Exclusive Freedom Center Interview with Historian Eric Foner

Posted on October 8th, 2008 by Paul Bernish

Coinciding with the October 17 opening of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center’s new exhibit, “Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War,” we interviewed historian Eric Foner about the 16th President’s legacy and meaning to contemporary audiences. Foner, a widely published and respected professor of history at Columbia University, will be at the Freedom Center on October 16 to discuss Forever Free: The Story of Emancipation and Reconstruction, his masterful account of the triumph and tragedy of post-Civil War America’s period of Reconstruction.

Foner, whose classroom lectures at Columbia are highly popular, spoke at length on several topics.

Lincoln — the Myth and the Reality

Foner takes the long view of President Abraham Lincoln, and he urges others to do the same. “It is always a mistake when considering Lincoln to take one moment, one speech or one letter and say ‘here’s the essential Lincoln,” Foner explained. “He grew and changed throughout his life and career and that’s the essence of his greatness. That’s the Lincoln I see. He grew into the role that history thrust upon him.”

The myths that have built up around Lincoln over many generations, Foner believes, obscure the fact that he was a character of many dimensions: a politician, a self-taught lawyer, a bedrock Midwesterner with provincial views about race and equality, but also a figure of towering historical importance, whose clear-eyed focus on preserving the Union saved the fledgling United States experiment with representative democracy while also leading the way to the abolition of slavery.

“Over time, he began to outgrow the racial preconceptions that he shared with society in his early days, and began to struggle with the issue of slavery,” Foner says. “For example, for much of his life, Lincoln believed that the way to rid the nation of slavery was through financial compensation to Southern slave owners and colonization of slaves to Africa or South America. He held to these views virtually right up to the moment of his Emancipation Proclamation. Yet in his last speech — just prior to his assassination — he spoke about extending the vote to freed slaves and black soldiers and sailors who had served in the Union cause. It was a dramatic transformation of a man and his views at an extraordinary time in our national history.”

Lincoln and Emancipation

The Emancipation Proclamation, Foner says, was one of the most radical acts in American history, a step taken by a beleaguered President to address what had become the core issue — slavery — that was dividing the nation, causing enormous battlefield carnage and threatening America’s standing in the world. “Historians like to describe the Emancipation Proclamation as “over-determined,” which means that there were many factors contributing to the decision. Lincoln took an enormous gamble — and in fact, he worried no end that the Supreme Court would rule that the Proclamation violated the Constitution. But for a variety of military, political, economic and moral reasons, he acted, and that single decision had enormous consequences for the slaves who were freed, for the military execution of the Civil War, and for America’s diplomatic relations.”

Post-Civil War America and Reconstruction

If Foner has a special historical focus, it is the era of Reconstruction that followed in the aftermath of the Civil War and the flurry of enactments of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments. And like most of those who have studied this tumultuous time, he believes that most adult Americans today simply do not “get it,” which has perpetuated the country’s persistent racial divide into the 21st Century.

“Many Americans grew up with an interpretation of Reconstruction as a time when freed blacks and unscrupulous whites engaged in an orgy of political, social and economic corruption that confirmed racial stereotypes among Southernors — and Northerners — that former slaves were incapable of self-government,” he explains. “That’s not what happened during Reconstruction, but in this case, the mythology and misconceptions surrounding this chapter in our history have fed racial fears and delayed for nearly a century the attainment of full equality for all citizens.”

History and Relevance

Foner argues forcefully that there are lessons of history that current generations must be taught. This viewpoint is especially critical if Americans are ever going to come to grips with racial issues.

“The period of Reconstruction,” Foner asserts, “was the time when the United States — for the first time — really became a democracy. It was the time when African Americans were given the right to vote, hold elective office, and take part in democratic life. It was the first time when the nature of full citizenship and equality among citizens were written into our laws, which really created modern America politically and governmentally.”

Yet, he adds, the ultimate failure of Reconstruction and the subsequent re-introduction of racial segregation throughout much of the nation represented a national tragedy that was not rectified for nearly 100 years until the milestone Civil Rights movement codified into law the guarantees of equal citizenship that were embedded into the Constitution in the aftermath of the Civil War. That long period of racial separateness, Foner says, continues to reverberate in contemporary life:

“There is still no national consensus, 150 years later, about how we should come to terms with slavery in America, its abolition and its aftermath,” he says. “This is why the Freedom Center is such a very important place. People — citizens — need to understand our historical involvement with slavery, not to make them feel guilty, or to feel bad about our past, but so that we can come to terms with the realities of American history.”

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For biographical information about Professor Eric Foner, visit his webpage. His presentation at the Freedom Center on October 16 begins at 6:30 p.m. There is no charge.

Two additional perspectives on Lincoln will be presented as part of the Freedom Center’s National Underground Railroad Freedom Conference, from Nov. 6 - 8:

Lerone Bennett, Jr. - author of Forced into Glory: Abraham Lincoln’s White Dream and former editor of Ebony Magazine, will speak on Thursday, November 6, at 7 p.m. Location: Harriet Tubman Theater . FREE.

Roger Billings - author of Lincoln, Debtor-Creditor Lawyer , will speak on Friday, November 7, 8:00 a.m. Location: Freedom Center’s Grand Hall. The program is open to the public for a ticket fee of $20. RSVP at 513-333-7554

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