Philip Foner - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Philip S. Foner was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

Marxist labor historian and teacher. The author and editor of more than 100 books, the prolific Foner wrote extensively on what were at the time academically unpopular themes, such as the role of radicals, blacks, and women in American history. In 1941, Foner became a public figure when he was stripped of his teaching position at City College of New York

City College of New York

The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...

over his communism. Foner is best remembered for his massive 10-volume History of the Labor Movement in the United States, published between 1947 and 1994, and for the 5-volume collection The Life and Writings of Frederick Douglass.

Early years

Philip Sheldon Foner was born December 14, 1910 on the Lower East Side

Lower East Side

The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....

of New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. His parents were emigrants from the Russian empire

Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

. Foner grew up in Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

, and graduated from Eastern District High School.

Foner obtained his Bachelor's degree

Bachelor's degree

A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...

from the City College of New York

City College of New York

(CCNY) in 1932, and his Master's degree

Master's degree

A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...

from Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

in 1933. In 1941, he received his Ph.D.

Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...

from Columbia.

Foner married Roslyn Held in 1939. The pair had two children, Elizabeth and Laura.

Academic career

Foner became an instructor of history at City College of New York in 1933, the same year in which he obtained his Master's degree. He taught there through 1941, when his first book was published, Business and Slavery: The New York Merchants and the Irrepressible Conflict.

In 1941, Foner and 50 other faculty members at the City College of New York were forced from their teaching jobs during an investigation of communist influences in higher education by the New York state legislature's anti-communist Rapp-Coudert Committee

Rapp-Coudert Committee

The Rapp-Coudert Committee was the colloquial name of the Joint Legislative Committee to Investigate the Educational System of the State of New York — a committee of the New York State Legislature. The Rapp-Coudert Committee, which conducted its business from 1940 to 1942, sought to identify the...

, officially known as the Joint Legislative Committee to Investigate the Educational System of the State of New York. Foner's three brothers — his twin Jack

Jack D. Foner

Jack Donald Foner was an American historian best known for writing histories of the labor movement and the struggle for civil rights. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. A professor of American history, he established one of the first programs in black studies in the United States...

, a professor of history at CCNY; Moe

Moe Foner

Morris "Moe" Foner was a labor leader active in Union 1199, the New York Health and Human Service Union.-Early years:Foner was born and raised in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn...

, a worker in the CCNY registrar's office; and Henry, a substitute teacher in the New York City public schools — were also embroiled in the controversy and were terminated from their jobs as well.

After his dismissal from City College, Foner became a principal and chief editor for Citadel Press, based in New York City.

In 1947, there appeared the first volume of what would become Foner's magnum opus, A History of the Labor Movement of the United States, released by International Publishers

International Publishers

International Publishers is a book publishing company based in New York City specializing in Marxist works of economics, political science, and history. The company was established in 1924 by A.A. Heller and Alexander Trachtenberg, using funds earned through a lucrative trade concession granted...

, a publisher very close to the Communist Party USA

Communist Party USA

The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....

. Writing as a Marxist, Foner emphasized the role of the working class

Working class

Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...

and their allies in a class struggle

Class struggle

Class struggle is the active expression of a class conflict looked at from any kind of socialist perspective. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote "The [written] history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle"....

dating back to the earliest days of the American republic, thereby presenting what one historian has called "a formidible challenge to the orthodox John R. Commons

John R. Commons

John Rogers Commons was an American institutional economist and labor historian at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.-Biography:Born in Hollansburg, Ohio, John R. Commons had a religious upbringing which led him to be an advocate for social justice early in life...

interpretation of labor history." Further volumes would appear in the series throughout Foner's life, with a tenth and final installment, published shortly before the historian's death, taking the story to the eve of the Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

.

Two years later, the first installment of Foner's other multi-volume work, The Life and Writings of Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing...

, saw print, also through the auspices of International Publishers in New York City. Ultimately five volumes of this work would appear, published between 1949 and 1952.

