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
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
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
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
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
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 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’
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
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
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