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A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation Paperback – Illustrated, February 20, 2007

by Catherine Allgor (Author)

4.2 181 ratings

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"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.

Print length

512 pages
Language

English
Publication date

February 20, 2007
Dimensions

6 x 1.17 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

0805083006
ISBN-13

978-0805083002
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Where is Dolley Madison when we need her? Catherine Allgor makes clear that Mrs. Madison's skills as a hostess and politician held the country together when rabid partisanship threatened to tear it apart. This is a well-told biography of a true nineteenth-century celebrity, but a celebrity with substance, savvy and courage.” ―Cokie Roberts, author of Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation

“For some time Dolley Madison has been a beguiling ornament, flashing her femininity in the parlors of the early American republic. Here, at last, Catherine Allgor, with great style and wit, recovers a different Dolley, a full-fledged political partner with James Madison. Now, in addition to John and Abigail,we have James and Dolley.” ―Joseph J. Ellis, author of His Excellency: George Washington

“A lively, clear-eyed account of a master politician. As first ‘Presidentess,' Dolley Madison established herself among our earliest female celebrities and left an enduring mark on American culture. Hers is a rousing tale of ambition, gossip, and policy, told with empathy and understanding by Catherine Allgor. ” ―Stacy Schiff, author of A Great Improvisation

“Before Jackie Kennedy there was Dolley Madison - elegant, sophisticated and charismatic. Thanks to her inimitable style and determination, the nation's capital became more than just a swampy outpost where pigs and politicians freely roamed. In A Perfect Union Catherine Allgor reveals the warm and fascinating woman who dazzled Americans for more than three decades.” ―Amanda Foreman, author of Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire

About the Author

A professor of history at the University of California–Riverside, Catherine Allgor has received the George Washington Egleston Prize, the Lerner-Scott Prize, and the James H. Broussard First Book Prize for Parlor Politics. She was awarded a Bunting Fellowship for her work on Dolley Madison.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Holt Paperbacks; First Edition (February 20, 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 512 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0805083006
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0805083002
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.6 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.17 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,275,729 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #920 in American Revolution Biographies (Books)
- #3,785 in Women in History
- #13,758 in Women's Biographies

Customer Reviews:
4.2 181 ratings

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Catherine Allgor

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As the president of the Massachusetts Historical Society Catherine Allgor is a noted historian, non-profit leader, and public history innovator. Previously, she had been the Nadine and Robert Skotheim Director of Education at the Huntington Library in San Marino, CA, and a former Professor of History and UC Presidential Chair at the University of California, Riverside. Allgor attended Mount Holyoke College as a Frances Perkins Scholar and received her Ph.D. with distinction from Yale University, where she also won the Yale Teaching Award. Her dissertation received a prize as the best dissertation in American History at Yale and The Lerner-Scott Prize for the Best Dissertation in U.S. Women's History. She began her teaching career at Simmons College and has been a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study and a Visiting Professor of History at Harvard University. Her first book, Parlor Politics: In Which the Ladies of Washington Help Build a City and a Government (University Press of Virginia, 2000), won the James H. Broussard First Book Prize from the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic and the Northeast Popular Culture/American Culture Association Annual Book Award. Her political biography, A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation (Henry Holt, 2006), was a finalist for the George Washington Book Prize. In 2012, she published Dolley Madison: The Problem of National Unity (Westview Press) and The Queen of America: Mary Cutts's Life of Dolley Madison (University of Virginia Press). President Obama has appointed Allgor to a presidential commission, The James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation. Catherine Allgor also serves on boards and committees for the National Women’s History Museum, the Organization of American Historians, Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum, and the Gilder Lehrman Institute, among others.

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Marlene Homer

A PERFECT UNION: DOLLEY MADISON AND THE CREATION OF THE AMERICAN NATION

Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2011

Verified Purchase

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.

12 people found this helpful

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E. Nusbaum

Hello, Dolley!

Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2010

Verified Purchase

"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.

8 people found this helpful

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Sandi Barnard

The really 1st First Lady

Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2022

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A title well earned, bestowed because of her Political feminine sensitivity. She influenced all of early Washington protocol for society and set the standards for traditions to follow for many First Ladies.
A well written historical biography of a remarkable woman.

One person found this helpful

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J. Clark

A Political Agenda

Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2006

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I wanted to learn more about Dolley just because she was Dolley; I have been fascinated with her since the 1950s. This book is competent but unsatisfying.

Unfortunately, the author has an axe to grind. She says that Dolley helped create the American political process by letting Federalists converse civilly with Democratic-Republicans at her parties. First, this is not a particularly novel or stunning idea. Second, Dolley isn't controversial; we don't need a biography with a thesis. I crave more information about non-political relationships: with her mother-in-law, for example; with Aaron Burr (doesn't legend say he courted her in her widowhood?). We need a family tree, at least for the Paynes, and more attention to detail. Which niece is "Annie Payne Cutts"? Dolley's age is lost sight of a couple of times, and her brother William Temple is mentioned only at his death. Wasn't Dolley related to Patrick Henry and more distantly to Angelica Van Buren, Mary Todd, and possibly Julia Tyler? Those connections I am disappointed to see ignored.

The illustrations are the main reason for keeping the book, but the photo captions could be better. In the White House photo, which one is Buchanan? which is Sally Polk? I think I know, but please tell us for sure.

18 people found this helpful

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Ron Priebe

True she was the first of First Ladies

Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2022

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Since I retired, I took on the project to read about all of the US President's lives. Then moved on to the First Ladies. This fine book on Dolley Madison was indeed noteworthy.

2 people found this helpful

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sherry lee

Very enlightening

Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2017

Verified Purchase

A very historical book that tells the true story of Dolley. The author was very thorough in her research and I enjoyed learning about not only Dolley but our government. The book was longer than it needs to be as the author tended to ramble and sometimes go off on a 3 page description that was not needed for the story line. All in all, I enjoyed it.

One person found this helpful

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Hugh Curley

Women and the Founding of America

Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2019

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This easy-read book pointed out how important women were in the founding of America. Rather than just making babies, women had a huge contribution in making the country work. This book has a lot of detail supporting how great Dolley Madison really was.

3 people found this helpful

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Jacque Lefkowitz

Tedious

Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2016

Verified Purchase

I found it a very tedious book to read. I was more interested in the personal side of Dolley's life....not the very lengthy parts about government. I'm a voracious reader but struggled to finish this book. In fact, I kept checking to see how many pages I had left to read.

4 people found this helpful

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