Happy Hour: Patrick Henry v. Thomas Jefferson – What is a Loyal Opposition? (National Event)

The Charlottesville Branch will again host the Nation-wide ESU Happy Hour Podcast. The Branch is honored to have John A. Ragosta, PhD/JD, as our speaker. An award-winning author, Dr. Ragosta is a historian, lawyer, and beekeeper living in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is currently a historian at the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello and a fellow at Virginia Humanities.

He has taught history and law at the University of Virginia, George Washington University, Hamilton, Oberlin, and Randolph Colleges. His most recent book, For the People, For the Country: Patrick Henry’s Final Political Battle, was released by the University of Virginia Press in 2023. He will talk on the following topic….

Hyper-partisanship in the 1790s drove the still-new United States to the brink of Civil War. Thomas Jefferson warned that the Federalists’ Sedition Act initiated a “reign of witches” and asked states to “nullify” federal laws. Fearing the possibility of secession, George Washington begged Patrick Henry to oppose Jefferson’s radical states’ rights agenda. Henry, the great anti-federalist who had opposed ratification of the Constitution, came out of retirement to defend the Constitution that he had opposed because “we the people” had adopted it. In the process, Henry explained the role of a “loyal opposition.” For the People, For the Country: Patrick Henry’s Final Political Battle tells the story about how a democracy must work if it is to survive.

The weblink for this broadcast will be sent out by National 2-3 weeks prior. Registration is free and the link may be sent to others, non-members, to register.