The History of he United States from the Viewpoint of the People: 1492-Present

“What we learn about the past doesn’t give us absolute truth about the present, but it may cause us to look deeper than the glib statements made by political leaders, and the ‘experts’ quoted in the press,” states author Howard Zinn (684). Throughout this book, Zinn portrays to the readers the history of the United States from the viewpoint of the people, not just from the rich, but also from the destitute.

As Zinn informed, the book is skeptical of governments and their attempts to entrap ordinary people, through politics and culture, in a ‘nationhood’ pretending to be of a common interest (10). He does not only take the side of the oppressed but convey’s history from both sides. Zinn shows us the innocent of the bad, and the bad of the good. His purpose in writing this book was to make readers aware of class dissension, racial injustice, sexual inequality, and national pride (686).

It is impossible to a have a thorough understanding of history without first knowing the story of the masses and the oppressed. Until you get the full story, from both sides, you cannot truly form your own opinion. I do not believe that a judgment can be made if the benefits and losses cannot be balanced, because the losses are either unmentioned or mention quickly (17). He does not leave off details or sugar coat, as many texts and teachers often do. As he goes through history, Zinn describes events he feels are monumental to the people of the United States.

American history cannot start without first discovering America. Columbus began the history of European invasion of the indian settlements in the America’s 500 years ago. History books portrayed it as a heroic adventure, with no bloodshed, and celebrated it with a day in his honor (7). The ...

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...125). As Zinn presented earlier, we tend to look past the lives that were lost in exchange for progress. We got land, so we believed it was only fair for whites to live on it. The indians we pushed further and further west, until all we could do was force them onto reservations. This was not a choice, as most Americans presume. After we dealt with the Indians, we came back to the conflict of slavery.

The end of slavery in the North, came from the combination of blacks in the military, lack of economic need for slaves, and the rhetoric of revolution (88). The civil war brought issues for all, but it also came with advantage. During the civil war laws didn’t protect working people (239). Laws were either nonexistent or not enforced. While men where The war brought women into shops and factories, over the objections of men, who saw women driving the wages down (234).