"This Was One of the Historic Achievements of the Republican Party"

"At the time, the 14th amendment did also have an impact on immigration status, Foner adds. 'The equivalent back then would have been the Chinese in the U.S.,' Foner says. 'They could not become naturalized citizens. Nonetheless, their children born here were citizens under the 14th amendment. The point is, this isn't just about black people. It’s a statement about what America is. It's a place where anybody can become a citizen regardless of their parents, religion, or race.'"

Greg Sargent in The Washington Post talks to Eric Foner about "the current push among some Republicans to do away with birthright citizenship."

And Foner talks with Jacobin about the legacies of the Civil War and Reconstruction.