i started writing about lincoln, i became conscious about john quincy adams. that had to do with lincoln as the great emancipator. adams, someone who went through a long life. into the revolution. into the civil war. you know all of this. i became enthralled with the diaries. the great literature of our literary writers and presidential writers. the diaries are vivid and alive. i did that book and i thought, the only other president who i have any interest in as a writer, was jefferson. the only other president who has contributed, his language, his self-created language, has contributed to the american and historical consciousness. we carry it with us. i said, why not? the 18th century, what do i know about it? again, this is a biographer, rather than a historian. as a biographer, i had to become a historian. some people actually think i am a historian, so i can get away with it up to a point. there are various devices i can use to get away with it. never say, he must, when i can say, he may, be thinking. you know? they check the works of those who have been

and of course, writing about lincoln, i became very conscious of john quincy adams. and that had to do of course with lincoln as the great emancipator. and is adams as someone who went through a long life, born into the revolution and almost leading to the civil war. you won't know all of this. so i became enthralled with adam's diaries. some of the great literature of our literary writers and are historical presidential writers, the diaries are so vivid and alive. that i did that book and i thought, the only other president who i have any interest in as a writer is jefferson. he's the only other president who has contributed data -- whose language, own self- created language has contributed to the american historical consciousness so we carried with us. and so i said, why not. i will learn something about the 18th century. and again, this is the biographer at work rather than the historian. so as a biographer, i've also had to become a historian. some people think i am a historian and i can get away with it to a point. and their various devices i can use to get away

he is published biographies of thomas carlyle, mark twain, henry james, charles dickens, john quincy adams, abraham lincoln gore vidal, and now thomas jefferson in his masterly pen. kaplan offers us a biography of thomas jefferson by giving an english professor's kind attention to jefferson's written words. jefferson only published one book in his lifetime notes on the state of virginia. but, of course, jefferson wrote consul treatises like a summary view of the rights of british north america legal briefs, memoranda the declaration of independence, and above all letters, thousands of them, which kaplan calls among his most powerful and revealing writings throughout his masterly pen, kaplan brings a skilled biographers attention to how jefferson reveals himself through his writing, often without without intending to, as kaplan says of notes on the state of virginia. it's a book about jefferson partly because jefferson did not want it to, a book about himself. the jefferson we meet here is not surprisingly learned and forceful. but kaplan also shows this jefferson as a writer who's often ev

and i couldn't believe i mean, mark twain, charles dickens, henry james, abraham lincoln, john quincy adams, a finalist for the pulitzer prize. i mean, missing a lot of people, too, aren't i. well. i have to confess. i'm not missing them anymore. for right. and he is. and here tonight to talk about thomas jefferson, who's he has recently written and is a finalist. mary sarah builder, who's a professor of law, boston college, and one of the leading thinkers on the constitution, who wrote a bancroft prizewinning book on james madison in the constitution, which was a finalist. the george washington book prize, which is here. she's here tonight to talk about female genius, the biography of eliza, harriet. we're going to learn a lot more about. and then we have maurizio valsania who has written eight books for italian and four in english and three on thomas jefferson. and he's recently turned his gaze to george washington, which the subject of his book that's a finalist for the george washington prize. so all of you. thank you very much much. so i have to meet with another mike. so give us a sec

and i couldn't believe i mean, mark twain, charles dickens, henry james, abraham lincoln, john quincy adams, a finalist for the pulitzer prize. i mean, missing a lot of people, too, aren't i. well. i have to confess. i'm not missing them anymore. for right. and he is. and here tonight to talk about thomas jefferson, who's he has recently written and is a finalist. mary sarah builder, who's a professor of law, boston college, and one of the leading thinkers on the constitution, who wrote a bancroft prizewinning book on james madison in the constitution, which was a finalist. the george washington book prize, which is here. she's here tonight to talk about female genius, the biography of eliza, harriet. we're going to learn a lot more about. and then we have maurizio valsania who has written eight books for italian and four in english and three on thomas jefferson. and he's recently turned his gaze to george washington, which the subject of his book that's a finalist for the george washington prize. so all of you. thank you very much much. so i have to meet with another mike. so give us a sec

frankly, it was john quincy adams that said america -- mesh should never go abroad looking for monsters to destroy. that was his quote. we never have. the war in ukraine is not our war but freedom is our fight. i really do believe -- what i think is undermining the traditional support among republicans for arms for ukraine is the fact that i think president biden has done a terrible job explaining what our interest is there. his speech is about democracy. -- his speeches about democracy don't connect with the american public. frankly also, i think that disastrous withdrawal from afghanistan, undermined public confidence in the president's leadership as commander in chief. and that's why we need new leadership in the white house. leadership that can marshal the energies and resources of the american people. and the last thingis there are voices in our party, meg, that suggest we have to choose between securing our border, or reviving our economy, or unleashing american energy, or being the leader of the free world. i think that's a false choice. i think we can do both. anyone that says w

