Howard Zinn Essays

Columbus has always been portrayed as an enlightened, peaceful explorer who "discovered" a new world, and became friends with the native people. Howard Zinn's view on Columbus's encounter with the natives is an entirely different perspective. Zinn describes Columbus as a man who is willing to torture and kill others to be able to accomplish what he wants; in this case he wanted to obtain gold and other resources to take back with him to Spain. When Columbus and his men arrived to the islands, he noticed that the natives were generous, and accommodating because they willingly traded everything they owned and brought them such things like: food, water, and gifts. Since the beginning the natives offered all of their hospitality to Columbus...show more content... He became desperate to pay the dues back to the king and queen, so he order every native older than fourteen to collect a certain quantity of gold by three months. Once they had collected the amount, they would receive a copper to put around their neck, those without it had their hands cut off and bled to death. Many felt it was impossible to do this, and tried escaping but were always found and killed. When it was finally clear that there was no gold left, they took them all as slave labor to huge estates which are called encomiendas. Columbus's big plan for Hispaniola since the beginning was to take advantage of the natives and take their land, and the gold he believed was located there. He built the first fort in the Western Hemisphere, and left some of his men to find and store gold there. Columbus had to ask for a little more help from their majesties, he convinced them by saying he would take them "as much gold as they need ... and as many slaves as they ask" (Zinn,6 ) Columbus's plans affected the natives, in many ways; first of all they were going to lose their land, and also they were going to be taken captive for slave labor.

Howard Zinn not only introduced a new perspective on Christopher Columbus, but he changed the way I viewed things. I never knew how much killings, and torture was put upon the natives in the searching of the "New World". I learned how the hero I thought Columbus was, in reality was more like a villain. He didn't Get

Howard Zinn says it best when he writes that "from 1964 to 1972, the wealthiest and most powerful nation in the history of the world made a maximum military effort, with everything short of atomic bombs, to defeat a nationalist revolutionary movement in a tiny peasant country– and failed" (Zinn, 460). Zinn does not mince words when expressing his thoughts about the VietnamWar, because as Zinn says, Vietnam was basically a modern portrayal of David vs. Goliath. One could even go as far as to say that Vietnam was in essence a case of mass genocide in Vietnam. Thousands and thousands of Vietnamese and America soldiers were killed along with thousands upon thousands of innocent, Vietnamese citizens. War is an infectious disease and the Vietnam War is a perfect example of how deadly of a disease war can be. Everybody involved in the Vietnam War was affected, whether it was Vietnamese citizens, Vietnamese soldiers, American soldiers, or even American citizens back home. The disease that was the Vietnam War infected the hearts and minds of two countries half way across the world from each other. To get some context the Vietnam War was part of a series of wars known as the Indochina Wars. The Vietnam War was preceded by the first Indochina War around fifteen years earlier. The first Indochina War was a fight for freedom between the Vietnamese (Viet Minh) and the Japanese /French. France had previously occupied Vietnam and Vietnam was known as French Indochina. The Viet Minh were

Analysis Of A Peoples History

By Howard Zinn

Howard Zinn is an Amerixan histrian. Hes alos the author of the book A Peoples History oif the United States. In the book he expalins parts of histroy where most of the details are left out. He gives an alternate interpretation of the inmform,ation at hand. He also guves his poin of view of the victims. And says that people shoukdnt condemn the oekpole but rather learen all the facts and teach others. In traditional books, Christopher Columbus is portrayed as a heroic figure. In the book A People'sHistory of the United States by Howard Zinn he gives an accurate portrayal of Christopher Columbus; a merciless conquistador who killed anyone that stood his way. And in the book Zinn is pleased to say how his book stands apart from many others stating "The mountain of history books under which we all stand leans so heavily in the other direction–so tremblingly respectful of states and statesmen and so disrespectful, by inattention, to people's movements–that we need some counterforce to avoid being crushed into submission." After all his purpose for writing this book was to give an accurate and detailed account of American history from the victim's point of view. And he explained that we shouldn't just grieve victims of torture but discredit those who have been written in a good light. Those commonly mentioned in history are commonly upper–class white people. Race can also affect who you'll typically see as the bad guy in certain situations. As for class in some places,

