Analysis Of The First America Story

However, opposing historians address this fact through varying degrees of approval. In A Patriot's History of the United States, Schweikart and Allen do not mention any of Columbus’ faults, and refer to the massacre of Aztecs by Cortés and his men as a “stunning victory” (Schweikart ) in order to preserve their goal in retelling history from a patriotic standpoint. Because Schweikart and Allen choose to ignore the undeniable brutalities and damage inflicted on native people and societies, they fail to recognize the importance of addressing these issues as a root of racial intolerance. On the other hand, Zinn’s documentation provides a far more in-depth description of the injustices faced by the native and states, “Even allowing for the imperfection of myths, it is enough to make us question, for that time and ours, the excuse of progress in the annihilation of races, and the telling of history from the standpoint of the conquerors and leaders of Western civilization” (Zinn). As a social activist, Zinn’s primary focus is calling out flawed systems and actions within history, but by doing so, he disregards the positive outcomes of European exploration. Conversely, Mintz points out numerous advantages from exploration, pointing out that “Columbus's voyage of discovery… contributed to the development of the modern concept of progress”

Over the past few weeks of class, we have covered the first five chapters of our textbook, written by George Brown Tindell and David Emory Shi called, “America, A Narrative History.” Each chapter told the reader a narration of the history of America, as opposed to an expository version of America’s history. Each chapter had its own main idea over a portion of history, along with many details that cover the importance of the main idea. As a reader, one may obtain a deeper appreciation for the country 's history, prior to entering the class on the first day. The most important aspect of history, besides the battles that are fought, is the different cultures that make up today’s modern America.

In the first source, the author, Howard Zinn discusses how Europeans were aware of their mistreatment towards the Native Americans and how Native Americans were innocent. As well as how Christopher Columbus is portrayed, how he is not a hero, and how he shouldn't be celebrated. Zinn uses direct sources and evidence to support his argument by using journals and logs. Zinn says that the mistreatment of Native Americans is first seen to begin with Columbus. Zinn shows evidence to support this statement by using a direct source from Columbus. "They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features... They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword,

No two accounts of any event are ever exactly the same, as different people have unique experiences that impact their views. Historical accounts and history books are the same way, as an examination of A People’s History of the United States, by Howard Zinn, and Give Me Liberty, by Eric Foner demonstrates. Both accounts of early American history cover the important colonies, such as Jamestown and the influential Puritans and the immigration of different peoples to America. They differ however, not only on the depth they choose to go into these events, but also on interactions between the natives and the colonists. A People’s History, by Howard Zinn, tells history in a biased way that excludes information that Eric Foner, of Give Me Liberty, does not. Zinn’s bias is in favor of the Indians, while Foner lacks a bias, telling history from all views. This difference can be noted in the telling of the Pueblo

Throughout his book, Zinn’s writing tends to use illustrative language to draw focus on the suffering faced by these minority group, with graphic details on the massacre of the indians and the horrendous conditions of the slave ship. While Schweikart and Allen writing leans more towards the chronicling and dramatizing of important events in chronological order with commentary that served to explain the workings of their society or defend the colonist’s action.

2. Zinn's thesis for pages 1 to 11 is to tell the arrival of Columbus as it really happened from the point of view of the Indians. He doesn't try to hide the things that Columbus and other Europeans did to the Indians and talks about how the Indians were not inferior as the Europeans had thought they were.

Zinn argues that the perspective of indigenous people should not be omitted and argues that their perspectives are as significant as any other. He provides insight and perspectives of the Indians to describe how the heinous acts of the Europeans were unjustified. He also discusses that the Europeans had a continual motive of exploring during that time which was to increase the power/authority of the Spanish Crown by whatever means necessary, usually leading to violent wars.

When the first colonists landed in the territories of the new world, they encountered a people and a culture that no European before them had ever seen. As the first of the settlers attempted to survive in a truly foreign part of the world, their written accounts would soon become popular with those curious of this “new” world, and those who already lived and survived in this seemingly inhospitable environment, Native American Indian. Through these personal accounts, the Native Indian soon became cemented in the American narrative, playing an important role in much of the literature of the era. As one would expect though, the representation of the Native Americans and their relationship with European Americans varies in the written works of the people of the time, with the defining difference in these works being the motives behind the writing. These differences and similarities can be seen in two similar works from two rather different authors, John Smith, and Mary Rowlandson.

The physical side is at one time they did love each other because kids were born. The shared activities are the fact they have children and they still do things as a family.

One of the biggest things people look for in a story is an emotional connection that will draw them in and can make them feel as though they are seeing things in a whole new light. Howard Zinn undoubtedly attempts to force an emotional connection to his reader in the first chapter of his 1980 textbook “A People’s History of the United States”. In this chapter, Zinn tells his reader about how Europe was unremittingly asperous toward the rest of the world, particularly in the Americas in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. While trying to make his point, though, Zinn uses a gratuitous amount of emotion in his work and very little fact and logic. Zinn’s work also features a large amount of bias to further his argument by severely manipulating his evidence and completely

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

In Morison’s popular book, written in 1954, he does talk about the enslavement and killing. However, on the last page of the book, Morrison shares his opinion. He claims that COlumbus had his faults, but they were large the parts that made him great. Zinn uses several paragraphs to explain his own feelings on Morison’s book. Zinn says that Morison doesn’t lie about Columbus or omit the murderous stories. In fact, he describes the actions the the harsh word of genocide. However, Morison quickly mentions the truth and then he goes on to the other things that are more important to him. In Zinn’s opinion, Morison is stating the facts and then burying them under a mass of irrelevant information. He believes that Morison’s distortion of history is ideological instead of purely

Zinn Chapter One Questions: 1. What is Zinn’s thesis for pages 1-11? Zinn's thesis for pages 1-11 is to prove to us and show us in many ways that Christopher Columbus is not the hero that everyone thinks he is. He never fulfilled his promises to those that had promised. Zinn proved to us that he was a dishonest and heartless person toward those who supported him and his journeys.

By 1600, England’s feudal system was nearing extinction, as a new family (Tudor’s) came to power and wanted support from the middleclass and the establishment of new liberties for Englishman (i.e. trial by jury and no arrest without a warrant), which resulted in a large amount of local and self initiative to prosper in the community: yet many beggars now existed, culminating in an increased need for colonial expansion both for personal prosperity and more space for the existing population.

This book has proven to be an enlightening read. It both teaches and inspires. Howard Zinn has offered us a perspective of the real story of American history heretofore unavailable to us – history from the perspective of real people – immigrant laborers, American women, the working poor, factory workers, African and Native Americans.