Imperfect Union by Lawrence Goldstone

Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Imperfect Union:

And we’ve been arguing ever since.

Quick synopsis:

A look at the U.S. Constitutional Convention and how the compromises reverberate today.

Fact for Non-History People:

Rhode Island was the only state to boycott the convention entirely.

Fact for History Nerds:

The youngest delegate was 26-year-old Jonathan Dayton of New Jersey.

My Take on Imperfect Union:

Do you ever have that feeling at work that maybe, just maybe, you didn’t give 100% and that’s enough? Congratulations! You did what the framers of the U.S. Constitution did!

Of course, I kid. Mostly. However, I did get that feeling as I read Lawrence Goldstone’s Imperfect Union. Those rascally Founding Fathers knew they needed to kick the Articles of Confederation to the curb, but they also didn’t know exactly what the new document should look like. Queue a lot of discussions, arguments, and the beginning of a lot of hurt feelings.

Goldstone focuses specifically on the issues that the authors intentionally punted on. You may have heard a few arguments recently on immigration, gun laws, and the job of the courts. Goldstone goes back to the source and finds some good answers, some unclear ones, and also a heck of a lot of, “Well, I hope someone else figures this out later.” Goldstone has “an incurable tendency to say what is on his mind” (don’t you get mad at me, he literally wrote that in his Goodreads profile) and it is on display here. While he doesn’t go off into political screeds, he does say what he thinks based on the research he has done. As with most things, the reader may disagree, but the whole point is to have this conversation. Goldstone makes that happen.

(This book was provided as a review copy by the author. All opinions are mine because I also have an incurable tendency to say what’s on my mind.)

Verdict:

A great book to understand where our constitution came from. Buy it here!

If You Liked This Try:

• Nathaniel Philbrick, Bunker Hill and Valiant Ambition
• Ron Chernow, George Washington and Alexander Hamilton
• Stacy Schiff, The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams
• Thomas B. Allen, Tories
• James Kirby Martin, Benedict Arnold: Revolutionary Hero