Overview

For most of the twentieth century, the American founding has been presented as a struggle between social classes over issues arising primarily within, rather than outside, the United States. But in recent years, new scholarship has instead turned to the international history of the American union to interpret both the causes and the consequences of the US Constitution.In Perfecting the Union, Max M. Edling argues that the Constitution was created to defend US territorial integrity and the national interest from competitors in the western borderlands and on the Atlantic Ocean, and to defuse inter-state tension within the union. By replacing the defunct Articles of Confederation, the Constitution profoundly transformed the structure of the American union by making the national government more effective. But it did not transform the fundamental purpose of the union, which remained a political organization designed to manage inter-state and international relations. And in contrast to what many scholars claim, it was never meant to eclipse the state governments.The Constitution created a national government but did not significantly extend its remit. The result was a dual structure of government, in which the federal government and the states were both essential to the people's welfare. Getting the story about the Constitution straight matters, Edling claims, because it makes possible a broader assessment of the American founding as both a transformative event, aiming at territorial and economic expansion, and as a conservative event, aiming at the preservation of key elements of the colonial socio-political order.

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9780197534717

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In this bracing new study, historian Max Edling shows how the US Constitution was not intended primarily as a solution to internal problems within the states but as a means of addressing intractable problems between the states, with foreign nations, and with Native Americans in the west. Abandoning the stultifying dichotomy between 'progressive vs. conservative' that has constricted scholarly debate for decades, Edling restores the Constitution to its true historical context. * Rosemarie Zagarri, George Mason University, and author of Revolutionary Backlash: Women and Politics in the Early American Republic * Edling provides a fresh take on the 'critical period' and the creation of the new federal government under the Constitution. Concisely written and powerfully articulated, Perfecting the Union brings new life to old debates, revitalizes the study of constitutional history, and solidifies Edling's role as a one of the leading scholars of the state in the Early Republic. * Lindsay M. Chervinsky, Senior Fellow, International Center for Jefferson Studies, and author of The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution * A fascinating, learned exploration of the conceptual significance of 'Union' in the framing period. Edling provocatively argues for the Constitution as a renewed compact of union, with a relatively effective fiscal-military federal government and reinvigorated state governments. This deeply rewarding book provides a refreshing new, synthetic account of the creation of the United States. * Mary Sarah Bilder, Founders Professor, Boston College Law School * A bold and bracing reinterpretation of America's founding. In examining anew the determination of the Framers to preserve the powers of the states, Max Edling alters the prism through which we view the forces of change and continuity, equality and subjugation, and strength and weakness that defined America's beginning. The illumination that Perfecting the Union generates is often startling. * Gary Gerstle, author of Liberty and Coercion: The Paradoxes of American Government from the Founding to the Present *

A bold and bracing reinterpretation of America's founding. In examining anew the determination of the Framers to preserve the powers of the states, Max Edling alters the prism through which we view the forces of change and continuity, equality and subjugation, and strength and weakness that defined America's beginning. The illumination that Perfecting the Union generates is often startling. -- Gary Gerstle, author of Liberty and Coercion: The Paradoxes of American Government from the Founding to the Present A fascinating, learned exploration of the conceptual significance of 'Union' in the framing period. Edling provocatively argues for the Constitution as a renewed compact of union, with a relatively effective fiscal-military federal government and reinvigorated state governments. This deeply rewarding book provides a refreshing new, synthetic account of the creation of the United States. -- Mary Sarah Bilder, Founders Professor, Boston College Law School Edling provides a fresh take on the 'critical period' and the creation of the new federal government under the Constitution. Concisely written and powerfully articulated, Perfecting the Union brings new life to old debates, revitalizes the study of constitutional history, and solidifies Edling's role as a one of the leading scholars of the state in the Early Republic. -- Lindsay M. Chervinsky, Senior Fellow, International Center for Jefferson Studies, and author of The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution In this bracing new study, historian Max Edling shows how the US Constitution was not intended primarily as a solution to internal problems within the states but as a means of addressing intractable problems between the states, with foreign nations, and with Native Americans in the west. Abandoning the stultifying dichotomy between 'progressive vs. conservative' that has constricted scholarly debate for decades, Edling restores the Constitution to its true historical context. -- Rosemarie Zagarri, George Mason University, and author of Revolutionary Backlash: Women and Politics in the Early American Republic

Author Information

Max M. Edling is Reader in Early American History at King's College London. He is the author of A Revolution in Favor of Government: The Origin of the US Constitution and the Making of the American State and A Hercules in the Cradle: War, Money, and the American State, 1783-1867.

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