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Howard Zinn starts off his speech about the biggest conflicts in history, war. He discusses that wars in movies often focus on the leaders of the conflict. He offers up a different perspective of focusing on the common soldier, losing his comrades and morals, to bring a horrid reality to glory seeking war films. Additionally, Professor Zinn brings up how war movies are linear for who are the antagonist and protagonist, when in reality, wars are not as simple. He tells of another side to the US military, where they are ruthless killers that massacred innocent people and are celebrated for it. He uses examples of the Mexican War and the Philippine War to prove his point. He wishes for movies to depict war as something truly terrible. Unfortunately,

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Female African Slave: In American colonial period, slavery also plays the important role because it displays the extreme actions of men dominance over women. Although there were white slaves existed in Europe and early America, the black slavery and its establishment in the society had brought crucial issues such as racial discrimination as well as gender discrimination. However, the existence of Africanslavery in American history has also encouraged and enlightened many women to support feminism and gender equality. Therefore, the extended explanation and summary of how a female African slave had to tolerate double oppression based on the two chapters in Howard Zinn's book, A People's History of the United States is presented below.

Summary: The presence of slavery in 19th century had established a society in which people were oppressed severely based on race, gender and social class. Pushovers such as African slaves and women had encountered discrimination until acts of gender equality and racial equality had been regulated. Therefore, a female African slave in 19th century would face triple amount of assaults and oppression from white Americans. Because she experienced oppression from both gender of white and from opposite gender of her kind, the life of a female African slave had been deteriorated steadily. Some of the conditions that caused the rise in African slavery in America have also caused the oppression female African slaves were facing. As Howard Zinn has

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Reid Thorpe

August 3, 2010

APUSH

Mr. Sayers Zinn; Chapter 1:

1.) Howard Zinn's main purpose for writing A People's History of the United States is to give history in an un–biased manner. For example, he says that he will not glorify any movement and denounce any 'bad guy' in history; he will give information as it should be given. Fairly.

2.) His thesis for the first eleven pages is to describe past events as they happened. Regarding Columbus, Zinn wouldn't glorify him as a hero, because he wasn't. He was violent and greedy and would describe him as such.

3.) According to Howard Zinn, Christopher Columbus was wrongly portrayed as a 'hero', of sorts. Although he did discover America, there are quite a few significant reasons...show more content...

15.) Roger Williams claimed that the brutal methods used by English settlers on the natives were a "necessity" due to the conditions that the English went through, such as deprivation of food and normal living conditions.

16.) Ultimately, the Indians inhabiting North America were pushed to near extinction by the late 1600s. Their population was reduced to fewer than 1,000,000 as opposed to the 10,000,000 strong before the arrival of Columbus.

17.) The statement made means that in order for the human race to make significant progress, sacrifices must be made, but those who are being sacrificed don't get to decide whether or not sacrifice is necessary. In the context of the first chapter of Zinn's book, the Indians were the ones being sacrificed, and obviously, they weren't able to decide whether or not they were to be sacrificed.

18.) Zinn attempts to prove that the Indians were not inferior to the Europeans by showing how they had many social structures, they were civilized, and, in some ways, were more admirable than the Europeans. Zinn even states that "human relations were more egalitarian than in Europe." Chapter 2:

1.) The root of slavery in America came from the disposition of those who took over the land of the Indians

Howard Zinn Subjectivity

Subjectivity and Its Place in Historical Writings

Howard Zinn was an acclaimed historian and social rights activist, born in 1922. He has written many well–known books, including A People's History of the United States and A People's History of American Empire. The reason that these books are so well known is because Zinn is a very special kind of historian. Unlike other historians who might be more objective about history and just give you the straight facts, Zinn is openly partial in his account of history giving readers a more subjective view of these events. This causes his writing to have a bias, much greater than what usually comes naturally in history, and portray history from the side of the oppressed. This undermines typical history...show more content... This right is given to citizens of the United States and humans across the globe by Article 19 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, written by the United Nations that govern our world (United Nations, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 19). We deserve to know facts and nothing but facts, and use these facts to develop our own opinions on the facts presented to us. By Zinn taking a partial point of view, the "omission of exculpatory evidence" about events in history is utilized to persuade the reader into falling under the same opinion about an issue as he does (Stanford.edu, David Plotnikoff). By doing this, Zinn's credibility is being flaunted as he might leave out information that could completely change the opinion of the reader. However, it would be completely impractical to have a very large book with all of history written upon thousands of pages, but it is obvious that Zinn left out some key facts. For example, Zinn describes the indigenous people of North America to be unbelievably pleasant. He constantly makes remarks about how unbelievably welcoming they were to Columbus and how they simply survived blissfully without the need commerce instead just sharing what they owned (Zinn, People's History, Page 1). While this may be somewhat true, he never came close to discussing the amount of bloodshed between some indigenous tribes like the Iroquois and the "savages" that was described in the writing of Champlain in which rival tribes would battle in close quarters combat. Combat that caused many fatalities among both tribes (Champlain). Although this does not change the fact that Columbus murdered many people in his conquests and that the Spaniards acted upon them "like wolves, tigers and lions which had been starving for many days," it still may change the opinion of many about the indigenous population as a whole (La Casa). Another example of this omission occurs when Zinn describes the Get more

