Free Foner, Eric. Reconstruction And Citizenship, 2011 Report Sample

Eric Foner’s lecture on “Reconstruction and Citizenship” revolves around the origins of birthright citizenship in the United States and the concept of freedom before and after the country’s Civil War. In each time segment, ideologies of white supremacy controlled the country, and black persons remained at the mercy of established social hierarchies. For this reason, racism and slavery hindered the integration of blacks as free nationals even after the war and efforts of reconstruction. However, the refusal to provide blacks with citizen rights did not emerge overnight, rather such beliefs evolved with time, as evidenced by ratified laws passed by the government since the eighteenth century. In his presentation, Eric Foner analyzes historical facts on the rights of black people as presented by government records to determine the gradual changes mentioned before. Expectedly, the renowned historian reckons that “when the fighting stops the history didn’t stop”, to mean the Civil War did little to sway the beliefs of the people. Caucasian Americans were not ready to change cultural norms to accommodate African Americans and sought to disprove efforts of equality in the nation. Nonetheless, racism, slavery, and the societal refusal to regard black Americans as a free people with the same rights as whites encouraged the birthright citizenship.
Foner's presentation on the position of the black people in American societies through government documents gives an insight into the response of the authorities in the plight of the African Americans. In addition, the Caucasians’ refusal to allow the integration of blacks within their communities proved to benefit the country even in present day America because of the birthright citizenship. The historian gives his arguments using five government documents, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments (Foner). Chronologically, each set appears to modify the last and even add more conditions concerning the relationship between American citizens and the government. Foremost, the Declaration of Independence stated, “all are entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” while the slavery institution was still thriving. For a people coming out of colonial rule, one can safely argue that the new America was still the old nation only without the colonists. Next, there is the American Constitution presenting three groups, the Caucasian Americans, Native Americans, and other people. By dividing the populations, the American Constitution created a social order based on racism and free labor. At this point, tyranny did not leave the United States with the British but appeared stronger and deeply rooted in the societies.
In addition, the divisions were illogical because the same people stated, “all men are created equal” in writing. The leaders were no different as evidenced by the rulings and decisions made by Abraham Lincoln, who Foner is quick to point out “was not an abolitionist”. In other words, although Lincoln advocated the liberation of blacks, he did little to ensure they gained freedom, and the Emancipation Proclamation is a perfect illustration of his attitude. Because the law “would free all the slaves in the rebel states", Union States could still own slaves. Such conditions gave advantage to the prohibited states to demand the same treatment if Lincoln did not want "a house divided against itself". Such views explain the emergence of the Ku Klux Klan and Jim Crow laws because Lincoln did not eradicate slavery per se. Consequently, the Civil War did not help black people, but the writing of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth amendments did by finally introducing methods of equality to all Americans. Real abolitionists like Frederick Douglass also aided in the achievement of true emancipation.

Work Cited

Foner, Eric. Reconstruction and Citizenship. Online video clip. Vimeo. The Gilder Lehrman Institute, 2011. Web. 23 Mar. 2015.