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People's history of the united states chapter 2 summary
Howard zinn a peoples history of the united states point of view
Howard zinn a peoples history of the united states point of view
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Brandon Brito Pre-Ap English Ms. Conway 05-28-14 History is a powerful thing, the interpretation and exposition of past events into the language of our generation that is of something resembling “Justification and objectivity” is impossible from the start as once said by Howard Zinn. Howard Zinn’s “A Peoples History” is an eye opener to those that read it- apprising them with the information about history that is either told incorrectly or left out injuring their mentality on that topic. Howard Zinn induces the readers “Oohs” and “Ahhs” with his mind blowing taste of realization of history. His informative words not only change our view of history but also change our view of the future. This is history from the perspective of the people who lived it .Zinn tells it like it was; he tells us all the history we didn't learn in the classroom, the history that got taken out in order to make the NY state curriculum easier to teach.. This book tells history with hard truths, not in a made up fairytales in order to please a group of people. Zinn put Christopher Columbus and other explorers on the spot with genocide, talked about presidents from Andrew Jackson to Franklin D. Roosevelt and stated the unfairness treatments slaves were struck with using point of view In the 1980 non-fiction novel, A People's History of the United States, Howard Zinn analyzes history by presenting a lot of perspectives to his readers in an insightful way which by many people to be said "a brilliant and moving history of the American people from the point of view of those whose plight has been largely omitted from most histories. A Peoples History of the United States presents an account of history told from the perspective of slaves, revolutio... ... middle of paper ... ...States with no solid evidence or proof to back up his assumption of why our founding fathers and their fellow revolutionaries decided to declare independence from the British throne. Flynn, and many other Americans agree , find Zinn’s theory of alternative motive for the foundation of our country, insulting and offensive. Zinn’s approach on History may be new, innovated, and flashy, but Zinn fails to back his opinions up with thorough evidence. And while many Americans and critics have fallen for his work do to its insight and Zinn’s ability to connect with his readers it is not a proper basis for teaching, or for opinion. That is not to say that one should side with Flynn in this debate, for both writers are radical and biased as most authors all. The only thorough way to form a solid and confident opinion is to be well researched and educated on the matter.
In Todd Shepard’s work Voices of Decolonization, the featured documents provide keen insight into the geopolitical environment of the era of decolonization (1945-1965) and the external and internal pressures on the relationships between colonial nations and the territories that they held dominion over (Shepard 10). Decolonization is the result of a combination of national self-determination and the establishment of functional international institutions composed of independent sovereign nations united towards common goals. As decolonization progressed, it intersected with points of significant sociopolitical tension between colonies and the nations that colonized them. Some of these moments of tension came in the form of progressive ideals held by international agencies which colonial nations were allied with, the revolt of colonized populations against their standing government in favor of independence, and in moral and political conflicts that arose when decolonization takes a form unexpected or undesired by the primary agents of progressive international institutions.
The American Revolution has too often been dominated by the narrative of the founding fathers and has since been remembered as a “glorified cause.” However, the American Revolution was not a unified war but a civil war with many internal disputes that wreaked havoc and chaos throughout America. In his book, The Unknown American Resvolution, Gary B. Nash attempts to unveil the chaos that the American Revolution really was through the eyes of the people not in power, including women, African American slaves, and Native Americans. In his book, Gary B. Nash emphasizes their significance in history to recount the tale of the American Revolution not through the eyes of the privileged elite but through the eyes of the people who sacrificed and struggled the most, but were left forgotten, in their endeavors to reinvent America.
There are many contradictions pertaining to slavery, which lasted for approximately 245 years. In Woody Holton’s “Black Americans in the Revolutionary Era”, Holton points out the multiple instances where one would find discrepancies that lie in the interests of slaveowners, noble figures, and slaves that lived throughout the United States. Holton exemplifies this hostility in forms of documents that further specify and support his claim.
In “Historian as Citizen (1966)” Howard Zinn first codifies his views of an opinion based activist scholar in terms of a historian. The first type of historian that he introduces is the mainstream version of the historian, “traditionally, he is passive observer, one who looks for sequential patterns in the past as a guide to the future (…) but without participating himself in attempts to change the pattern or tidy the d...
While parts of America presented and declared themselves as being against racism, they continued to not use their full power to better the lives of African-Americans. For example, Zinn points out that amendments such as the Fourteenth and Fifteenth gave the President enough power to crush racial discrimination, yet none of the men who took office attempted to use this power, and while Congress eventually declared laws that made segregation legal unconstitutional, the fight for equality continued to move to slow for black Americans. Using these points, Zinn discusses how America failed to see the signs that led to actions being taken by black Americans to gain equality due to the fact that white Americans believed progress towards equality was moving at a rapid pace. However, black Americans did not share this point of view, because even with laws for segregation declared unconstitutional, the lives of black Americans barely improved and they continued to face harassment and violence daily. When African-Americans began to protest, they faced harsh treatment by their oppressors, but leaders and Congress slowly began to recognize that African-Americans were no longer going to stay silent on the harassment and violence they faced, so they began responding to calls for change by passing laws such as passing the Civil Rights Act of 1968. In conclusion, all these points lead back to Zinn’s original point, which as that America should not have been surprised when black Americans finally decided they’d had enough and took action against their
The abolishment of slavery, no matter what country it took place in, was a significant turning point in world history. Due to this it has become the discussion of much scholarly debate. There are three historians to highlight that provide key points to why slavery needed to be abolished and the significance of it. David Brion Davis, C.L.R. James, and Orlando Patterson all share similar and differing viewpoints for why slavery needed to be discontinued. This is important to discuss so we as humans who are building a society do not make the same mistakes again as we continue to learn from our past. Whether they are social, economic, or moral wrongdoings we can take a step in the right direction towards avoiding them by observing and contemplating what has occurred before us. This is why reading these historians’ accounts are so important. The three historians David Brion Davis, C.L.R. James, and Orlando Patterson show why slavery could not be sustained and why it was necessary to rid ourselves of it.
