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Give Me Liberty!: An American History, Volume 2 (2008)

by Eric Foner(Favorite Author)

3.71 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0393932567 (ISBN13: 9780393932560)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

W. W. Norton & Company

review 1: Lincoln said, “Freedom is one thing to the fox and something entirely different to the chickens.” Foner states, “increasingly, the idea of liberty lost its traditional association with privileges derived from membership in a distinct social class and became more and more identified with a general right to resist arbitrary government” (142).The early North American natives had a different meaning of freedom than other early New England settlers. The natives believed that as long as they were not enslaved, they were free. For the early European settlers, freedom was closely aligned with rights, land ownership, slave ownership, and government. The Europeans came to America for economic opportunity, religious tolerance, and land ownership. For example, the early E... moreuropean settlers and the Native Americans had differing opinions on property ownership. The Natives believed in the communal use of property, while the European wanted to own land. The Calvinist settlers identified freedom as religious tolerance and the ability to practice their religion without persecution. Many of the New England colonies were founded for the very purpose of seeking religious freedom, and promoting tolerance. After Roger Williams was banished from Massachusetts in 1636, he went on to create Rhode Island as a land for people to participate in religious activities of their choosing without government interference. William Penn created Pennsylvania for those fleeing religious persecution in Europe. He promoted religious tolerance and co-existence with the Native Americans in the Pennsylvania colony.Abolitionism was a social movement of the pre-Civil war era that advocated for the immediate emancipation of the slaves and their incorporation into American society as equal citizens. Freedom to abolitionists meant freedom from slavery. This view was similar to that of the Native Americans. Abolitionists and Radical Republicans saw emancipation as necessary to weaken the South’s ability to sustain the war. Emancipation became the target of the Union war effort. Freedom of Women’s rights advocates meant equal ability to participate in the public sphere, and gaining the right to vote. Women voiced their opinions at the Seneca Falls Convention organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. Former slaves’ ideas of freedom were directly related to land ownership. Many former slaves insisted that through their unpaid labor, they had acquired a right to the land. Freedom as defined by former slaves held a similar meaning to that of white Americans. They equated freedom with self-ownership, family stability, religious liberty, political participation, and economic autonomy. Freedom “was an open-ended process for blacks, involving a transformation of all aspects of their lives and of the society and culture that had sustained slavery in the first place” (Foner 527). No matter what the definition of freedom, for whites it was a given birthright to be defended.Americans envisioned freedom with the availability of open land in the West. John L. O’Sullivan coined the phrase “manifest destiny,” meaning Americans believed it was their divine right to occupy the entire continent and continually expand the area of freedom. “Those who stood in the way of expansion—European powers like Great Britain and Spain, Native Americans, Mexicans—were by definition obstacles to the progress of freedom…Like its predecessors, this generation of Americans believed that the United States had been selected by God for the greatest experiment in human history, the achievement of liberty, and that westward expansion was part and parcel of this destiny” (Foner 323-324). In the older states the population and the price of land were rising. Therefore the chances of a young man setting up a farm or creating his own artisan shop were dwindling. The West held out chances for the achievement of economic independence and freedom. In the nineteenth century freedom was identified with economic opportunities, physical mobility, political participation, and slavery (Foner, 303). Freedom to the Democrats meant a weak central government and the preservation of states’ rights. The Federalists were supporters of Washington’s administration who supported Hamilton’s plan. They had close ties with Britain, did not believe in self-government, and deferred major decisions to authority. They feared too much liberty and unstructured government would result in anarchy.
review 2: Could anything be duller than a textbook? No, but Foner's account of American history from the end of the Civil War until 2008 is a perfect mix of overview and detail that is like no textbook I was exposed to in my school days. Whereas U.S. history texts were once typically bland and broad, Give Me Liberty gets down to level of personalities.A typical passage: "From the very outset of his administration, Clinton's political opponents and a scandal-hungry media stood ready to pounce. Clinton himself provided the ammunition." I'm a student of American history, yet there were a number of things mentioned in this book that were new to me.Foner devotes over 1000 pages to the 140 years covered, following the developing concept of liberty in the United States. Particular attention is paid to the status of blacks and women with significant Supreme Court decisions not just mentioned but explained.This book, along with the companion Vol. 1 that I look forward to reading, will be a handy reference for the succinct summaries of different periods and political movements in the United States. less

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