Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men Book Analysis Essay

Introduction

Eric Foner's book, 'Free Soil, Free Labor, Free men' covers the impacts of the end of slavery in the north. He primarily focuses on the influence of the Republican Party towards the end of the slave trade and the promotion of economic prosperity. Just as modern historians in America argue, Foner also asserts that the political ideology of the Republicans was the major drive and the reason for the end of slavery in the north. The struggle to abolish slavery was, therefore, the result of the Civil War in 1861. The book looks at a full-scale concept of the free labor ideology and other reasons beyond the notion of free labor that led to the North's extreme opposition against slavery.

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The drive behind the Republican Party was based on human rights, social and economic concepts. According to the people from the north, there was no freedom except only for entrepreneurs and farmers and who still consisted of the whites. Women and the lacks were widely ignored in these concepts, and this led to the reconstruction of the Republican Party to accommodate the minority groups. The reconstruction however led to the factions in the Republican Party.

The republished book looks into the developments that have been made as a result of the formation of the Republican Party and other changes that have taken place over the history. The author looks at the contemporary definition of slavery and also covers a number of things which led to the abolition of slavery which was, in fact, offer a setting stage for free labor. The argument for the wage earners was that they would work better if they were working for themselves. Besides, they argued that their productivity and profit would increase if slavery were abolished. The proposers of the slave trade, on the other hand, argued that abolishing slavery would lead to the exploitation of the market and the only thing that could arise as a result of this was depression. They were therefore against the Republican's ideology that freedom could enhance economic growth.

Foner also discusses some flaws in the then Republican Party that seeks to advocate for the rights of slaves. First, he states that the party forgot not only the women but also the blacks. The slavery issue was not completely advocated for since women lived under men. Women were not allowed to take certain positions, and the Republican Party which purported to support anti-slavery activities was silent on this particular issue. Women were not only under their husbands under any ordinary case, but the husbands also controlled their wages. The blacks, on the other hand, had no market. The whites did not want to hire them, but again, this was another area that the party overlooked.

Still on the flaws of the concept of free labor was the challenge involving the implementation of the strategies set by the northern people. This was believed to have resulted from the different factions of the ever-growing Republican Party. Although socioeconomic was the primary issues behind the division of the north and the south, the factions had different and dissenting opinions. They however thought that ending antislavery was the right thing to do. The two issues that were common in the fractures were the time upon which it was right to fight slavery and the technique to use as they believed that the pro slaves had taken captive of the federal government. The existence of the conspirational slave power that was described to have seized the government could, however, be broken through the right approach. Saved by succession, the men started advocating for political rights and better social life. The different objectives and needs, as Foner explains, led to the northern people to describe the southern as aliens threatening society and they had different and conflicting values.

Foner takes a closer look at the effects and the opinions of the different factions of the Republican Party which were the conservatives, the moderates, and the radicals. The radicals saw the party as the culmination of the many years of the anti-slavery efforts and considered political parties means. According to the radicals, a political party that was not able to further any antislavery cause did not have their agenda, and consequently, they would abandon such political parties. When looking at it from the consideration of the union, the radicals considered it a means. The conservative, on the other hand, sought to maintain the union by seeking to abandon the anti-slavery agitation. For the conservatives, the Union was supposed to be used to wrest control of the federal government leading to lack of power by the slaveholders. It was however not clear to the radicals and moderates as to whether it was the right strategy to attack slavery at that particular time or not. The issue here was, therefore, the time that the Republicans were to make the best move.

Abraham Lincoln was a supporter of the moderate's ideas, and he believed that he and other Republicans who were to stop slavery and advocate for free labor, believed that it was utterly wrong for him to interfere directly with slavery and believed that slavery would end after its spread in states. The moderates believed that involving themselves with the federal government would only create more complications and perhaps lead to the rise in slave slavery.

The member of all the union had one thing in common; they believed that the rise in slavery was a critical issue that needs to be dealt with during the 1980's. The Republicans, however, developed hostility towards slave and those who advocated for slave-power and this consequently made the southern feel unsafe as slavery was being brought to an end. The ideology was that slave power was a threat to the fundamental rights of the states that had become free and the people from the northern states profoundly made aggressive moves towards slavery acts. For the southern, the Republican's administration was supposed to favor them. Foner, however, views the existence of succession was the perfect logical approach by the south to the circumstances which they encountered during the election of Lincoln. Succession was the only concept that the southern support. Most importantly, the Republicans stood strong to defend and maintain the Union.

Conclusion

The book succinctly covers the period before and after the civil war taking note of some of the most important development. Most importantly, the author describes the strategies that were used to end slavery and the flaws in the Republican Party which was at the forefront of ending slavery. Foner therefore, provides a vivid picture of what happened during the reconstruction period in America.

Bibliography

Foner, Eric. Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men: The Ideology of the Republican Party Before the Civil War: With a New Introductory Essay. OUP USA, 1995.

Scott, Rebecca Jarvis. Slave emancipation in Cuba: the transition to free labor, 1860-1899. University of Pittsburgh Pre, 2000.