathan-fortier) 

[Jonathan Fortier](/people/jonathan-fortier)

Director, Lib​er​tar​i​an​ism​.org

[ 

](mailto:jfortier@cato.org) 

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

The second sentence of the Declaration of Independence is perhaps one of the most resonant of all phrases from the American Founding. But what did the Founders mean by “Happiness”? And how, exactly, was it to be pursued? In his new book, *The Pursuit of Happiness*, Jeffrey Rosen examines the many ways that key figures of the American Founding turned to ancient Greek and Roman philosophers as guides toward a better understanding of happiness and the good life. Through the eyes of American figures such as Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Frederick Douglass, Rosen explores virtues such as temperance, humility, and moderation and their relationship to self-improvement and good governance. What emerges is a set of important insights about the relationship between the quality of character and the nature and success of political and social organization. Rosen’s concluding pages offer a sobering set of reflections about our own culture currently marinating in social media and internet excess and asks how we might rediscover a path that the Founders themselves worked to keep alive more than 200 years ago.

Join Jonathan Fortier, director of Lib​er​tar​i​an​ism​.org, for a discussion with author Jeffrey Rosen and Michael Poliakoff, president of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni.

**Book signing and reception to follow.**

#### Schedule

5:30 - 6:00 PM 

**Opening Reception**

Cato Wintergarden

6:00 - 7:30 PM 

**Book Forum**

F.A. Hayek Auditorium

7:30 - 8:30 PM 

**Closing Reception and Book Signing**

Cato Wintergarden

![Pursuit of Happiness book cover](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/promo_block_book_cover_1x/public/2024-05/pursuit-of-happiness-book-cover.jpg?itok=_gDLIXeN) 

##### Featured Book 

### *[The Pursuit of Happiness](https://www.libertarianism.org/articles/about-jeffrey-rosens-pursuit-happiness)*

The Declaration of Independence identified “the pursuit of happiness” as one of our unalienable rights, along with life and liberty. Jeffrey Rosen, the 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—to show what pursuing happiness meant in their lives.

[Purchase Book](https://www.libertarianism.org/articles/about-jeffrey-rosens-pursuit-happiness) 

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This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).