through the halls of the house of representatives, and you see where abraham lincoln sat and john quincy adams you think about the history of this chamber and the things that we have fought for in this country, to make sure that people are free. and you have people that defend terrorist oppressors and attacked the free state of israel, and the only democracy and beacon of hope in the middle east and these people attack them, it's disgusting. it's vile. and, like i said, they have no business serving in the house of representatives. >> lawrence: all right, congressman. i want to get your comments on something else today. you are expected to have another speaker's vote today, jim jordan is apparently only nominee. it looks like you guys just can't get the job done. i saw some of your representatives and some of your colleagues upset at some of the calls that they are getting from voters. what is it going to take for you guys to get your act together? >> well, listen, voters obviously have the right to weigh in with each of us and express their views. and i respect that. certainly in my district,

in fact, john quincy adams after he served president went back and certainly house of representativesine a president today lowering himself to serve and house of representatives? but that's where theys power resided in the earliest days. and congress, they've not embraced this at all. i agree with what you two to said regarding some of the rules changes. but the one rule change that they needed they didn't push for, and that is that you needed to rest power away from committee chairman. because if they don't rest power away from committee chairman and committee chairman are subject to the speaker, the speaker still has got too much power. and the way you rest power away from committeeir chairman is by having committee chairman selected by the members of the committee. because then that chairman would be beholden to the members of the committee. rather than the speaker who selects them. and the most significant thing they could have done is that and then you would begin to devolved power back to the members and that great wisdom of the crowd that you speak of in your book could emerge.

in fact, john quincy adams after he served president went back to house ofto representatives.dent of the united states lowering himself in the house of representatives. the congress did not embrace this at all and i agree both with what you two just said regarding some of the rules changes. but the one rule change that they needed they didn't push for and that is that you needed to rest power away from committee chairman because if they don't arrest power to committee chairman and committee airplane are subject to the speaker, the speaker still has too much power thand the way you rest power awy from committee chairman is by having committee chairman selected by the members of the committee because then the chairman would be beholding to the members of the committee rather the speaker that selects thing. and then you would begin to devolve power back to the members and with the crowd that you speakr of in your book could emerge but right now the -- the citizens that are represented by kevin mccarthy in california, those citizens, the wisdom of that crowd has way more say and t

a quiz show in the 1960's posed the question which american met during his lifetime both john quincy adamsnd alger hiss? the answer of course was holmes who had met the sixth president of the united states, another family friend of his boston boyhood when he was five years old. and who had employed the future soviet spy as one of his last law secretaries in 1929. it was the civil war that was his touchstone. i hate to read about those days, he told friends. he had no interest in reliving the worst squalid preliminaries or blunders and worst of the battles. peter: jeff rosen when we were talking earlier i think i used the phrase you do not come any waspier then oliver wendell holmes. is that a correct sum up? jeff: i think he sets the standard. we heard about his incredible friends, as boston blueblood as you can imagine. william james who is discussed in the metaphysical -- we were talking about earlier had an amazing line about oliver holmes. he was like a machine planing a deep and self beneficial group through life. was william james's take on him. his father was oliver wendell holmes s

one of america's great statesmen john quincy adams once wrote america is the well-wisher to freedom and under the previous order to -- to all. he famously observed that america goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy. i have to observe, though, that adams wrote we do not search for monsters to destroy, but the architect of the monroe doctrine and chief defender of andrew jackson's conquest of spanish florida was no pacifist. when monsters rear their heads and challenge america, especially in her own hemisphere, america must indeed not hesitate to destroy those monsters. from tripoli to berlin to tokyo to saint george, as we have done it before and we must be prepared to do it again. and whep we must go -- when we must go abroad to destroy monsters, we must use overwhelming force. if washington is unwilling to use the force necessary to win, we ought not use force at all. it is unfair and cruel to both american troops pursuing the mission and to our friends in the nation where the mission is being conducted. as we look, for examples to follow in this new moment of international

famous quote in the -- you might say the history of american foreign policy realism is john quincy had ams -- adams saying we don't go abroad from monsters to slay. we are the well-wishers of everyone's freedom but the guarantors only of our own. that's a great quote and people sometimes use that to justify us not providing support to ukraine because those people don't understand that if putin wins in ukraine, his next stop is estonia and lithuania. that's not so relevant to this conversation. it's that other point, the subclause that we are the well wish es of everyone's freedom. well, excuse me, when you have so-called american journalists propagating authors of slander that is not american. thank you. [applause] >> thank you very much, ambassador. thank you to our distinguished panel. i think we want to give you another round of applause. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2023] >> a healthy democracy doesn't just look like this. it looks like this. where americans can see democracy at work, when citizens are truly informed, a republic thrives. get involved straight fr