In Forever Free: The Story of Emancipation and Reconstruction, author Eric Foner analyzes the traditional understandings of the Reconstruction period immediately following the American Civil War. Foner begins by explaining that such traditional understandings came from white Southerners who blamed their misfortunes on greedy Northerners and inept African Americans. Rather than agreeing with such traditional understandings, Foner attempts to overthrow such beliefs by arguing in favor of African Americans.
Particularly through their development of beneficial institutions, their creation of new economies, and their contributions to both local and national governments. Beginning the book with The Peculiar Institution of slavery, the author begins describing the origins of slavery in the United States and attempts to describe Americans justifications for slavery with the North’s acceptance for capital reasons, and the South’s acceptance for labor. By the time that slavery was abolished in 1865, slavery had been an institution in the United States for centuries.
Starting with the colonial period before the American Revolution, and ending with the first year of the Civil War, Foner illustrates the evolution of the slave industry in America. At one point Foner suggests that the Three-Fifths Compromise strengthened slavery in the South so much by 1860, that the South became the largest and most powerful slave society in the modern world. Yet his argument of African Americans doesn’t emerge until the second chapter where he begins illustrating their help during the Civil War.
During the later years of the war, African Americans began fighting for the Union forces hoping to aid in their potential freedom. Foner argues that President Lincoln saw granting suffrage to black soldiers reasonable after witnessing such large amounts of participation for their own freedom. The author reaches his main topic of the Reconstruction period beginning with land disputes on behalf of the freed slaves. With the creation of the Freedmen’s Bureau immediately following the war, it’s head General O. O. Howard was in charge of ensuring freed people were safe from violence, gained equality before the law, and had access to education.
Howard’s suggested representative committee quickly presented him with the Edisto Petitions, which called for African Americans to receive Homesteads that were promised to them for fighting in the war. These petitions argued to both Howard and President Johnson although some states had seceded from the Union, the black population had continued to remain loyal. Thus justifying their right to obtain land.
However, Johnson was a strong supporter of states rights and argued that the federal government had no right to tell the individuals states what laws they should enforce. Including laws involving property rights. So Johnson rejected the Edisto Petitions, and called for all land in the hands of the Freedmen’s Bureau, and the army, to be returned to all prewar owners. It then became clear that there was a common problem regarding perceptions of the meaning of emancipation. For white Americans, freedom was seen as a birthright, and thus was always a part of their lives.
But for African Americans, freedom was this concept that caused changes to every aspect of their lives. They began taking advantage of their new freedom by doing all the things they were not allowed to do while in enslaved including moving in large amounts away from their former slave owners, and into cities such as Richmond, Charlotte, and Vicksburg. At the same time, many white Southerners believed that African Americans were not prepared for freedom, thus continuing the presence of white control. In a democratic society, political participation became seen as a fundamental element of freedom.
So it’s not surprising that the right to vote became central to former slaves’ aspirations. Starting in 1865 throughout the South, African Americans began organizing Equal Rights Leagues holding local and state conventions to protest voting discrimination, and demand the right to vote. Such heavy political participation towards black suffrage led to heavy national discussion, and the creation of the Fifteenth Amendment allowing African Americans the right to vote. Following the discussion on black suffrage, Foner then spends a large part of the book continuing to outline the differing perspectives of emancipation.
Including the creation of the Klu Klux Klan in 1865, and the describing widespread violence the organization inflicted on African Americans throughout the South. However, Foner returns to his argument towards African Americans outlining their positive contributions such as building churches and schools, and participating in government offices. Spending only a brief period of time describing the remaining events that occurred during the Reconstruction period, Foner then begins his final chapter discussing the country’s need to move on.
With the U. S. Supreme court’s Plessy v. Fergusson decision in 1896, the promise that had previously come with the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments soon began to diminish. Northerners became tired of defending Southern black rights even though Southern whites continued to provide their biased understandings. Concluding the book with an epilogue entitled The Unfinished Revolution, Foner continues his argument for differing perspectives of freedom by examining the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s.
Between the end of Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans inferiority became a social norm accepted across races. And although Foner says that the Civil Rights Movement was a major part in this country’s fight for racial equality, he argues that the United States has yet reached total equality. Foner’s writing presented few flaws throughout the novel, but perhaps his largest was his prologue’s connection to the book.
The author spends the entirety of the prologue talking about ow the Reconstruction period is not taught in schools as much as it should be, and how important it is to America’s history, leading the reader to believe the novel will only be about the Reconstruction period. And although he does spend a short period of time actually taking about Reconstruction and what it entails, only about 20 pages, the majority of the book is spent talking about African American influences in other time frames. By spending the entire beginning of the book convincing the reader that the book will be about one subject, and then not completely covering that subject if misleading.
Foner should have either turned the chapter about Reconstruction into a larger part of the book, or written a prologue that was relevant to the rest of the novel. Although it is a flaw that Foner is misleading in his prologue as towards the time span of the novel, the period in which is actually discussed is unique. History book need to give some sort of background information on their topic to inform the reader, which Foner does with the first chapter. But what is unique to this novel is Foner’s connection to a closer period.
The entire epilogue is dedicated towards addressing the next US event towards racial equality, which is the Civil Rights Movement. Foner describes the movement in such a way that, although informative, excels in connecting the movement with the Reconstruction period. Although Foner’s thesis is about African American’s influence during the Reconstruction period, he uses the Civil Rights Movement to extend his argument into more a more present period. The use of a historical event that was only a short time ago, makes Foner’s article much more understandable and relatable to the reader.
Although this is a great way for the author to connect with readers in today’s world, it won’t remain as relevant later. A large part of the United States population was present during the Civil Rights Movement, so by connecting his argument directed at the Reconstruction period to a historical events that most have experienced, make his argument much more understandable. But this unique tactic won’t be as impactful in the future, since the population who was present during the Civil Rights Movement will not be around forever.
One day making this tactic not as relevant. Throughout Forever Free, Foner’s argument towards African American’s influence during this period continues to show. Although backed by visual essays throughout the book by Joshua Brown, there is still a strong central argument between the two of them. Particularly, both authors do a wonderful job in an area that is usually lacking in historical novels. It is often times that the author gets so caught up in trying to prove their point that they become dependent on one side of an argument. But this doesn’t happen here.
Throughout the entirety of the novel Foner does a good job of comparing the ideas and viewpoints from both the North and the South. Making his argument that much stronger. Although his main argument revolves around the African American influence during the Reconstruction period, he is successful in portraying both Southern and Northern experiences to get his point across. Another area that Foner succeeds at is being able to make the novel an easy read. Although written as a history book, at no point in Forever Free does Fonder become engrossed in details confusing his reader.
Because of this he is able to educate the reader while still maintaining the readers attention. Eric Foner is a professor of History at Columbia University, and is one of the most prominent historians in the country and serving as president of the Organization of American Historians, American Historical Association, and Society of American Historians. He has written and collaborated on twenty-four books covering the American Civil War, one of which won the Pulitzer Prize for History.
As an experienced writer, and one of the most outstanding historians in the country, Foner was successful in writing another wonderful and education novel. It includes not only a good balance between opposing viewpoints, but is also capable of maintaining the argument throughout. Foner’s argument of African American influences during the Reconstruction period is not one that is usually covered. But Foner is able to achieve his argument, while maintaining the attention of the reader, making this a fantastic historical novel.
