A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation [Paperback]

Catherine Allgor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 20, 2007

"Delightful and discerning . . . In this evocative study a remarkable woman, creator of the 'first lady' role, comes vividly to life."--The New York Times

When the roar of the Revolution had finally died down, a new generation of politicians was summoned to the Potomac to assemble the nation's capital. Into that unsteady atmosphere--which would soon enough erupt into another conflict with Britain--Dolley Madison arrived, alongside her husband, James. Within a few years, she had mastered both the social and political intricacies of the city, and by her death in 1849 was the most celebrated person in Washington. And yet, to most Americans, she's best known for saving a portrait from the burning White House.

Why did her contemporaries so admire a lady so little known today? In A Perfect Union, acclaimed historian Catherine Allgor reveals how Dolley manipulated the contstraints of her gender to construct an American democratic ruling style and to achieve her husband's political goals. By emphasizing cooperation over coercion--building bridges instead of bunkers--she left us with not only an important story about our past but a model for a modern form of politics.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this elegant biography, award-winning historian Allgor (Parlor Politics) makes the case that not only was Dolley Madison incredibly popular with the American people—"Everybody loves Mrs. Madison" Henry Clay once said—the wife of America's fourth president was also a "master politician." Dolley was a skilled hostess, and everyone in Washington coveted an invitation to her table. She knew the etiquette of polite society and used it to political advantage. She worked as a de facto campaign manager when her husband sought the presidency, inventing fictive kin and feigning family connections to potential allies. Even her interior decorating was politically savvy: though she favored French decor at home in Virginia, she chose American-made furniture for the White House. There's no anachronism here: Allgor doesn't turn Dolley into a proto-feminist, nor the marriage—which was respectful and deeply affectionate—into a bastion of egalitarianism. Yet when Allgor describes the Madisons as "political partner[s]," one can't help thinking of the Clintons. The erudition and charm of this biography are rivaled only by that of its subject, which makes it disappointing that the decades after Madison's presidency are dispatched in a skimpy two chapters and epilogue. 10-city author tour. (Apr. 10)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From The New Yorker

Once she married the much older James Madison, in 1794, Dolley Madison became a celebrity of the founding generation—popular but polarizing. Her enemies circulated rumors that Thomas Jefferson had sold her sexual services, and they attacked her as "Queen Dolley" for her aristocratic pretensions. But Allgor's sympathetic biography argues that, as the architect of Washington's social scene, Dolley gave the new republic the forum it needed for the development of an indigenous political culture. If Allgor occasionally overreaches—Dolley's drawing room, she says, "changed the course of the republican experiment"—she captures Dolley's charisma and her essential role in the politics of her time. Charles Pinckney, the loser in the 1808 election, was, he wrote, "beaten by Mr. and Mrs. Madison." He added, "I might have had a better chance had I faced Mr. Madison alone."
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks (February 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805083006
• ISBN-13: 978-0805083002
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #506,758 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Simply Perfect Look at Dolley Madison, May 17, 2006

By 

M. Colford "chlotrudis" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation (Hardcover)

Not being a fan of the historical biography, or really all that interested in history at all, I am probably one of the few people who knew nothing about Dolley Madison's heroic act of saving the White House's famous portrait of George Washington during the War of 1812. Catherine Allgor's new book, <em>A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation</em>, kicks off with this very moment in history, then wheels back to our most famous historical First Lady's birth and childhood, spending considerable time on her marriage to James Madison, our third President, and wrapping up with Dolley's legacy. While Dolley's life is fascinating, from her Quaker upbringing, to her role as the social center of Washington, D.C. during her husband's presidency, it is Allgor's voice that truly brings this first serious biography on Dolley for years to enthralling and entertaining life. There is a knowing wink, a mischievous suggestion, and a comprehensive knowledge of the emerging power of women, particularly political power, infusing Allgor's prose. Allgor paints a thorough and believable portrait of a woman who broke very important ground for all the women in politics who came after her. She also does a terrific job melding the thorough research of an academic text with an engaging style that will appeal to all readers.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A FASCINATING LOOK INTO THE LIFE AND TIMES OF DOLLEY MADISON, November 8, 2006

By 

Mike Klaassen "Author" (Wichita, KS USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation (Hardcover)

I picked up a copy of A PERFECT UNION: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation, by Catherine Allgor as research material for a novel set during the War of 1812. I had already read The Velvet Glove: A Life of Dolley Madison, by Noel Bertram Gerson, but I wanted more detail and insight regarding President and Mrs. Madison. I wasn't disappointed.

A Perfect Union is packed full of information for a novelist wanting to add verisimilitude to a story. For anyone with more than a casual interest in the War of 1812, it provides fascinating insight into behind-the-scenes Washington City and a struggling new nation. Unlike most accounts, it illuminates the war and the political scene from a feminine viewpoint.

For the most part, the facts presented by Ms. Allgor were consistent with my other sources. I noticed only a few factual glitches. I believe British atrocities were committed on the raid of Hampton village, not the battle of Craney Island a few days earlier. And I understand that the Capitol was still in two parts, separated by a wooden walkway, when the redcoats torched it.

Overall, A Perfect Union is a fascinating look into the life and times of Dolley Madison.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Campaigns of Dolley Madison, June 26, 2006

By 

Laura Van Wormer - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation (Hardcover)

The primary research behind this biography is staggering and utterly wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I also have to say that my view of the War of 1812 has been significantly altered, from viewing it as a grievous international mistake to a domestic economic crisis which eerily forecast the American Civil War. Dolley herself as a subject is enchanting. And very funny. And charming. And moving. There are some colorful implications made by primary sources: President Jefferson was a bit of a whack job; America sided with France because the French ambassador's wife was Dolley's best friend and the wife of the British envoy was so awful the couple was socially blackballed; and Madison's strongest reason for declaring war might have been to get re-elected. While I think Allgor may go a bit overboard in all she credits Dolley with, I certainly applaud her break with traditional patriarchal history to reveal the considerable power of at least this one woman in creating a sense of American nationalism. This is very well written, by the way, and quotes from the original sources are seamlessly interwoven.