“A man working for wages his whole life is not really free. That is why Jefferson said, you have to own land. Southerners said, - and they weren't being hypocritical - they said slavery is the foundation of freedom because if you own slaves, you are freer yourself.” IfsMenSaidWholeLife IsLandFoundationSlaverySlaveWhole LifeThey SaidWagesHypocriticalSoutherner Author:Eric Foner
“If you are going to abolish slavery, that opens up all these other questions: what system of labor is going to replace slave labor? What system of race relations is going to replace the race relations of slavery? Who is going to have power in the post-war South? The Emancipation Proclamation doesn't answer that question, but it throws [it] open.” IfsWarAnswersRaceLaborRelationSlaverySlaveSouthPostsRace RelationsEmancipationAbolishProclamationPost WarEmancipation ProclamationSlave Labor Author:Eric Foner
“Look, Mrs. McGillicuddy, it's not my fault your son jumped out a dorm room window on Christmas eve. I've written over fifty books as a Columbia professor, all right? You don't do that by holding hands with every at-risk undergraduate who says he's homesick, or he's turning gay, or the dog ate his term paper. I write about Lincoln, and freedom, and great ideas. I don't always have time for students. It's like Dean Martin used to say: if you want to talk, go to a priest. Hey -- what's the gun for?” IfsWantWritingLooksBookIdeasHandsUsedTermRoomsWrittenRiskDogStudentsSonGayPaperGunWindowFaultsHeyFiftyPriestsProfessorsGreat IdeaDeanColumbiaHolding HandsYour SonHomesickChristmas EveUndergraduateDormsDorm RoomsTerm Paper Author:Eric Foner
