Essay #1: Be your own historian

Chapters for this assignment: 1-15 Eric Foner is the DeWitt Clinton Professor Emeritus of US History at Columbia University, and has published 24 books, countless articles, and has received numerous academic accolades.

He is also the author of our textbook Give Me Liberty. Though widely celebrated in his particular field of US History, Foner is human, and thus, like all of us, is capable of making mistakes or having bias. With this in mind, the goal of this paper assignment is for you to critique Foner’s textbook. Answer ONE of the following questions below (#’s 1-2), then answer the final question (#3). 1) Is there a particular area or topic of history that you believe Foner does NOT cover that he should? If so, what is it and why should it be included in the text? Why do you think he does not cover this subject? OR 2) Is there an area or topic that you think Foner has overemphasized? If so, what is it and why might he do so? What might he cover instead, and why? AND 3) Finally, for what reasons is it important to question the official narrative of events in a historical text?