Eric Foner (born February 7, 1943) is a liberal American historian. He has been a faculty member in the department of history at Columbia University since 1982 and writes extensively on political history, the history of freedom, the early history of the Republican Party, African American biography, Reconstruction, and historiography.
In 2000, he was elected president of the American Historical Association, and in 2018 he was elected to the American Philosophical Society.
Views
Foner is an outspoken advocate of the Supreme Court's use of the 14th Amendment contrary to its authors' wishes. Over the years, activist courts have transformed the amendment into one having ambiguous meanings,[1] even though the debates in 1860's in which the 14th were created are clear that the authors went to great lengths to carefully choose words and context which would be respectful of the Constitution's original meaning.
Foner is a frequent contributor to the progressive publication The Nation.[2]
Quotes
| “ | In effect, the Klan was a military force serving the interests of the Democratic party, the planter class, and all those who desired restoration of white supremacy. | ” |
| —"Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution," p. 425 | ||