America is a nation that is often glorified in textbooks as a nation of freedom, yet history shows a different, more radical viewpoint. In Howard Zinn’s A People's History of the United States, we take a look at American history through a different lens, one that is not focused on over glorifying our history, but giving us history through the eyes of the people. “This is a nation of inconsistencies”, as so eloquently put by Mary Elizabeth Lease highlights a nation of people who exploited and sought to keep down those who they saw as inferior, reminding us of more than just one view on a nation’s history, especially from people and a gender who have not had an easy ride.
Genocide refers to the killing of large groups of people, especially among ethnic groups. Throughout the book, Stannard refers to genocide as a holocaust because throughout the history of the United States many ethnic groups were being killed and mistreated. A holocaust is described as a destruction caused by fire and nuclear war. In this case, the American holocaust occurred when Christopher Columbus and many Europeans began to kill Indians because their objective was to take the power of gold. According to Howard Zinn, author of the book “A people’s History of the United States” many Arawak men, children, and women were put on ships and were forced into labor. The Arawak began to form an army and defeat the Spaniards. In his book, Zinn describes the poor treatment that the Arawak were facing. Zinn states that “When it became clear that there was no gold left, the Indians were taken as slave labor” (Zinn Chapter 1). The Europeans, Spanish, French, British, and Americans each committed genocide by killing and mistreating the Indians who formed part of the land. Stannard describes what each group treated this minority group and why it was considered genocide. In his book, Stannard quotes Bartolome de las Casas who talks about the treatment. De las Casas says
Gorn, Elliot J., Randy Roberts, and Terry D. Bilhartz. Constructing the American Past: A Source Book of a People’s History. 7th ed. Vol 2. New Jersy: Pearson Education Inc., 2011. Print.
A People’s History of the United States, written in 1980 by Howard Zinn, approaches history from a new perspective. Aware that the conquerors write the history books, Zinn wants to show history from the point of view of the victims, those who did not come out as winners. Chapter one covers Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress. He writes about the native people on the Bahama Islands saying, “[they] were remarkable (European observers were to say again and again) for their hospitality, their belief in sharing” (Zinn 1). He quotes Columbus saying, “‘[the Indians] are so naïve and so free with their possessions that no one who has not witnessed them would believe it. When you ask for something they have, they never say no. To the contrary,
“Today’s textbooks hew closely to the American Legion line and disregard the recommendations of Engle and Ochoa. Why? Is the secondary literature in history to blame? We can hardly expect textbook authors to return to primary sources and dig out facts that are truly obscure. A few decades back, the secondary literature in history was quite biased. Until World War II history, social sciences, was overtly anti-Semitic and anti black.”
"You're a human being, not an animal. You have the right to be loved" (262). "Son of the Revolution" by Liang Heng and Judith Shapiro was a book that showed how inhumane many of the aspects of Chinese life were during the Cultural Revolution. The book followed Liang Heng through many of his childhood memories to his departure from China in his twenties. The book applied a real face to the important movements during the Cultural Revolution, the effects that "the cult of Mao" had on society and Heng, and the way the period affected Heng's personal family life.
James Loewen wrote the book ?Lies My Teacher Told ME? to help the students of the United States become aware of their true history. This book attempts to show how and why American history has been taught the way it has without regard for the truth. Mr. Loewen had compared twelve different history textbooks they are: The Great Republic, The American Way, Land of Promise, Rise of the American Nation, Challenge of Freedom, American Adventures, Discovering American History, The American Tradition, Life and Liberty, The United States ? A History of the Republic, Triumph of the American Nation and The American Pageant. Loewen has argued his cases for Heroification, Euorcentrism and the first settlers, and Racism in our history. He has done this knowing fully that most people do not want to know the harsh realities of our nations past. The United States has tried to maintain a positive image throughout history. Unfortunately, it has many skeletons in its closet that need to come out to heal this great nation on many levels. If the public at large new the real role of racism in our nations infancy and how men tried to pursue their way of thinking as opposed to what is good for the country they would be ashamed at what the United States has stood for in the past.
Zinn, Howard. A Peoples History of the United States. New York: HaperCollins Publisher Inc., 1999. 25-33.
This book is written from a perspective foreign to most Americans. Historically, American students are taught from a single perspective, that being the American perspective. This approach to history (the single perspective) dehumanizes the enemy and glorifies the Americans. We tend to forget that those on the opposing side are also human.