In 1967, Foner was once again readmitted to the halls of academia when he was hired as a history professor at Lincoln University

Lincoln University (Pennsylvania)

Lincoln University is the United States' first degree-granting historically black university. It is located near the town of Oxford in southern Chester County, Pennsylvania. The university also hosts a Center for Graduate Studies in the City of Philadelphia. Lincoln University provides...

, a historically black university located near Oxford, Pennsylvania

Oxford, Pennsylvania

Oxford is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. Oxford is the closest town to Lincoln University. The population was 4,315 at the 2000 census.-History:The borough was once called Oxford Crossing and Oxford Village....

. Foner retained this post until his retirement in 1979.

Following his retirement, Foner continued to publish books at a frenetic pace, usually in the role of co-author of document collections in association with a younger scholar.

In 1979, nearly three decades after the mass firings at City College, the New York State Board of Higher Education apologized to the Rapp-Coudert victims, terming the conduct of the Rapp-Coudert Committee "an egregious violation of academic freedom

Academic freedom

Academic freedom is the belief that the freedom of inquiry by students and faculty members is essential to the mission of the academy, and that scholars should have freedom to teach or communicate ideas or facts without being targeted for repression, job loss, or imprisonment.Academic freedom is a...

."

Foner also became a professor of history at Rutgers University

Rutgers University

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...

in Camden, New Jersey

Camden, New Jersey

The city of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey. It is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 77,344...

in 1981.

Following his wife Roslyn's death, Foner married again in 1988, with the second union ending in divorce in 1991.

Accusations of Plagiarism

Foner's work, always politically controversial, has not been without even deeper criticism. In 1971, a 30-page article in the respected academic journal

Academic journal

An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...

Labor History
Labor History (journal)
Labor History is an inter-disciplinary, peer reviewed journal which publishes articles regarding the history of the labor movement in the United States, Europe and other regions and countries....

extensively documented the way that Foner plagiarized

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...

material from an unpublished master's thesis by James O. Morris in his 1965 book, The Case of Joe Hill. Morris charged that "About one quarter of the Foner text is a verbatim or nearly verbatim reproduction" of his manuscript and that edited quotations from other sources had been exactly reproduced, including ellipses.

Further charges were levied in May 2003, when labor historian Mel Dubofsky

Melvyn Dubofsky

Melvyn Dubofsky is a professor of history and sociology, and a well-known labor historian. He is Bartle Distinguished Professor of History and Sociology at the State University of New York at Binghamton.-Early life and education:...

accused Foner of having "borrowed wholesale from my then unpublished dissertation" on the Industrial Workers of the World

Industrial Workers of the World

The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...

for use in Volume 4 of his History of the Labor Movement in the United States. Dubofsky charged that Foner extracted large chunks of this dissertation "without attribution or inverted commas." Dubofsky further alleged that Foner had engaged in a similar pattern of behavior with the unpublished work of other young scholars "too numerous to mention."

Another important American scholar, John Earl Haynes

John Earl Haynes

John Earl Haynes is an American historian who is a specialist in 20th century political history in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress...

, has asserted a pattern of shoddy accuracy by Foner in the footnoting of some of his work.

Death and legacy

Philip Foner died December 13, 1994.

Philip Foner was the uncle of historian Eric Foner

Eric Foner

Eric Foner is an American historian. On the faculty of the Department of History at Columbia University since 1982, he writes extensively on political history, the history of freedom, the early history of the Republican Party, African American biography, Reconstruction, and historiography...

, a former head of the American Historical Association

American Historical Association

The American Historical Association is the oldest and largest society of historians and professors of history in the United States. Founded in 1884, the association promotes historical studies, the teaching of history, and the preservation of and access to historical materials...

. Eric Foner's father was Philip's brother Jack D. Foner

Jack D. Foner

(1910–1999), himself a professional historian.