Perfectly summarized in one sentence, the words "And in a world of conflict, a world of victims and executioners, it is the job of thinking people, as Albert Camus suggested, not to be on the side of the executioners" uttered by Howard Zinn in the first chapter of A People's History of the United States demonstrate the influence of voice in not only America but in society as well. In unity there is strength, a well–known proverb states, and there is one constant among famous quotes in that they can be applied to almost any situation, event, or idea, for that they are always true. This particular idea should not be excluded from that notion, considering Zinn's quote is muchly similar to the proverb's main idea, only worded differently. His...show more content...

Despite not single handedly ending prejudice with a small revolution, even the most seemingly small results provide advancement in the road toward social and systematic innovation. One of these results includes educating others and bringing awareness to the situation and problem at hand, so that citizens would 'not be on the side of the executioners'. An example of using peace to effectively spread a message that would not only have a huge effect on obliterating the national discrimination of its time but as well being honored and remembered for decades after would be Martin Luther King Jr's iconic 'I Have A Dream' speech on August 28, 1963. A century after slavery was outlawed, and nevertheless African–Americans were still regarded as less by the white American government, who allowed discrimination, separation, and exclusion everywhere – schools, water fountains, buses – between the races to be legal. Being an African–American man himself, King would not tolerate this. Rather than succumbing to violent measures in order to get his message to end racial discrimination instead, he used words as his force and in doing so educated and inspired thousands to contribute toward attempting to make a change in the nation. People are the product of what they are taught – even the most obstinate can be influenced, especially during this time period and

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Howard Zinn

The author of A People's History of the United States, Howard Zinn was born in 1922 and grew in Brooklyn. By 18 he became a shipyard worker and a few years later joined the air force where he flew bomber missions during World War II. It was these years that created Zinn's opposition for war and passion for history. He was a professor at Spellman College in Atlanta, Georgia, but got fired because he supported student protestors. Zinn ended up different places such as imprisonment for civil disobedience and fights for open debates in universities because he was so politically engaged. The many profession of Howard Zinn includes historian, author, professor, playwright, and activist. He wrote numerous plays and authored dozens of books including

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Howard Zinn Analysis

Howard Zinn A people's history talks about the United states wanting to expand and the foreign relations with other countries. Wealthy upper class Americans wanted to the U.S to expand, because they thought American markets overseas would increase the amount of purchases made and prevent an economic crisis. Also talked about why the U.S got in involved in cuban revolution against spain. The reason the U.S got involved was because if spain had won they would of kicked the U.S out and trade would not be open. Zin also brings up how president Mckinley did not want the philippines but after receiving a message from good he decide to take it. Lastly some people were against the U.S becoming an imperialist country. In Digital History first

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Howard Zinn has committed his life's work to open the eyes of American citizens, and show them the real history of our country. From America's early beginnings and his readings of Henry David Thoreau to Martin Luther King's plight for equality. Zinn has an eloquent way with words to put ideals into prospective, and shed light on some of our country's issues that continually throughout history plaque our government. One of these continues historical issues is war. "Citizens have not learned from the cycle of stupidity when it comes to war" Zinn began working in a shipyard at a fairly young age after reading about Nazi camps and what Adolph Hitler hoped to accomplish, Zinn wanted to do his part to protect our nation. What he wasn't prepared...show more content...

Zinn and Ross married when he returned from duty and raised two children together. Zinn and Ross lived in lower income housing while Zinn completed his degree with Columbia and looked for a teaching job. Spelling college contact Zinn and offered him a position. Zinn hesitated he didn't want to work in the South knowing of the unfair treatment of black citizens. Zinn did reluctantly take the position and while he taught he also in his remarkable way opened the student's eyes to the reality of the world around them. These revelations were contributions to the social change during the 1960's. Zinn, Malcom X and Dr. King went on crusades to bring about the much needed social change that was long

Howard Zinn is one of the few historians who purposely wrote with a bias; he 'abandoned neutrality' and took sides when writing about historical topics. Generally people expect historians to just state objective facts and not show any bias. In school, students commonly read books depicting Pilgrims as great people, who were peaceful towards their Indian neighbors, but they actually massacred and tried to convert them. As Winston Churchill once said, "History is written by the victors." This statement is true in most cases, and it needs to be changed. Most high school and college history classes stick to reciting objective facts not paying attention to the moral and ethical implications behind them. However, today's readers should develop their...show more content...

