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

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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.

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.

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.

Catherine Allgor serves up a great examination of not only Dolley Madison but a revealing picture of early politics in early America in A Perfect Union. I think she does a wonderful job in exposing how the Madison's, primarily Dolley, countered Jefferson in the way they operated in the young capitol. Allgor also gives us an entertaining glimpse into how an eighteeth century wife supported her husband, perhaps even out-shining him a bit. Allgor also shows us the private Dolley; the Dolley who managed a home but also liked to play cards and was pretty good at it. She also liked to drink....just a bit. These and other facts are great counterpoints to the public Dolley we've all learned about.

I'm always a sucker for any book that deals with this period of American history. Early conditions in this country, especially during those years immediately following the revolution, allowed for a great deal of movement, especially socially and politically. Dolley truly shined during this era and Allgor does a wonderful job in painting that picture.

As you read this book it becomes quite obvious that Allgor loves to do research. Her facts aren't in question though some other reviewers believes she goes too far. Perhaps. However, the greater value in A Perfect Union is the fact that the whole story is here

A worthwhile read for sure.

A PERFECT UNION: DOLLEY MADISON AND THE CREATION OF THE AMERICAN NATION is a 'must' for any serious history holding surveying the making of early America. With its focus on Dolley Madison and her husband James, it shows the political influences of the city as experienced by the president's wife, who became one of the most celebrated people in Washington, saving the portrait of George Washington from the White House as it burned. Rich detail probes into exactly why she was so adored - and is so little known today.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I applaude Catherine Allgor's efforts for creating a fascinating life-and-times of book. It is a cultural history filled with detais for example, about Washington City which, in 1801, included 8 boarding houses, 109 brick houses and 263 wooden houses. Its population consisted of only 2,064 whites, 623 slaves and 123 free blacks. There were 106 representatives in congress and 32 senators, and it seemed most of them adored Dolley Madison, who travelled the streets of Washington City in a dark green chariot with silver monograms on its doors, venetian blinds and candles. It cost James Madison $594 second-hand.

I found this tid-bit amusing: James Madison's proposal of marriage to a congressman's daughter was rejected by a letter sealed with rye dough to show that the young woman's feelings had soured. The young woman was only 15 and Madison was 42. But, in fact, he was 17 years older than Dolley.

Did you know that the White House became known as the White House during the Madison years? Did you know that until 1807 women in New Jersey had the right to vote?

One of the most interesting factors is the similarity between the Madison and Obama problems with congress. According to Allgor: "Congress was riddled with hostile factions, mainly Federalists and renegade Republicans {the Invisibles} who hated James so much that they were willing to sacrifice the general welfare in their zeal to destroy him. So concerned with their personl agenda were these disloyal members of congress, they not only failed to perform the day-to-day business of governing, but their openly quarrelsome behavior embarrassed the government in the eyes of the world and its own citizenry. The result was an erosion of the peoples'confidence in their government as well as their president since he seemed powerless to rein in his congress."

As often as possible, I purchase my books on audio discs. Now I must add Anne Twomey to my list of favorite narrators.

I've had the good fortune to meet and spend some quality time with the historican, Catherine Allgor. She writes likes she talks - vividly intelligent and compelling with insights and facts. IN A PERFECT UNION, Allgon offers more than just a portrait of an fascinating First Lady. She offers a portrait of a place and a time and, in that setting, gives us the history and personality and the amazing achievements of a 'slightly-educated', intelligent and deeply-loving woman. I keep this biography close at hand and refer to it ofen.

I am relearnihg history at 65. Fascinating. I have just started this book but so far it is what I had hoped for.

Most people today do not know that much about this amazing woman - more than the cursory of saving Washington's portrait and serving ice cream in the White House. But she was so much more than that - really she was much of the power behind her husband's presidency.

This book did do a great job of giving the reader a solid understanding of just how much of a political role Dolley had and how important she was not only to her husband's presidency, but that of Jefferson as well. You get a well rounded idea of who she was and why she was so well known to those of her time.

I was also thrilled by the quantity of primary source documents and references that were peppered throughout the book. We are privy to many of her letters to her friends and sisters which provide not only a glimpse at the political but also the private life of this lady. You are able to feel very connected to her thoughts and feelings through these words.

But, there were also some aspects of this book that I thought could have been much better. First of all, there is a lot of repetition of phrases - and it's not done to drive home a particular message - it is more like there needed a better job in the editing process. When these things are noticeable there is a something wrong. I kept thinking, "you already told me that!". I also thought that there was a little bit too much time spent on the personal life of Thomas Jefferson. To some extent this is necessary as Dolley did a lot for Jefferson as well, but there came a point when I started thinking I was reading a Jefferson biography instead and lost sight of the subject of the book. I would also have liked a little bit more about James Madison - he just appears and then they are wed. He is someone who's backstory would have fit well into the book and helped support more of Dolley's story as well.

Overall this was a decent read, but I have read better about Dolley.

"A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation by Catherine Allgor is an interesting book and I have to agree with a previous reviewer that it is a tough read.

I found the content dealing with Dolley's early life (Childhood to First Marriage) as well as her elder years (Post-Presidency) to be very captivating and focused specifically on Dolley. Where the book lost direction was during her Washington years, as the author spent just as much (if not more) of the book painting the scene of the time, such as talking in-depth about Thomas Jefferson's presidency and Washington politics at the time, than it did about focusing on Dolley.

This might have been necessary to put Dolley into context and her role in Washington as not only First Lady but as her playing hostess to the entire nation, but I found it a little detracting from what I was interested in reading about. I'm not a historian but it almost seems as if documents from the time recorded little first hand information about Dolley as women weren't really a topic of historical interest.

Overall I think the book is a fascinating look into Post-Revolutionary American from the perspective of (arguably) the most well known Woman in the land and how her position in society played into politics.