Books written

Business and Slavery: The New York Merchants and the Irrepressible Conflict. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1941.
Morale Education in the American Army: War for Independence, War of 1812, CIvil War. New York: International Publishers, 1944.
The Jews in American HIstory, 1654-1865. New York: International Publishers, 1945.
Jack London: American Rebel:A Collection of his Social Writings, Together with an Extensive Study of the Man and his Times New York: The Citadel Press, 1947.

History of the Labor Movement in the United States. In 10 volumes, 1947-1994.
- Vol. 1: From Colonial Times to the Founding of the American Federation of Labor. New York: International Publishers, 1947.
- Vol. 2: From the Founding of the American Federation of Labor to the Emergence of American Imperialism. New York: International Publishers, 1955.
- Vol. 3: The Policies and Practices of the American Federation of Labor, 1900-1909. New York: International Publishers, 1964.
- Vol. 4: Industrial Workers of the World. New York: International Publishers, 1965.
- Vol. 5: The AFL in the Progressive Era, 1910-1915. New York: International Publishers, 1980.
- Vol. 6: On the Eve of America's Entrance into World War I, 1915-1916. New York: International Publishers, 1982.
- Vol. 7: Labor and World War I, 1914-1918. New York: International Publishers, 1987.
- Vol. 8: Postwar Struggles, 1918-1920. New York: International Publishers, 1988.
- Vol. 9: The T.U.E.L. to the End of the Gompers Era. New York: International Publishers, 1991.
- Vol. 10: The T.U.E.L., 1925-1929. New York: International Publishers, 1994.

The Fur and Leather Workers Union: A Story of Dramatic Struggles and Achievements. Newark, NJ: Nordan Press, 1950.

A History of Cuba and its Relations with the United States. In 2 volumes, 1962-1963.
- Volume 1, 1492-1845: From the Conquest of Cuba to La Escalera. New York: International Publishers, 1962.
- Volume 2, 1845-1895: From the Era of Annexationism to the Outbreak of the Second War for Independence. New York: International Publishers, 1963.

Frederick Douglass: A Biography. New York: Citadel Press, 1964.
The Case of Joe Hill. New York: International Publishers, 1965.
The Bolshevik Revolution: Its Impact on American Radicals, Liberals, and Labor. New York: International Publishers, 1967.
W.E.B. DuBois Speaks: Speeches and Addresses, 1890-1919. New York: Pathfinder Press, 1970.
W.E.B. DuBois Speaks: Speeches and Addresses, 1920-1963. New York: Pathfinder Press, 1970.
American Labor and the Indochina War: The Growth of Union Opposition. New York: International Publishers, 1971.
The Spanish-Cuban-American War and the Birth of American Imperialism, 1895-1902. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1972.
Organized Labor and the Black Worker, 1619-1973. New York: Praeger, 1974.
American Labor Songs of the Nineteenth Century. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1975.
History of Black Americans. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1975.
Labor and the American Revolution. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1976.
Blacks in the American Revolution. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1976.
The Great Labor Uprising of 1877. New York: Monad Press, 1977.
American Socialism and Black Americans: From the Age of Jackson to World War II. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1977.
Antonio Maceo: The "Bronze Titan" of Cuba's Struggle for Independence. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1977.
Essays in Afro-American History. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1978.
Women and the American Labor Movement: From Colonial Times to the Eve of World War I. New York: The Free Press, 1979.
Women and the American Labor Movement: From World War I to the Present. New York: The Free Press, 1980.
British Labor and the American Civil War. New York: Holmes and Meier, 1981.
Women and the American Labor Movement: From the First Trade Unions to the Present. New York: The Free Press, 1982.
Three Who Dared: Prudence Crandall, Margaret Douglass, Myrtilla Miner: Champions of Antebellum Black Education. With Josephine F. Pacheco. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1984.
First Facts of American Labor: A Comprehensive Collection of Labor Firsts in the United States. New York: Holmes and Meier, 1984.
The Other America: Art and the Labour Movement in the United States. With Reinhard Schultz. West Nyack, NY: Journeyman Press, 1985.
Literary Anti-imperialists. New York: Holmes and Meier, 1986.
May Day: A Short History of the International Workers' Holiday, 1886-1986. New York: International Publishers, 1986.
U.S. Labor Movement and Latin America: A History of Workers' Response to Intervention. South Hadley, MA: Bergin and Garvey, 1988.
U.S. Labor and the Viet-Nam War. New York: International Publishers, 1989.

