Eric Foner facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Eric Foner
|
|
|---|---|
.jpg)
Foner in 2009
|
|
| Born | February 7, 1943 New York City, U.S.
|
| Alma mater | |
|
Notable work
|
Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution - 1863-1877 (1988) The Fiery Trial (2010) |
| Spouse(s) |
|
| Children | 1 |
| Parent(s) | Jack D. Foner (father) |
| Awards |
|
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | |
| Doctoral advisor | Richard Hofstadter |
| Notable students |
|
| Influences | James P. Shenton |
Eric Foner (born February 7, 1943) is a famous American historian. He writes a lot about American history, especially about freedom, the early Republican Party, African Americans, the American Civil War, and the time after the war called Reconstruction. He has been a professor at Columbia University since 1982.
Foner has written many popular textbooks, like the Give Me Liberty series, which is used in high schools. He is also one of the most often mentioned authors in college history classes. In 2011, his book The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery won several big awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for History.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Eric Foner was born in New York City on February 7, 1943. His parents were Liza, an art teacher, and Jack D. Foner, who was also a historian. His father was involved in the trade union movement and the civil rights movement for African Americans. Eric Foner says his father was his "first great teacher."
He learned from his father how studying the past can help us understand today. For example, he saw how the tough times of the McCarthy era were similar to older laws like the Alien and Sedition Acts. He also learned that people fighting for social justice, like Tom Paine and W. E. B. Du Bois, are just as important in history as presidents.
College Years and Discovering History
After finishing high school in 1959, Foner went to Columbia University. He first studied physics but changed to history after taking a class on the Civil War and Reconstruction. This class made him want to focus his career on that time period.
He graduated from Columbia in 1963 with a degree in history. He then studied at the University of Oxford in England. After Oxford, he returned to Columbia and earned his PhD in 1969. His main project for his PhD looked at why people in the North were against slavery before the Civil War.
Exploring the Reconstruction Era
Eric Foner is a leading expert on the Reconstruction Era. This was a very important and often difficult time after the American Civil War. It was when the United States tried to rebuild and decide what rights formerly enslaved people would have.
In 1982, Foner wrote that historians had completely changed how they understood Reconstruction. He explained that old ideas about this period were no longer accepted. His book, Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution – 1863–1877, published in 1988, is considered a very important work. Many historians praised it for its wide scope and detailed insights.
Foner has also thought about how Reconstruction might have been different. He believes that if Abraham Lincoln had lived, he might have worked with Congress to give basic civil rights and some voting rights to Black Americans.
Sharing History with Everyone
Eric Foner believes in making history understandable for everyone. He has written many books that are used in schools and colleges. He also shares his knowledge through articles and media appearances.
Public Discussions and Media
Foner has written articles for The New York Times about important historical topics. For example, he has spoken out against keeping Confederate monuments, saying they represent white supremacy rather than shared history. He has also appeared on TV shows like The Colbert Report and The Daily Show to talk about American history.
Awards and Recognitions
Eric Foner has received many awards for his work as a historian and teacher.
- In 1989, he won the Avery O. Craven Award.
- In 1991, he received the Great Teacher Award from the Society of Columbia Graduates.
- In 1995, he was named Scholar of the Year by the New York Council for the Humanities.
- In 2009, he received the Order of Lincoln, which is the highest honor from the state of Illinois.
- In 2012, he received the Richard Nelson Current Award of Achievement.
- In 2020, he was given the Roy Rosenzweig Distinguished Service Award for his contributions to American history.
Personal Life
Eric Foner was married to screenwriter Naomi Foner from 1965 to 1977. Since 1982, he has been married to historian Lynn Garafola. They have a daughter named Daria.
Books by Eric Foner
- Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men: The Ideology of the Republican Party Before the Civil War (1970)
- Tom Paine and Revolutionary America (1976)
- Politics and Ideology in the Age of the Civil War (1980)
- Nothing but Freedom: Emancipation and Its Legacy (1983)
- Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863–1877 (1988) – This book won many awards, including the Bancroft Prize.
- A House Divided: America in the Age of Lincoln (1990)
- The Story of American Freedom (1998)
- Who Owns History? (2002)
- Give Me Liberty! An American History (2005) – A popular textbook series.
- The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery (2010) – This book won the Pulitzer Prize, Lincoln Prize, and Bancroft Prize.
- Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad (2015)
- Battles for Freedom: The Use and Abuse of American History (2017)
- The Second Founding: How the Civil War and Reconstruction Remade the Constitution (2019)
Some of his books have been translated into other languages like Portuguese, Italian, and Chinese.
Images for kids
-
Foner in 2009
