Book Talk and Signing with Dr. John Ragosta

An award-winning author, Dr. Ragosta is a historian, lawyer, and beekeeper living in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is currently a fellow at Virginia Humanities and previously worked as an acting director of the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello. 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 University of Virginia Press in late 2023. Before returning to academia, Dr. Ragosta was a partner at Dewey Ballantine LLP. Ragosta has both his PhD and JD from the University of Virginia; he also holds a Bachelor of Science in physics-chemistry with a double major in philosophy. Dr. Ragosta is a frequent commentator and lecturer and welcomes opportunities to speak to diverse audiences about his publications or other topics in history and law.

About the Book:

For the People, For the Country: Patrick Henry’s Final Political Battle

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.