Books edited

Basic Writings of Thomas Jefferson. New York : Willey Book Co., 1944.
George Washington: Selections from his Writings. New York: International Publishers, 1944.
Abraham Lincoln: Selections from his Writings. New York: International Publishers, 1944.
The Life and Major Writings of Thomas Paine. New York: Citadel Press, 1945.
The Complete Writings of Thomas Paine. New York: Citadel Press, 1945.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Selections from his Writings. New York: International Publishers, 1947.
The Life and Writings of Frederick Douglass. In 5 volumes. New York: International Publishers, 1950-1955. Supplementary volume, 1975.
The Letters of Joe Hill. New York: Oak Publications, 1965.
Helen Keller, Her Socialist Years: Writings and Speeches. New York: International Publishers, 1967.
The Autobiographies of the Haymarket Martyrs. New York, AIMS/Humanities Press, 1969.
The Black Panthers Speak. New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1970.
The Voice of Black America: Major Speeches by Negroes in the United States, 1797-1971. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1972.
Mark Twain: Social Critic. New York: International Publishers, 1972.
When Karl Marx Died: Comments in 1883. New York: International Publishers, 1973.
Inside the Monster: Writings on the United States and American Imperialism. By José Marti. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1975.
The Voice of Black America: Major Speeches by Negroes in the United States, 1797-1900. New York: Capricorn Books, 1975.
We, the Other People: Alternative Declarations of Independence by Labor Groups, Farmers, Woman's Rights Advocates, Socialists, and Blacks, 1829-1975. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1976.
The Democratic-Republican Societies, 1790-1800: A Documentary Sourcebook of Constitutions, Declarations, Addresses, Resolutions, and Toasts. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1976.
Frederick Douglass on Women's Rights. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1976.
The Formation of the Workingmen's Party of the United States: Proceedings of the Union Congress, Held at Philadelphia, July 19-22, 1876. New York: American Institute for Marxist Studies, 1976.
Our America: Writings on Latin America and the Struggle for Cuban Independence. By José Marti. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1977.
The Factory Girls: A Collection of Writings on Life and Struggles in the New England Factories of the 1840s. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1977.
Friedrich A. Sorge's Labor Movement in the United States: A History of the American Working Class from Colonial Times to 1890. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1977.
Our America: Writings on Latin America and the Struggle for Cuban Independence. By José Marti. New York : Monthly Review Press, 1977.
Paul Robeson Speaks: Writings, Speeches, Interviews, 1918-1974. New York: Brunner/Mazel, 1978.
Karl Liebknecht and the United States. Chicago: Greenleaf Press, 1978.

The Black Worker: A Documentary History from Colonial Times to the Present. In 8 volumes. 1978-1984.
- Volume 1: The Black Worker to 1869. With Ronald L. Lewis. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1978.
- Volume 2: The Black Worker During the Era of the National Labor Union. With Ronald L. Lewis. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1978.
- Volume 3: The Black Worker During the Era of the Knights of Labor. With Ronald L. Lewis. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1978.
- Volume 4: The Black Worker During the Era of the American Federation of Labor and the Railroad Brotherhoods. With Ronald L. Lewis. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1979.
- Volume 5: The Black Worker from 1900 to 1919. With Ronald L. Lewis. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1980.
- Volume 6: The Black Worker: The Era of Post-War Prosperity and the Great Depression, 1920-1936. With Ronald L. Lewis. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1981.
- Volume 7: The Black Worker from the Founding of the CIO to the AFL-CIO merger, 1936-1955. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1983.
- Volume 8: The Black Worker Since the AFL-CIO Merger, 1955-1980. With Ronald L. Lewis and Robert Cvornyek. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1984.