Giving the Devil His Due

[elektratig]

I recently finished Eric Foner's Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men: The Ideology of the Republican Party Before the Civil War (Oxford University Press 1970, 1995). I've gotten the sense that some of you distrust Foner because of his well-known leftist leanings. I am writing as someone who shares that distrust and distaste -- Foner's contemporary politics are disgusting.

That said, Free Soil is an outstanding book worthy of the universal acclaim it has enjoyed since it came out thirty-five (!) years ago. It organizes a huge mass of material to identify, analyze and explain the constituencies and broad range of political ideologies that coalesced into the Republican party, from radicals and free soilers to conservative former Silver-Grey Whigs and Democrats. The book is so well written that you tend to race through it -- I had to force myself to slow down.

Despise Foner all you want, but don't let that deprive you of the insights contained in this book if the topic interests you. If you don't want to contribute to Foner's income stream, that's fine by me -- borrow the book from the library or from a friend.

 

[william42]

ET, thanks for the review of that book. Really hadn't heard of Eric Foner before your post, so I looked around a little on the internet, and found that he's written quite a bit on slavery and abolition etc. I'm posting up a link here to some of his other works. I read that "Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men..." was at one time Karl Rove's favorite book. I'll check at the library for it.


http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/theme5video.html


Terry

 

[mobile_96]

Despise Foner all you want, but don't let that deprive you of the insights contained in this book if the topic interests you. If you don't want to contribute to Foner's income stream, that's fine by me -- borrow the book from the library or from a friend.

Or buy a used copy so it will stay on your shelf.
Chuck

 

[elektratig]

Or buy a used copy so it will stay on your shelf.
Chuck

True enough!