To Howard Zinn, history is no more than a looking glass for historians to see what needs to change in the modern world. Zinn explains how historians should see the past and the future in his 1966 essay “Historian as Citizen”. He begins by stating that historians cling too tightly to the patterns of the past and are wrong in using them as a guide to the future. He says, “This necessariness of the past tends to infect our thinking about the future, weighing down our disposition to act” (Zinn 44). Already, Zinn makes a broad statement that counters the aged ways of historians everywhere. He is asking them to let go of history. This is offputting to some but it is his strong voice that makes his philosophy so grand.
Now that he has captivated his
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He says, “When such a judgement [that of a traditional historian] becomes focused on an individual, it buries itself with that person and sticks to no one else” (Zinn 47). Basically, Zinn is saying that humans love to blame others for history’s catastrophes. It relieves them of any fault they may have felt. This also brings up the thought that when something great happens everyone is grabbing for credit. These arguments show how historically selfish humans are, whether it be as an individual or a unit, and he carries on to state what we can do to change this. He says, “But is it any better to widen responsibility from the individual to the group? Suppose we blame ‘the Nazis.’ Now that the Nazi party is disbanded... doesn’t that kind of specific attribution of blame merely …show more content…
Zinn writes, “Both history and art should instruct us. The crucial thing is to reveal the relationship between evil and ourselves. This makes it enormously useful to show how Hitler could emerge out of a boy playing in a field” (Zinn 49). Zinn is not saying that history is not important. He is saying that it should not be seen as irrevocable facts and instead viewed as art. We view art as up for interpretation, insightful, and inspiring. Zinn is simply offering that we do the same with history. As previously stated, the past gives us understanding of the roots of evil. Using our history in this way is a tremendous tool, as Zinn demonstrates with the innocent boy to Hitler example. A problem with this argument is that humans are not easily willing to admit to their mistakes. “When the United States defines to Soviet sphere as ‘totalitarian’ and the West as ‘free,’ it becomes difficult for Americans to see totalitarian elements in our society, and liberal elements in Soviet society” (Zinn 49). Nations, especially the United States, get so wrapped up in patriotism that they refuse to see the flaws in their systems and the perks of others. So, even if Zinn’s thesis of self criticism was more popular, it is unrealistic that anyone would actually accept
1. Zinn’s main purpose for writing A People’s History of the United States is to show history from the viewpoint of others.
History is something we constantly refer to progress ourselves as humans, we learn from our mistakes and continue to strive from our successes. But who is to say what is a horrible mistake or a courageous act of valor? That which was documented about what happened so long ago, was done by a person who spread the story or wrote it down from their perspective. Howard Zinn’s argument that there is no such thing as impartial history clearly illustrates that when history is recorded there is always two sides to the story, that things are either left out or kept in to sway the reader to one side or the other. “Everyone is biased, whether they
Howard Zinn speaks to this in his Afterword, referring to common omissions in orthodox history. He retorts, “The consequence of those omissions has been not simply to give a distorted view of the past but, more important, to mislead us all about the present.” (Zinn, 684) However, in reference to a common insistence on strictly teaching the facts in the classroom, Zinn also claims that there is no pure fact which does not preclude a judgment. True to his claims in his Afterward, Zinn lays out an argument and maintains his position throughout his book in addition to the facts he presents. He has been revered for the serious manner in which he treats his cited works, and for offering
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
Zinn’s thesis for pages 1-11 talks about how history only tells itself from the viewpoint of the rulers and victors. Zinn’s goal is to tell about history from the viewpoint of the victims, such as the fate of the Arawak Indians when Columbus landed in the Americas.
2. By assigning both, The People’s History of the United States, and A Patriot’s History of the United States, it allows us to take a look at two different views of American history. Howard Zinn, the author of The People’s History of the United States, seems to tell the story from the view of those not in power, like those in slavery, women, and Native Americans. Conversely, the authors of A Patriot’s History of the United States, Larry Schweikart and
The modern world is rapidly changing. Events occur and often time’s only one side of the story gets told. But to every event there are multiple way to view it. Take the history of the United States of America for example. In Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen’s book A Patriot’s History of the United States, the United States is viewed in a positive light. It tells the facts about the United States in a strait forward manner. However in Howard Zinn’s book A People’s History of the United States, the United States is generally viewed in a negative light. Zinn highlights how the country has caused problems while rarely admitting that in fact the United States has done more good for the world than harm. While both books are inherently biased based
1. Zinn's purpose for writing A People's History of the United States is to write about American history from the viewpoint of the people, and not from the rich or the men that made the decisions, but from the people who lived through those decisions and whose lives were affected. His purpose is not to make the people who were in charge look bad, but to see what they did from all perspectives.
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.
Howard Zinn’s, Peoples’ History of the US and Larry Schweikart’s, Patriots’ History of the US are two analytical views on history that most people would consider politically conflicting. Zinn’s Marxist book was widely praised by liberal activist and Schweikart’s book is greatly publicized by conservatives like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. These two widely known historians turned their focus on writing two historical pieces that would fill in the “historical holes” that weren’t being taught in the educational systems. It created a type of diverse learning that made for a great argument while still allowing the readers to understand all sides of the topics at hand. Zinn really dismissed the common “white mans history” and focused his approach on a multiple minority perspective. Schweikart’s book is very different in the sense he takes aim at Zinn as he targets words like “great discovery” and “war on terror” which Zinn only used as scare quotes. Schweikart’s book really reads like old history textbooks from the moral principals of the American founders that built this nation to the ideological view of American prosperity. No matter who shares the views of the political perspectives or condemns them because of its bias stances both historians felt responsible in writing the history of the United States.
As Zinn presents his weakly-formed argument in chapter one of “A People’s History of the United States,” he uses unconventional amounts of emotion and factual details in an attempt to relay his message that textbooks and historians deliberately exclude alternative perspectives in order to
1.According to Zinn, what is the purpose for writing A People’s History of the United States?
People’s vs Patriot’s Questions 1. Zinn disputed Kissinger’s statement, “History is the memory of states”, because Kissinger believed that history revolved around leaders and not through the eyes of an “everyday” person. Zinn felt that history was based on conflicts of interest of “everyday” people. Over the years, these conflicts were the ones that shaped history. 2.
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.
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.