A history of the United States from its founding until the present day.

Lepore is a modern historian, and it shows: the 20th century gets most of the attention, with the Civil War being relatively under-described. But the coverage that there is is deeply researched and very satisfying. She spends time tracing the various currents that went into the writing of the Constitution and the ways in which the first years of the Republic both validated and refuted the concerns of the Framers – who had all agreed not to reveal what happened behind the closed doors of the drafting convention, which must have been deeply frustrating for those proved right.

The book is probably strongest when discussing social struggles. Slavery and the traditional civil rights era are dealt with in detail, as are the votes-for-women and the (unsuccessful) campaign for an equal rights amendment: the consequences of the latter failure have been severe, and sit at the core of current illiberal trends in the US politics.

4/5. Finished Friday 8 November, 2024.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)