A People's History of the United States begins, "I prefer to try to tell the story of American from the viewpoint of the Arawaks, of the Constitution from the standpoint of the slaves..."(Zinn, People's History, 10). Zinn wanted to tell the story of America from the point of view of the oppressed, victimized, and the 'regular' people, such as commoners and the working–class, of the United States. To prevent history from repeating itself, the people of American need to be involved in history and learn about it from a point of views that has not been taught to them. Returning to the quote of, "History is written by the victors," (Churchill), Zinn wants to show that history is also written by survivors, the victors commonly destroy and ignore the records of the victims. Zinn gives the reader the point of view of the survivors of a terrible historical event, allowing his readers to understand that America is not always fair to people. "...[A] statement I once read: "The cry of the poor is not always just, but if you do not listen to it, you will never know what justice is."" (Zinn, People's History, 10). Zinn wanted to give the reader an opportunity to see justice, even if they did not want to. In an excerpt from Morison, Zinn applauded him for not omitting facts about genocide but he then states, "But he does something else–he mentions the truth quickly and goes onto other things more important to him" (Zinn, People's History,8). To Zinn, Morison was more interested in explaining progress and not the cost of that progress. Zinn believes that a historian should write with his or her own bias but not cover up the true oppressing history with so many facts and opinions that it is impossible for the reader to view the 'historical' facts with a new opinion Zinn is skilled at explaining events from the point of view that people do

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Howard Zinn

America is based upon leadership, leadership begins with authenticity of one's words and ideas. Where would America be without leadership? What would be an example of great leadership? A notorious man named Howard Zinn, is the perfect depiction of an important leader. He challenged the normalcy of history and impacted the lives of many Americans. Howard Zinn is most known for being a historian, author, professor, and playwright. His life's work focused on a wide range of issues including race, class, and even war. Among many of his talents His most important ideas and change came from teaching and being a social activist. Howard Zinn's impact on our nation is still empowering and important in today's society. But how did Howard Zinn become one, among millions most influential leaders and social activist? Howard Zinn led by example, purpose and passion, as well from personal experiences. Howard Zinn's childhood and younger adulthood was shaped early and rather full of knowledge despite...show more content...

Zinn joined the Army Air Corps in 1943, eager to fight the fascists. While in the Air Force he was disturbed by the race and class inequality among the servicemen. He knew nothing was ever equal in life but we are all people and how could inequality be this severe? It wasn't until years after the war that he questioned the necessity of the bombs that he dropped, He realized killing people was a question of one's own morals not just the morals of our nation. But at the end of the war, back in New York, he deposited his medals in an envelope and wrote: "Never again." "I would not deny that [WWII] had a certain moral core, but that made it easier for Americans to treat all subsequent wars with a kind of glow," Zinn said. "Every enemy becomes Hitler." These actions that Howard Zinn had taken I believe have made him into an elite of not only leadership but truly practical morals of each

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Howard Zinn 's Development Of Slavery

From the 17th to the 19th century, Europeans expedited African people to perform exhausting labor, thus restricting their freedom. In a People's History of the United States, Howard Zinn described the development of slavery by stating the contributing factors. For instance, European settlers coming from Europe and Spain would station at Africa to force Africans to return to America and work on plantations. African slaves were brought to the North American colony of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619, to aid in the production of such lucrative crops as tobacco. In addition, to being plantation workers, slaves could also work in the houses of their owners as butlers, cooks, and nurses for children. Furthermore, slaves were taken away from their...show more content... However, he did not believe blacks should have the same rights as whites, stating; "... I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races" (history.com). Furthermore, Abraham Lincoln 's Emancipation Proclamation of January 1863 was a masterful propaganda tactic, but in truth, it proclaimed free only those slaves outside the control of the Federal government that is, only those in areas still controlled by the Confederacy. The legal end toslavery in the nation came in December 1865 when the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified. John Brown, in contrast, set off a revolt, where blacks and whites fought alongside, against the south. He "devoted his life, and finally sacrificed it, on behalf of freedom for the slave." (The People Speak) He was a white American abolitionist who believed armed insurrection was the only way to overthrow the institution of slavery in the United States. Before conducting his insurrection through armed intervention in northern Virginia, Brown met with his followers in the free black community of Chatham, Ontario. Another wealthy, white, American, was Robert Carter. Carter was the plantation owner and was also a member of the Virginia Government Council. In addition to being on a high political standing, Carter

