In 1799, at the behest of President George Washington, Patrick Henry came out of retirement to defend the Constitution that he had once opposed and to thwart Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, whom Washington accused of putting party over country and threatening the fragile union. ​“For the People, For the Country” tells the remarkable story of how the most eloquent public speaker of the American Revolutionary era and a leading antifederalist during debates over ratification of the Constitution reemerged on the side of the federalists and once again changed history.

Much more than a fire-breathing demagogue, the Patrick Henry we encounter here comes to life as a principled leader of the young nation who believed above all in working with a government elected by the people, advocating for political change in ​“a constitutional way” — at the ballot box. A gripping narrative, this book will change long-held views of this great Founding Father.

About John A. Ragosta
An award-winning author, Dr. Ragosta is a historian, lawyer, and beekeeper living in Charlottesville, Virginia. Previously the acting director of the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello, Ragosta is a fellow at Virginia Humanities. He has taught history at Hamilton, Oberlin, and Randolph Colleges, and the University of Virginia, and law at the University of Virginia and George Washington University. He was the Robert C. Vaughan Fellow at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities in 2013 – 14 and was the 2010-11 Gilder Lehrman Junior Research Fellow at the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies. His most recent book is ​“For the People, For the Country: Patrick Henry’s Final Political Battle.” His previous book, ​“Patrick Henry: Proclaiming a Revolution,” was released by Routledge Press in late 2016 and is the basis for a MOOC (massive open online course) being sponsored by the University of Virginia and the Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation. Before returning to academia, Dr. Ragosta was an international trade and litigation partner at Dewey Ballantine LLP, where he was deeply engaged in the World Trade Organization, NAFTA, and other issues for the U.S. lumber, steel, semiconductor, motion picture and cable, and satellite launch industries. Dr. Ragosta has degrees in early American history, law, and physics-chemistry and has published in historical, legal, and scientific journals.