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- Presenter:
- Dates: 5/1/2025 - 5/1/2025
- Times: 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
- Days: Th
Description:
In a democracy, how should citizens disagree with government policy? What is a “loyal opposition”?
In 1798, with partisan battles raging, Thomas Jefferson’s Kentucky Resolutions declared that a state could pronounce federal laws unconstitutional and “nullify” them – secession, state against the federal government, and state against state, threatened. Newspapers warned that “Civil War!” loomed.
George Washington begged Patrick Henry to come forth from retirement, oppose these dangerous policies, and save the union. While Henry had led opposition to ratifying the Constitution, he insisted that since “we the people” adopted the Constitution, anyone contesting federal policy must seek reform “in a constitutional way.”
Tellingly, within eight days of his Virginia Resolutions being adopted – Resolutions that were much milder than Jefferson’s Kentucky Resolutions – James Madison wrote Jefferson that they had gone too far. Jefferson, chastised, recognized the danger of the 1790s’ hyper-partisanship and reconsidered.
This story – recounted in For the People, For the Country: Patrick Henry’s Final Political Battle – is the story of how a democracy must work if it is to survive.
John Ragosta is a fellow at Virginia Humanities and previously was the Acting Director of the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello. He has taught law and history at the University of Virginia, George Washington University, and Hamilton, Oberlin, and Randolph Colleges. Dr. Ragosta’s most recent book – For the People, For the Country: Patrick Henry’s Final Political Battle – has received highly favorable reviews in the Wall Street Journal and New York Sun. He is also the author of Religious Freedom: Jefferson’s Legacy, America’s Creed (UVA Press, 2013) and several other works. Ragosta, an award-winning author and frequent commentator, holds both a PhD and a JD from the University of Virginia. Before returning to academia, Dr. Ragosta was a partner at Dewey Ballantine LLP. He is also a beekeeper.
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