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In Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States and Voices of a People's History of the United States, he discusses a numerous amount of events that happened throughout the history of the United States. His readers are able to read about war, the middle class, common people working for change, struggles of the common people, present and previous struggles, Zinn's hope for the middle class, the causes for wars, and how they affected others, his readers will also read about President Carter, Reagan, Bush Sr., Clinton, and Bush Jr. In his books, he analyzes these presidents and all of their similarities and differences concerning welfare, military affairs, civil rights, foreign affairs and the economy. Zinn also speaks upon the struggles...show more content...

Howard Zinn shows his faith in the Middle Class. He believes that the middle classed people are the ones who will begin change to the American system since they have just enough power to do so. The poor cannot make any major changes since they do not have the capital or resources to do so. Zinn mentions that he has faith in the people since they make up the 99% of America and when they do fight for rights or social changes, the 1% or the rich will have a hard time fighting back. What gives Zinn hope for the middle class leading the struggle for social and political change are many previous and present struggles, which he talks about. He tells his readers about the middle class' struggle with many things such as being taxed greatly, their line of work, being lied to by the elites, and never being able to have an impact or say on many subjects. This gives Zinn hope because history shows that the middle class people are becoming vexed and will soon become extremely angry and with this anger, the middle class will find a way to make a real change. Zinn explains how the middle class has leverage over the so called system. Without them, the American system would not work, the middle class gives the elites power while they are the ones to pay for the relief of the poor. The middle class is the reason for the rich becoming richer, they are the ones in the workforce and they are the ones who vote, making them valuable to the country. The upper classes have the power to dictate

Howard Zinn Themes

In the first chapter of Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States, there are mulitple important themes distinguishable from the text. The first is that people of power take advantage of the giving and kind, for when the Arawaks gave Spanish explorers goods, they took them as slaves. Also, that it is best to tellhistory from the side of the victim, because views from the higher power (Government, conquerors, leaders, etc) do not emphasize the struggles of the lesser. They also only tell history in their own interest, glossing over their cruelty and painting themselves in a heroic light. Finally, and maybe most importantly, is that if sacrifices must be made for progress, the decision to do so must be in the hands of those being

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1.A Peoples History of the United States was written by Howard Zinn. Zinn's main purpose for writing this book was to give a precise and detailed exposition of American History from the victim's point of view. "I prefer to try to tell the story of the discovery of America from the viewpoint of the Arawaks, of the Constitution from the standpoint of the slaves..." He wants to uncover hidden episodes of the past, be skeptical about the government and even talk about the cruelties the victims put on each other because of their oppressors. He wants to understand why the oppressors killed the victims and how these victims felt and what actions they took. Zinn wants to tell history's greatest achievement from the point of view of the people who get slaughtered, robbed, taunted and anything else that happened to the victims while...show more content...

Zinn's thesis focused primarily on the devious Christopher Columbus. He wrote that Christopher Columbus wasn't a real hero. He was power hungry and obsessed with finding gold. He was dishonest and deceitful to his crew. "The first man to sight land was supposed to get a yearly pension of 10,000 maravedis for life, but Rodrigo never got it. Columbus claimed he had seen a light the evening before. He got the reward." He was also a cruel man, abusing the inhabitants of the land which he explored. The Arawaks were friendly and welcoming to these European men with overwhelming hospitality and their belief in sharing, but Columbus abused their kindness. He took them by force and used them as slaves, took all their gold and then killed them." As soon as I arrived in the Indies, on the first Island which I found, I took some of the natives by force in order that they might learn and might give me information of whatever there is in these parts." Columbus wrote this about his experience when he first arrived to the Bahama Islands. This shows that he did not care for the people; instead of returning back the hospitality he used unnecessary

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Though a vast majority of students learn about Columbus' great conquests and celebrate him as a hero, very few know of the horrible atrocities he caused when he first landed in America. While considered a hero by most in the United States, Zinn argues that people should think twice about Columbus' actions, and question whether his behavior to the Indians was necessary. In quotes one and five, Zinn clearly depicts his thoughts on the atrocities done by Columbus and other colonists to the natives living in America. Zinn first refers to the author Morrison and how he deals with who Columbus really was. Instead of "[lying] outright about the past" or "[omitting] facts, which might lead to unacceptable conclusions," Morrison tells the...show more content...

