Letters to friends, colleagues, and political commentators, 2008-2012, on the role of the Left in American history, as seen through the lens of the Obama candidacy and presidency, with emphasis on freedom as it defines Left and Right. Analysis by distinguished American historian Martin J. Sklar of economic, social, and international policies as expressions of human rights, with particular attention to American liberal democracy, capitalism, socialism, and the U.S. Constitution and such issues as health care, immigration, and war detainees.
Martin J. Sklar, Professor of History, Emeritus, Bucknell University, is the author of The Corporate Reconstruction of American Capitalism, 1890-1916 (Cambridge University Press) and The United States as a Developing Country (Progressive Era & 1920s) (Cambridge University Press). He is also the author of various essays on American liberal democracy, capitalism, socialism, and foreign relations. Essays include "Capitalism and Socialism in the Emergence of Modern America," in Reconstructing History, eds. Elizabeth Fox-Genovese and Elisabeth Lasch--Quinn (Rutledge, 1999) and "Thoughts on Capitalism and Socialism: Utopian and Realistic," Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era (JGAPE), Vol. 2, No. 4, Oct. 2003.
Martin Sklar was founding editor of Studies on the Left (Madison, Wisconsin) and co-founding editor of In These Times (Chicago). He was a founding member of the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees of The Historical Society, 1998 et seq.; co-Chair of Program Committee of THS first National Convention, 1999, Boston; founding editorial board member of The Journal of The Historical Society.
The cover of "Letters on Obama (from the Left)" is by artist David Ortega and depicts Federal Hall National Memorial in Lower Manhattan, on the site of George Washington's inaugural in 1789. Paintings and drawings of New York City by David Ortega can be seen at www.davidwo.com.
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