Eric Foner

Eric Foner, a member of The Nation’s editorial board and the DeWitt Clinton Professor Emeritus of History at Columbia University, is the author, most recently, of The Second Founding: How the Civil War and Reconstruction Remade the Constitution.

Martin Luther King Jr. at the March on Washington

Martin Luther King’s Dream at 60 Martin Luther King’s Dream at 60

King offered Americans the choice between acting in accordance with the constitution and resistance—often violent—to change.  In many ways, we face the same choice today.

Aug 28, 2023 / Eric Foner

Eugene Debs at the US Penitentiary in Atlanta

The Crusade Against Civil Liberties During World War I The Crusade Against Civil Liberties During World War I

Adam Hochschild’s latest book, American Midnight, examines a dark era in US history in which Woodrow Wilson and his administration went to war at home as well as abroad. 

Feb 7, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Eric Foner

The Many American Revolutions

The Many American Revolutions The Many American Revolutions

Woody Holton’s Liberty is Sweet charts not only the contest with Great Britain over “home rule” but also the internal struggle over who should rule at home. 

Apr 4, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Eric Foner

The Gilded Age’s Democratic Contradictions

The Gilded Age’s Democratic Contradictions The Gilded Age’s Democratic Contradictions

A new history examines how the late 19th century’s raucous party system gave way to a more sedate and exclusionary political culture that erected more and more barriers to particip...

Jun 1, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Eric Foner

The Capitol Riot Reveals the Dangers From the Enemy Within

The Capitol Riot Reveals the Dangers From the Enemy Within The Capitol Riot Reveals the Dangers From the Enemy Within

But the belief that America previously had a well-functioning democracy is an illusion.

Jan 8, 2021 / Eric Foner

The Making of the Radical Republicans

The Making of the Radical Republicans The Making of the Radical Republicans

How did the struggle for emancipation become a mass politics?

May 5, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Eric Foner

The Vexed Meaning of Equality in Gilded Age America

The Vexed Meaning of Equality in Gilded Age America The Vexed Meaning of Equality in Gilded Age America

The agrarian, feminist, and labor movements of the 19th century elevated equality to a cardinal principle, but all three  fell short when it came to transcending the divide of...

Sep 24, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Eric Foner

The Supreme Court Is in Danger of Again Becoming ‘the Grave of Liberty’

The Supreme Court Is in Danger of Again Becoming ‘the Grave of Liberty’ The Supreme Court Is in Danger of Again Becoming ‘the Grave of Liberty’

Supreme Court decisions have practical consequences, which justices too often blithely ignore.

Jul 1, 2019 / Eric Foner

Alan Brinkley’s Visions of Liberalism

Alan Brinkley’s Visions of Liberalism Alan Brinkley’s Visions of Liberalism

The central preoccupations of his life and historical work—the strengths, limits, and vulnerabilities of 20th-century liberalism—are still at the center of debate today. 

Jun 27, 2019 / Eric Foner

Frederick Douglass’s 19th Century

Frederick Douglass’s 19th Century Frederick Douglass’s 19th Century

A new biography gives an account of both Douglass’s political and personal life that will likely remain the standard for years to come.

Oct 25, 2018 / Books & the Arts / Eric Foner

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