In 2023, Isabel Wilkerson published her book, Caste. It is a powerful, important book. Now, Kelly Burton is publishing The Price of Union, which might, in a sense, be viewed as a follow-up - and affirmation - to Wilkerson's book. As such, it makes a valuable addition to the study of racial relations and American history.

A good bit of Burton's book is not really new. The gross inequality and injustice in how America has treated its minorities - from its very beginning in the colonial era to today - will hardly come as a surprise to those who are willing to read this book. (Let's be honest here - MAGA members and the others of similar persuasion are unlikely to read this book: It does not conform with their prejudices.) None the less, the copious details provided and arguments advanced are likely to be disturbing to many of us.

Like Wilkerson, Burton sees race and the American caste system as fundamental to our very identity. What I found different in Burton's book is her analysis of its basis. "The business of America is business." Yes it is and, according to Burton, it always has been. But she then explains how that economic model, created in the the very earliest days of the colonies during the 17th century, was used to build an America that is based in racism and discrimination - a caste system. In The Price of Union, Burton demonstrates how the very concept of race, notably of "whites" and others, was created and fostered to further the economic and political structures that persist to this day, benefitting the elite at the expense of everyone else. Those concepts were used to shape the colonial era, the creation of the Constitution, the destruction of the Reconstruction era, and even post-war America. She goes on to show how these concepts shaped our political parties and even the culture wars of today.

My biggest complaint is how The Price of Union ends. Not that we should be given false hope and encouragement where it is not warranted. But Burton paints a rather bleak picture and one that gives no reason to expect change in a system that has protected itself for nearly 400 years. Her solution? Recognize the reality of the caste system and be prepared to face it. Not too satisfying for this reader.

Never the less, even if somewhat bitter medicine, The Price of Union is a book worth reading. If you liked Caste (in the sense of finding it worth the time to read and consider), you will find much to like here. If you didn't like Caste, maybe this related take on America will be helpful.

I received an advance review copy of The Price of Union through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

4 stars

The Price of Union offers a fascinating, challenging, and often bleak reframing of American history. The book argues that racial caste, not liberty, equality, justice, or the other democratic ideals Americans are taught to hold dear, functions as the true “shadow foundation” of American democracy. It is a bold thesis, and one the author spends hundreds of pages attempting to prove.

The first half of this book is excellent. Rather than reading like a history textbook, it presents a nuanced and engaging narrative of American history, filled with details and perspectives I certainly wasn’t taught in school. The author structures much of this history around three American “foundings”: the original founding of the United States, built alongside slavery and economic extraction; Reconstruction after the Civil War; and the Civil Rights Movement. Throughout these periods, she traces the relationship between capitalism, racial caste, and democracy. One of the simplest formulations of her argument is also one of the most provocative: first there was capitalism, then there was race, and then there was democracy.

The author is particularly gifted at connecting events from 150 or 200 years ago to institutions and political arguments that remain recognizable today. Her discussions of Reconstruction, the loss and eventual reclamation of Southern political power, the economic consequences of racial discrimination, and the rise of “colorblind” approaches to race gave me new ways to understand pieces of American history I thought I already knew. The book is at its strongest when the author is telling these stories and allowing her larger argument to emerge through them.

Unfortunately, the structure changes significantly in the second half. The chronological storytelling gives way to thematic sections that move across centuries of evidence, statistics, policies, and historical examples. The book begins to feel much more like a textbook, and the argument becomes repetitive. Long block quotations from other books and speeches contribute to the problem. This was especially frustrating because the author has such a distinctive and compelling voice of her own. The extensive quotations often felt like an unnecessary crutch. There is an excellent, tighter book somewhere inside this one.

Still, some of the later arguments gave me plenty to think about. I was particularly interested in the author’s rejection of the traditional “middle class” in favor of what she calls a debtor class. It aligns with my own belief that much of what Americans describe as the middle class is actually the working class: people whose lifestyles may differ dramatically, but whose economic security remains dependent upon selling their labor.

Ultimately, The Price of Union argues that American democracy was built on the backs of Black people, that the democracy we inherited remains fundamentally imperfect, and that recognizing those origins creates an obligation to imagine and build something better.

Whether every reader accepts the author’s entire thesis or not, this is a book worth engaging with. In fact, I would recommend it particularly to Americans who say they don’t understand why race remains relevant to contemporary politics and economics. The book provides the historical connective tissue that is so often missing from those conversations.

I wish it had been shorter. I wish the wonderfully engaging narrative voice of the first half had carried through to the end. But I finished The Price of Union with a more complicated understanding of American history than I had when I began it, and that’s ultimately what I want from a book like this.

Great book with an interesting perspective. This one should do well, but I would not be sure what the audience would be.