A thought-provoking new book from one of America's finest historians "History," wrote James Baldwin, "does not refer merely, or even principally, to the past. On the contrary, the great force of history comes from the fact that we carry it within us, are unconsciously controlled by it in many ways, and history is literally present in all that we do." Rarely has Baldwin's insight been more forcefully confirmed than during the past few decades. History...

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning scholar, a timely history of the constitutional changes that built equality into the nation's foundation and how those guarantees have been shaken over time. The Declaration of Independence announced equality as an American ideal, but it took the Civil War and the subsequent adoption of three constitutional amendments to establish that ideal as American law. The Reconstruction amendments abolished slavery, guaranteed...

From the \"preeminent historian of Reconstruction\" (New York Times Book Review), the prize-winning classic work on the post-Civil War period which shaped modern America. Eric Foner's \"masterful treatment of one of the most complex periods of American history\" (New Republic) redefined how the post-Civil War period was viewed. Reconstruction chronicles the way in which Americansblack and whiteresponded to the unprecedented changes unleashed by the...

Discusses the contributions of women in colonial and revolutionary America, including biographical portraits of Native American women, pioneer women, African-American women, and immigrant women.

"The classic work of American history by the renowned author of From Slavery to Freedom , with a new introduction by historian Eric Foner. First published in 1961, John Hope Franklin's revelatory study of the Reconstruction Era is a landmark work of history, exploring the role of former slaves and dispelling longstanding popular myths about corruption and Radical rule. Looking past dubious scholarship that had previously dominated the narrative, Franklin...

Radicalism is as American as apple pie. One can scarcely imagine what American society would look like without the abolitionists, feminists, socialists, union organizers, civil-rights workers, gay and lesbian activists, and environmentalists who have fought stubbornly to breathe life into the promises of freedom and equality that lie at the heart of American democracy. The first anthology of its kind, The Radical Reader brings together more than 200...