In certain circumstances, bets were made between soldiers "as to who, with one stroke of the sword, could split a man in two." Other soldiers would throw children of a village they sacked into a river by their feet, shouting, "Boil there, you offspring of the devil!"

Later on, as more colonists came to the new world, even more Indians were killed. When missionaries tried to convert the Indians, there were miscommunications over the teachings, which lead to even more deaths. When pictures of Mary and other religious symbols were given to the Native Americans, they buried them so as to ask God for a good harvest. The colonists interpreted this as denying the Christian faith, and therefore burned the Indians at the stake, so as to purify their souls. The actions of the missionaries and other colonists were so evil that when an Indian was being burned at the stake, he "asked the Franciscan friar if Christians all went to Heaven. When told that they did, [the Indian] said he would prefer to go to Hell." The horrible atrocities that the European settlers brought upon the Indians were awful. It decimated the population, leaving less than one tenth of the Indians living compared to the amount before Columbus found America.

Later on in A People's History of theUnited States, Zinn questions whether "all this bloodshed and deceit – from Columbus to Cortez, Pizarro, the Puritans – [was] a necessity for the human race to progress from savagery to civilization." Zinn

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Howard Zinn Critique

In the first five chapter of Howard Zinn's book A People's History of the United States, Zinn provides an overview of American History by providing examples and detailed accounts of Columbus's arrival, the experience of the Native Americans after European arrival, slavery, the writing of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and the invisibility of women through early American history. In writing this book, Zinn's purpose was to write more than another history book, just listing events and giving the traditional point of view, but to provide a balanced viewpoint. Zinn believes that, "The treatment of heroes (Columbus) and their victims (the Arawaks)–the quiet acceptance of conquest and murder in the name of progress...[is an example]...show more content...

The people who are in power tend to view the outcome as positive, while the people looked down upon think of it negatively. For example, Columbus's journey to the Americas and his ravaging of the Indians would be totally different that from the Indians. Columbus views his overtaking as positive because he though he discovered new land. Meanwhile, the Indians were forced to relocate because of the European demand for land. Zinn illustrates these different perspectives through his observation that "To emphasize the heroism of Columbus and his successors as navigators and discoverers, and to de–emphasize their genocide, is not a technical necessity but an ideological choice. It serves unwittingly to justify what was done" (Zinn, 9). One person's hero is another person's terrorist and the viewer's social class and race often shape that perception. This applies to teachers as well, and raises the question of whether teachers should share their opinions in history class. In the article "Why Students Should Study History" Zinn states that "all history is subjective; all history represents a point of view" (Zinn, 14). With Zinn's words in mind, it is appropriate for teachers to voice their opinion, as every viewpoint should be heard. However, when voicing their opinion, a teacher should make it clear that his/her opinion is subjective and can be

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Q&A for A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn

Chapter 1:

Logan Baumer

1.Howard Zinn's main purpose to writing A People's History of the United States is to tell the story of our country through the perspective of the people. More specifically, the original inhabitants, minorities, and immigrants. He also wants to expose what has happened in the past that is not typically mentioned in our history books. Zinn vows however to not just criticize but to also mention the good things our leaders have done.

2.Howard Zinn's thesis for pages one through eleven is that Christopher Columbus has been given a false image of being a heroic, peaceful person who discovered the Americas by history books. In reality, Columbus gave false reports to the Spanish crown and oversaw...show more content... Howard Zinn argues that the Indians are indeed, not inferior by mentioning all of the progress they have made and their actions while being completely isolated. His support being their journey over the Bering Straits land mass 25,000 years ago, responding to the different environments with their respective soil and climate, the development of hundreds of different cultures, a productive and innovative agricultural system, and their architecture.

Chapter 2:

1.According to Howard Zinn, the root cause of racism in the United States was slavery. This is because slavery separated people based on their color of their skin and segregated them. People who were white were not slaves and were treated normally while people who were black were treated like sub–humans and discriminated, over time, this led to negative attitudes towards blacks.

2.The reason why Africans were considered better slaves than Native Americans was because the Indians outnumbered the colonists, were defiant, tough, and were on their own land. Africans on the other hand, were already considered slaves by Europeans and thought to be helpless when captured because they were completely separated from their