Eric Foner

Being Socially Imaginative The Sociological Imagination is the concept by C. Wright Mills, and it expands on the notion that sociology has a role in everyday life. Another way of seeing it is expanding one's view from their own lives to a broader spectrum of society. Two of Mills’ methods for cultivating a sociological imagination include thinking historically and thinking across kinds of sources, although Mills recommended avoiding using only one method since it could lead to biased results.…

The Importance of the Civil War The Civil War in 50 Objects, by Henry Holzer and the New-York Historical Society, is a collection of fifty primary sources, varying in type and format. Each of these objects is accompanied by a description of the source, as well as a story which establishes the source in the proper context in history. Through the sources Holzer shows the importance of the Civil War, especially for the people who lived through it. The Civil War transformed the United States in…

Western territories. They offered an alternative to slave labour, free man and free soil, a system which they argued would be more moral as positions once held by slaves were given to white settlers and it was seen as more economically sustainable. Eric Foner argues that the shared “free labour ideology” of the Republican party united them before the Civil War. John Brown’s raid is another example of the moral abolition movement causing the American Civil War. Brown’s raid in Harper’s Ferry was…

Prior to the late nineteenth century, America was the land of oppression for African slaves. If they were captured in Africa by white men, they would be sent to the New World to work as slaves for the rest of their lives. Slaves were a form of property, so their white masters could work them as hard as they pleased. Field slaves had to work the fields for as long as their masters desired and house slaves were on duty at all times (PBS). Many people noticed how horribly the slaves were being…

Oriented around a free market economy and the tenets of liberalism, democracy encourages diversity within a political body, mutual respect and tolerance among citizens, and self-interest for the common good. However, by no means is democracy synonymous with freedom, for the latter cannot be defined so clearly. A man’s definition of freedom following the Civil War (1865-1915), for instance, was as personal to him as his name and in some cases, his life. Whether abstract or concrete, social or…

inequality during the 1970s and 1980s. Civil rights advocates acknowledged that desegregation had not brought significant improvements in the lives of poor blacks, but they were divided over the future direction of black advancement efforts.” (Foner, Eric) This is said to be true in America, Racism, inequality, slavery, oppression and sheer manipulation of the less fortunate and ignorant citizens of this country, yet it is not just here. In other parts and countries around the world, the common…

In 1867, the book The Underground Railroad was published by William Still. Unlike many of African Americans, William was born free and spent most of his life fighting for the freedom of others. In adulthood, William became an abolitionist movement leader in order to fight against race relations and prevent the capturing of free slaves. After teaching himself how to read and write. William quickly learned that education would be the key to the resistance of slavery and began documenting the…

Three things come to mind when one thinks of Nike: the three lettered quote “Just Do It” stamped in bright yellow across their t-shirts, the simple yet very recognizable swoosh symbol, and the fact that the multi billion-dollar brand advertises and represents all of the latest and greatest athletes. Phil Knight, the co-founder of Nike, is behind all of this publicity and fame that we see almost everywhere. Believed to be the 20th century version of John D. Rockefeller, Knight’s actions can…

The report I am analyzing is entitled “Lynch Law” written by Ida B. Wells-Barnett in 1893. Wells-Barnett was born into slavery in Holly Springs, Mississippi, six months before President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863 freeing all enslaved persons held in bondage in the borderline southern States. Her father was a carpenter and her mother was a cook, and were very involved in Republican Party activities during Reconstruction. Both her parents valued education so…

Leigh Seeley February 22, 2018 In the 19th century, black men, women and children, commonly known as slaves, were subjected to terrible treatment by those who imprisoned them. From the paternalistic attitudes, to the poor living conditions and then finally, the resistance to the barbaric practice, slavery was a common (but horrifying) way to live life. Paternalism was based around an agrarian hierarchy where the master is at the top and is responsible for supporting all lower ranks (wives and…