"Exploring the character and public service of America’s first president"

SHOW NOTES: In this episode of The Blessings of Liberty, award-winning historian H.W. Brands joins to discuss his new book, American Patriarch: The Life of George Washington. From his early military career to his leadership during the American Revolution and reluctant return to public service as the first president of the United States, American Patriarch brings to life the man who was called to lead time and again by his peers. Jeffrey Rosen, senior fellow at FIRE and CEO Emeritus of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

Participants

H.W. Brands holds the Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his PhD in history in 1985. He has written more than a dozen biographies and histories, including The General vs. the President, a New York Times bestseller. Two of his biographies, The First American and Traitor to His Class, were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize.

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

• H.W. Brands, American Patriarch: The Life of George Washington (2026)
• George Washington, “Newburgh Address” (1783)
• George Washington, “Circular Letter to the States” (1783)
• George Washington, “Farewell Address” (1796)

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Thank you to our presenting sponsor, FIRE, a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans—especially freedom of speech and free thought. Through legal advocacy, education, and public awareness, FIRE helps protect open debate and a culture where ideas can be challenged instead of silenced. Learn more about FIRE’s work at FIRE.org/blessings.