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What do you think of Foner describing David Donald's Lincoln as interpreting Lincoln through the lens of Bill Clinton?
What do you think of Foner describing David Donald's Lincoln as interpreting Lincoln through the lens of Bill Clinton?
In this discussion with his favorite grad student "Tim", Foner answers
I read Donald's bio when it first came out and was really impressed. Then my intern, who had taken Donald's course, disabused me of my biographer worship.I'm a little in agreement but don't see Lincoln as just being buffeted about by circumstance. I think he managed to control a lot of things by decree or use of clever politics. Of course, he and everybody else had to react to unexpected events and - as Foner notes - made miscalculations that had to be rethought.
I've read Donald and am in agreement with Foner's criticism - Donald does seem to interpret Lincoln as just reacting to immediate crises. In the end I think Lincoln a more complicated figure; neither a saint or just a pinball wizard.
p.s. - I had to endure Tim to hear what Foner said. I find Tim grating - a bad acid trip Woody Allen. So maybe now you owe me a beer.
You are welcome. I am glad you are watching. I think this week's lecture is the best of the 1861-1865 series.
I'm way behind in this but working my way forward. Thanks, Pat, for keeping this up.
I read Donald's bio when it first came out and was really impressed. Then my intern, who had taken Donald's course, disabused me of my biographer worship.
Dan Smulian, now a professor at Brooklyn Law was the intern. I can't really recall those conversations 20 years ago, though.Really? I took Donald's course in the late 80s and we undergrads universally adored the guy. In homage, we imitated his soft-spoken Mississippi accent at every opportunity! What was your intern's criticism? I thought his Lincoln bio was very good when it came out, but not as good as his work on Sumner. Foner's comment about Donald's Lincoln as Clinton reminds me of someone's observation that Spielberg/Kushner's Lincoln movie was really about Obama passing the health care bill.
"Slavery created the Confederacy and slavery destroyed the Confederacy." -Foner
I had to endure Tim to hear what Foner said. I find Tim grating - a bad acid trip Woody Allen.
Aww, I like skinny earnest grad students.Too funny! And too true.....
In this interview by grad student Tim with Foner, the professor explains how his views on Lincoln have changed over the last 25 years. Living with Lincoln gave him a new appreciation for Lincoln.
Yes, even though he says he is giving a top-down history, there is a fair amount of grassroots stuff."Slavery is dying on the ground, not in the House of Representatives."
Great line! From 2.8.5
p.s. - I had to endure Tim to hear what Foner said. I find Tim grating - a bad acid trip Woody Allen. So maybe now you owe me a beer.