"e;How Washington elites have effectively staged a coup against the sovereign states, usurping powers that were never intended for the central government."e; -Mark R. Levin, #1 New York Times-bestselling authorIn A Less Perfect Union, Adam Freedman provides an illuminating history of states' rights, from the Constitutional Convention through the Civil War and the New Deal to today. He reveals how hard the Founders fought to keep power in the hands of the states, the surprising role of states' rights as a weapon against slavery, and the federal government's eventual abandonment of all constitutional limitations on the scope of its power. Surveying the latest developments in Congress and the state capitals, he finds a growing sympathy for states' rights on both sides of the aisle, as the federal government usurps more and more control. But Freedman goes further, boldly arguing that a return to states' rights is the only way to check the tyranny of federal overreach, take power out of the hands of the special interests and crony capitalists in Washington, and realize the Founders' vision of freedom. With concrete policy proposals, A Less Perfect Union lays out an achievable vision of a nation in which states are free to address the health, safety, and economic well-being of their citizens without federal coercion and crippling red tape. As states' rights issues continue to drive the national conversation, A Less Perfect Union is essential reading for anyone frustrated by the federal government's daily infringement of the quintessentially American right of local self-government.

"How Washington elites have effectively staged a coup against the sovereign states, usurping powers that were never intended for the central government." -Mark R. Levin, #1 New York Times-bestselling author
In A Less Perfect Union, Adam Freedman provides an illuminating history of states' rights, from the Constitutional Convention through the Civil War and the New Deal to today. He reveals how hard the Founders fought to keep power in the hands of the states, the surprising role of states' rights as a weaponagainstslavery, and the federal government's eventual abandonment of all constitutional limitations on the scope of its power. Surveying the latest developments in Congress and the state capitals, he finds a growing sympathy for states' rights on both sides of the aisle, as the federal government usurps more and more control.
But Freedman goes further, boldly arguing that a return to states' rights is the only way to check the tyranny of federal overreach, take power out of the hands of the special interests and crony capitalists in Washington, and realize the Founders' vision of freedom. With concrete policy proposals, A Less Perfect Unionlays out an achievable vision of a nation in which states are free to address the health, safety, and economic well-being of their citizens without federal coercion and crippling red tape.
As states' rights issues continue to drive the national conversation, A Less Perfect Unionis essential reading for anyone frustrated by the federal government's daily infringement of the quintessentially American right of local self-government.