The study of American history Book

This book is a solid introductory text to the history of American political theory and practice. It focuses on the various meanings and uses of the word "freedom" (frequently in relation to its opposite, slavery and, later, fascism and communism). Foner does an excellent job of showing how the various definitions begin and transform over time.

As a historian of the Civil War and Reconstruction, Foner has a sharp eye for historical irony. In this book, the most obvious example is the idea of "freedom-as-equality" found in the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, a man who believed in the inherent inferiority of black people and in an early state's rights. "Freedom-as-equality" became the touchstone of the early civil rights movement, a movement based on racial equality and with a robust belief in federal intervention.

The last chapter "Conservative Freedom" is excellent at illustrating how high a cost the political left has placed on itself by abandoning the language of "freedom" for the language of "rights". Our current conceptions of "freedom" tend to presume ideas of freedom such as "freedom-as-gun-ownership" and "freedom-as-free-markets". As Foner shows, however, it wasn't always so. While "rights" have usually had an individualistic cast (consistent with its origins in the 1920s avant garde movements), "freedom" has frequently been viewed as a condition that requires a baseline of material support provided by the larger community to be actualized. This has expressed itself in calls for federal land grant programs advocated for by some of the Founding Fathers to social programs from the Great Society to the New Deal.

Ultimately, if I were to recommend one book on the history of American political thought who wants a quick overview, this would be it. Foner's history is an invaluable reminder that freedom is being fought for every day, and the most important battles occur in determining how to define it. Whoever defines "freedom" defines the country.