Joshua Fry Speed

that's before we get our time jump where they kidnap anthony mackie and take him

yeah to their come to new orleans yeah uh and uh willie simpson jimmy simpson jimmy simpson who is yeah willie is nowhere in his name yeah uh joshua speed yeah it's like they got him we need to go get your friend and he's like okay so they ride south they end up in new orleans yeah they well they do they do he gets an invitation no i was gonna say they do

one of my favorite action movie things where he gets the invitation and jimmy simpson's like you know it's a trap it's like i'm counting on it you know i love love it then i never get tired of that I'm going anyway

so it's basically they peek in the windows of this plantation and they notice by the way that all the slaves are missing from the slave quarters it's very quiet and they're like what's going on and when they look through the windows of the plantation it's all these rich white folk dancing with African folk I gotta

The silver's on another

train.

Ah! And Joshua Speed comes out and he's going, did you think that my friend was going to betray me? Ha ha.

And Speed's like, this is what we wanted.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Mary Todd Lincoln.

Jimmy Simpson as Joshua Speed.

And the list continues on, uh, for, uh...

Mostly, th- those were the most notable actors-

[gentle music] Hello, friends.

I'm Jeffrey Rosen, senior fellow at FIRE and CEO emeritus of the National Constitution Center, and welcome to "The Blessings of Liberty," conversations on the Constitution, history, and the American idea.

This podcast would not have been possible without the generous support of our presenting sponsor, FIRE.

He's the author of 10 books, including "Lincoln on the Verge: Thirteen Days to Washington," which won the Lincoln Forum Book Prize.

[gentle music] Ted Widmer, it's an honor to welcome you to "The Blessings of Liberty," and I'm so excited to discuss your new book, "The Living Declaration." Uh, we had the pleasure of discussing it together recently on a memorable hike in Maine, and I knew that I had to have you on the podcast.

We've been friends for a long time, and I'm just so impressed that in this book, which you call a biography of America's founding text, you collect a series of primary texts that have invoked the Declaration over time.

Many are central to American history, but many were unfamiliar to me, as I know they will be to many other readers.

What was your goal in making this collection? How did you choose the documents you did?