Eric Foner

Eric Foner is one of America's most distinguished historians, the DeWitt Clinton Professor Emeritus of History at Columbia University. Born in 1943 in New York City, he received his B.A. from Columbia College and his Ph.D. from Columbia University. His scholarly focus has been the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the history of slavery and freedom in America. His landmark book Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877 (1988) is considered the definitive history of the post-Civil War era. The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery (2010) examined Lincoln's evolving views on slavery and race, winning the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for History, the Bancroft Prize, and the Lincoln Prize. Foner is a past president of the Organization of American Historians and the American Historical Association. His many other books include Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men (1970) and Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad (2015).