"Exploring the career and contributions of the Penman of the Revolution"

SHOW NOTES: In this episode of The Blessings of Liberty, historian Jane E. Calvert discusses the life and legacy of John Dickinson. The program also features readings from Calvert’s new Dickinson biography, a performance of Dickinson’s “The Liberty Song,” and original compositions with music and lyrics by Jeffrey Rosen. Rosen moderates. This episode was originally recorded as a Clarke Forum program at Dickinson College.

Participants

Jane E. Calvert is the founder, director, and chief editor of the John Dickinson Writings Project (JDP) and associate professor of History at the University of Kentucky (UK). She is the author of Penman of the Founding: A Biography of John Dickinson, the first comprehensive biography of the key American founder John Dickinson

Jeffrey Rosen is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and CEO Emeritus of the National Constitution Center. He is also a professor of law at the George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.

Additional Resources

• Jane E. Calvert, Penman of the Founding: A Biography of John Dickinson (2024)
• Jane E. Calvert, Quaker Constitutionalism and the Political Thought of John Dickinson (2012)
• John Dickinson, Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania (1767-1768)
• Jeffrey Rosen, The Pursuit of Happiness: How the Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America (2024)
• Pursuit of Happiness: Two Song Cycles by Jeffrey Rosen
• The Golden Mean: Songs for the Pursuit of Happiness

Stay Connected and Learn More

• Substack: @rosenjeffrey
• Instagram: @TheBlessingsOfLiberty
• X: @JeffreyRosenPod
• X (Personal): @RosenJeffrey
• YouTube: @TheBlessingsofLibertyPod

Thank you to our presenting sponsor, FIRE, a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to defending and sustaining freedom of speech and free thought. Learn more about FIRE’s work at FIRE.org/blessings.