Analysis of Eric Foners Give Me Liberty An American History: Volume 2 - Essay Example

?Analysis of Eric Foner’s Give Me Liberty! An American History: Volume 2. Eric Foner’s book, Give Me Liberty! An American History: Volume 2 is one of the best books I have ever been assigned as a text in my study of history. It covers a vast area of American History, beginning with the post-Civil War Reconstruction in 1865, and concluding with the invasion of Iraq in 2006. Running to more than a substantial 1,000 pages, Give Me Liberty! is systematically organized into a chronological catalogue of one hundred-and fifty years of America’s past. The vast tome is divided into four, easily accessible, smaller-sized parts: Reconstruction (1865-1877), Towards a Global Presence (1870-1920), Depression and Wars (1920-1953), and What Kind of a Nation? (1953-2007). Each of these four parts is further broken down into twenty-eight chapters, with the subjects arranged in several, clear-cut, sub-sections. This facilitates easy reading and convenience in referencing. This is also necessary in a voluminous book in which each chapter extends to over eighty pages. The focus questions given at the beginning of each chapter serve the dual purpose of alerting the reader to the most important aspects of the material to come, and giving an advance gist of the chapter. In the same way, the chapter reviews, with review questions, review tables, and key terms, make recapitulation of what has been studied an easy task. This systematic organization of the book makes for easy study, particularly from the perspective of class tests and quizzes. The depth of research and knowledge which have gone into the writing of this book is evident in every page. Of course, Foner has formidable credentials as one of the most eminent American historians.  He is the DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University, the author of a prodigious number of articles and books, and the winner of the Bancroft and Pulitzer prizes, among others. His erudition shows in the wealth of material he presents in Give Me Liberty! But, even more than Foner’s erudition, it is his decades of teaching experience which shines through every page of the book. Eric Foner is a winner of the Great Teacher Award from the Society of Columbia Graduates (1991), and the Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching from Columbia University (2006)2. Give Me Liberty! is not confined to pages of plain text, but incorporates every instructional device known to stimulate curiosity, and hold the student’s interest. The book has illustrations (usually more than one!) on every page. These range from ordinary, practical graphs and tables, to such gems as the cover of the Sears, Roebuck and co. 1897 catalogue.3 There is a wealth of eye-catching cartoons from newspapers and magazines, which illustrate the popular sentiment of the times more eloquently than any text could: two examples are the anti-radical sentiment expressed by the 1880’s cartoon of a caterpillar,4 and the more contemporary cartoon on Bill Clinton’s survival tactics.5 The numerous photographs make for fascinating viewing, especially the sepia photographs from the 1800’s, which illustrat the early chapters. There are paintings, posters and advertisement, conveying a vivid ‘feel’ of the particular period to which they belong – such as Tom Watson on the cover of an 1892 ‘campaign book.’6 The informative value of Give Me Liberty! is further enhanced by the inclusion of the ‘Voices of Freedom’ section, which features legal documents, articles from newspapers and magazines, excerpts from books, court rulings and speeches, pertaining to each chapter. The appendix at the end of the book has an additional collection of documents and speeches, ranging from the Declaration of Independence to Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream,’ and Presidential Inaugural Addresses. An exhaustive list of constitutional legislation is also given, in order to elaborate on amendments, and Supreme Court decisions, mentioned in the text. All this makes Give Me Liberty! an absolutely comprehensive account of American history. The book’s USP, from my point of view as a student, is its departure from the rigid, listing-of-facts approach adopted by most academic text books. Give Me Liberty! departs from this bland, strictly regimented tone, and Foner assumes a lively narrative voice which makes his book a cross between an academic read and a historical novel. In fact, Foner’s book is one of the few academic texts I intend to hold on to after my course is completed, as I can see myself re-reading it in the future. He comes across as a natural storyteller. His account of American history flows along like a well-narrated story. In fact, there is such a personal approach in the book that it often induces the feeling of sitting in a classroom, listening to a lively lecture by the Professor. This single narrative voice gives the book a coherence which could not have been achieved in a collection of essays by various authors. Of course, this attractive personal voice has its undeniable drawbacks. Foner’s approach to history is unequivocally subjective. His opinion and commentary are liberally incorporated as a part of his narrative. This approach may be criticized on the grounds that Give Me Liberty! is an academic text book. As such, it is generally expected to give a strictly neutral, objective presentation of the events and facts of history, and leave it to the students and readers to make a critical judgment on the subject. An example of this is seen in Foner’s assertion in the section on Hurricane Katrina that, “Generations of state and local policies pursuing economic growth via low-wage, nonunion employment and low investment in education, health and social welfare had produced a large impoverished population in the South.”7. This kind of interpretation does enliven the writing, but it is debatable if it is totally justified in an academic text. He sometimes does let his subjects and sources speak for themselves, but he is often subjective in his choice of sources: his choice of quotations always come from the marginalized in society. This same criticism can be leveled against Foner in his treatment of ‘liberty’ in the book. Foner seems to look at freedom largely from the perspective of minorities. It cannot be denied that Foner’s entire approach to liberty is based on his belief, often stated in other books and forums, that, “the genuine concept of freedom comes from the struggles of the dispossessed, the poor, the working class, women, blacks, and gays for their rights.”8 His book reflects his opinion that American history must not be treated as “an unalloyed saga of national progress toward liberty and equality.”9 He is keen to ensure that any account of history does not emphasize “America's glory and ignores its actual divisions and conflicts.”10 However, in Give Me Liberty! one cannot help but wonder whether Foner has not gone to the other extreme: does he emphasize only the divisions and conflicts in American history and ignore the undeniable glories? The major part of each chapter is devoted to racism, economic marginalization and sexism. America’s achievements in the fields of Science, technology, education, and medicine are only cursorily mentioned. Dissension, inequality and oppression are given the limelight in lengthy sections of every chapter. Foner’s focus is overly emphatic in its preoccupation with gender, class and race. He sometimes seems determined to ignore the view of the white, male majority which after all is one of the main groups that make up American society. Not much importance is given to what their idea of freedom means, except to attribute a consumer culture to the white majority in times of economic prosperity. The very concept of writing an academic text of history from the perspective of freedom is debatable. After all, objectively speaking, history is the study of past events. Foner’s emphasis on the concept of freedom seems more philosophical than historical: he skims over actual events to devote more pages to the discussions of how those events affected the freedom of African Americans, women, minorities, etc. An example of this slant is Foner’s treatment of the First World War: his account of the conflict is restricted to a sparse four pages (724-728), while his analysis of ‘The War at Home,’ covers a lengthy twenty-six pages (729-755). This kind of treatment does appear slightly unbalanced. Foner adopts a rather narrow window on American history by viewing the entire one hundred and fifty year passage of events through the single prism of freedom. The actual events of this period are overshadowed by analysis based on discrimination and oppression of the minorities and women. This said, it cannot be denied that Foner’s Give Me Liberty! is an exhaustive, deeply informative academic text. It stimulates interest and provokes thought. Its novel approach to American history gives it a freshness that makes it different from the normal run-of-the-mill text. Its language makes for easy reading. Foner’s narrative voice makes the reading more personal and gives the feel of a real classroom lecture. I would have no hesitation in recommending Give Me Liberty! An American History: Volume 2 to other students of History, and also to anyone who desires to read about the various segments of American society. I unequivocally rate the book as one of the best History books I have read. Read More