America's Second Revolution: How George Washington Defeated Patrick Henry and Saved the Nation

by Harlow Giles Unger

Every American Interested in understanding the American character and the American past should read this book. There are vivid history lessons on almost every page. The constitution becomes not merely a brilliant blueprint for governance. It is-and was-also the only alternative to chaos. - Thomas Fleming, author of The Perils of Peace Acclaim for The Unexpected George Washington. It's hard to imagine George Washington as playful, tender, or funny. But Harlow Unger searches to find these seldom-seen aspects of the private man, and the result is a fare more complete and believable founding father."" - James C. Rees, Executive Director, Historic Mount Vernon ""An intimate view of the American hero who managed to follow his ambitions to great power without being disdained for them."" - Publishers Weekly

Genres: History, American History, American Revolutionary War, Presidents

288 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2007

About the author

Harlow Giles Unger is an American author, historian, journalist, broadcaster, and educator known for his extensive work on American history and education. Educated at the Taft School, Yale College, and California State University, Unger began his career as a journalist for the New York Herald Tribune Overseas News Service in Paris. He later wrote for newspapers and magazines across Britain, Canada, and other countries, while also working in radio broadcasting and teaching English and journalism at New York-area colleges.
Unger has written over twenty-seven books, including ten biographies of America's Founding Fathers and a notable biography of Henry Clay. His historical works include Noah Webster: The Life and Times of an American Patriot, The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation’s Call to Greatness, and First Founding Father: Richard Henry Lee and the Call to Independence. He is also the author of the Encyclopedia of American Education, a three-volume reference work.
A former Distinguished Visiting Fellow in American History at Mount Vernon, Unger has lived in Paris and currently resides in New York City. An avid skier and horseman, he has spent time in Chamonix, France, and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He has one son, Richard C. Unger.

Reviews

[Shana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite good, although it induced giggles when the author claimed that "George Washington sighed" or something to that extent. An interesting part of our history that the average American doesn't realize didn't happen overnight.

[Nathan Casebolt · Rating 3 out of 5]

By 1786, the fledging United States of America was on the brink. The Articles of Confederation left so much power to the states that there was little incentive to work toward a common good. George Washington and other Federalists recognized that the fruits of revolution were rotting on the vine, and that both anarchy and civil war were straining at their leashes to savage the young republic. A fresh start was crucial, but would not come easily. Powerful state interests, led by men such as Patrick "Give me liberty or give me death" Henry would do everything in their power to avert the emergence of a new and powerful Constitution.

Unger does a wonderful job of distilling the history of the Constitution's arduous conception and birth into a brief and enjoyable read. He's especially skilled at drawing short, quick character sketches of the major players and factions. He's so good at it that only rarely did I have to rack my brains for a memory of some delegate or governor, and this is no small achievement for a sprawling cast of characters. Unger also curates a larges number of fascinating original documents — letters, editorials, articles — that bring liveliness and flavor to his thoughtful narrative.

If I had to give a criticism, it's that Unger is too one-sided in his portrait of the Antifederalists. While I've long agreed that a stronger union was necessary and that the Federalists were on the right side of history, the Antifederalists in my opinion are here painted too broadly as The Bad Guys™. Some of them were unscrupulous, but the Federalists weren't all white hats either. Politics is a dirty business, raw power plays happen, and Antifederalist wariness of a powerful central government weren't entirely misguided. I would have liked to have seen a more nuanced handling of their determined crusade against further consolidation of federal strength.

Still, that's more a quibble than a criticism. I'm not sure I could recommend a better introduction to the turbulence that birthed the American Constitution, a period of history that's not familiar to everyone. The Revolution was only the prelude to this first chapter of our national story, a story that — had Patrick Henry and not George Washington prevailed — would have ended so differently that our world today would be changed beyond imagination.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historian Harlow Giles Unger published a non-fiction book, America’s Second Revolution: How George Washington Defeated Patrick Henry and Saved the Nation, in 2007. The book has three appendixes. The first appendix is the “proceedings of the Constitutional Convention” (Ungar 213-228). The second appendix is a list of signers of the Constitution. The third appendix is the Bill of Rights. The book has a section of notes. The book has an index and bibliography. The book has illustrations. The book focuses on the role of George Washington in the passage of the Constitution. Washington was a key figure during the whole process of passing the Constitution. The Federalists were the people who wanted to support the Constitution. Washington is the crucial figure in the book. The book argues that Washington made him a fierce federalist in the American Revolution. The book starts with General Washington dealing with a coup of officers in the spring of 1783 caused in part by the financial state of the country; this episode illustrates why Washington was a commanding presence in the political life of the early United States and why Washington was such a fierce supporter of federalism. Patrick Henry was one of the most prominent political figures who had been against the passage of the Constitution in the United States. The people who were against the passage of the Constitution were called the anti-federalists. The book is well-written and readable. Unger’s book, America’s Second Revolution, offers a view of Washington’s role in the passage of the Constitution that I have not considered before.

[Gary Schantz · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I continue to read as many books as possible about the creation of America, I do find it somewhat repetitious and it does factor in to how I grade the books which is unfair for the authors yet a forewarning to readers.

Prior to reading this book, I read The Quartet by Joseph Ellis as well as a few other books that covered the time period of the Constitutional Convention.

This book was good and as a stand-alone read, I would rate this book excellent as I am a big fan of Unger and the way he writes about history. My problem as I wrote was the repetitive descriptions of how the founders argued over the details of the re-drafting (or as George Washington insisted, the dismantling and starting anew) the Constitution.

If I had to choose between the Ellis or Unger's books on this subject...I would say simply take your pick as both books were very well written.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Almost narrative in style I recommend this to anyone interested in how and why the US Constitution came to be.