Summary Of Zinn's Chapters

1. Zinn’s main purpose for writing A People’s History of the United States is to show history from the viewpoint of others.

During the 18th century, indentured servitude had become very common in British North America; this was one way many poor Europeans could come to America for a “better” life. In order to emigrate to the American colonies, they would sign long-term labor contracts, to pay off the debt they picked up when they wanted to come to the American colonies. The primary source, “Gottlieb Mittelberger on the Trade in Indentured Servants” is written by Mittelberger himself in 1750, who was an emigrant that arrived in British North America as an indentured servant. In this source, he explains the negatives of coming to British North America; the ups and downs he faced, for instance: the long and horrible voyage conditions, and the sale of human beings once they had landed.

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

Later on in A People’s History of the United 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

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.

Chapter 10 of Zinn discusses the struggle between class systems that was going on when the North and the South conflicted in the United States. During the nineteenth century, there was a competition between class systems that resulted in strikes, killings, and the formation of unions. While reading the chapter, one thing that surprised me was The Contract Labor Law. This law gave business’ bring in foreign workers that provided a source of cheap labor and workers to fill in the spots that strikers left (Zinn, 165). This law rewards business while punishing its workers. It’s saying that industries value money and power more than the well being of their workers, which isn’t right. It amazed me that lawmaker’s valued business more than people’s safety. There were no laws that protected worker’s or their health and safety. No wonder they fought and established strikes. Workers weren’t protected at all during the nineteenth century, to business’ they were disposable and cheap.

8. How does Zinn attempt to prove that the Indians were not inferior? Provide examples.

Both authors start their novels with the finding of America. At the beginning it can already be noted that the sides are completely different. Johnson starts his novel by stating that: “The creation of the United States of America is the greatest of all human adventures.” [pg. 3]. Right then and there, we discover that Johnson is very patriotic. Johnson then goes on to mention how even though Columbus was mainly in search for gold, he was an idealist. Johnson describes him as a hero, failing to mention what had occurred to the natives and stating that they had been killed off by disease instead of going into detail. Zinn however, mentions how our world isn’t exactly what we might think, Columbus isn’t as great as he may seem, and the Natives weren’t treated in a friendly manner at all. Zinn describes how

Bacons Rebellion-1675-1676, Bacon defied the governor of Virginia and led 500 men against nearby Indians and massacred them. He then turned around and marched towards Jamestown where Berekeley had to flee.

In chapter 14, “War is the Health of the State”, Zinn’s underlying point that, during times of war, nationalism prospers and subtle propaganda spreads through the country. To support his main idea, Zinn showcases how patriotism was portrayed as being a responsibility of the American people, while also bringing to light the concepts of the draft and the Espionage Act, and how many American people were either thrown in jail or deported for daring to speak against the war. One such way Zinn showcases these ideas is by bringing to light how, when Americans were not rushing to enlist in the war, the United States with the help of Congress created the draft, and harshly punished those who resisted and didn’t fall in line with its orders. Enforced through an elaborate propaganda campaign that focused around the idea of patriotism, a Committee on Public Information was created to pursue Americans that the war was necessary and it was an American duty to serve in the war.

In scholarly documents, authors have a tendency toward certain biases scratching the surface of certain events while going in depth to others. Zinn’s application to Samuel Eliot Morison’s book regarding Columbus is clear evidence of neglect on aspects of history (i.e. genocide of Native Americans). Morison's “emphasis [on] the heroism of Columbus and his successors as navigators and discoverers, and de-emphasis [on] their genocide, is not a technical necessity but an ideological choice” (Zinn Ch. 1). In Morison’s belief, Columbus was a hero worth praising, even though he enacted cruel acts of violence. He takes note of Columbus’s misgivings, yet chooses to avoid the topic overall; Morison, under his ideological beliefs, decided to paint a

Howard Zinn’s purpose in the first chapter of his book “A People’s History of the United States” is to make reader's question what is considered right or necessary in order for important progress within history. One of his major examples of this was with Columbus and other European explores invading Indian land in the Americas and whether the genocide of millions of them was worth the exceptionally successful country we have today. Zinn’s standpoint in this matter is “to not overlook the cruelties that victims inflict on one another,” but to also not “romanticize them,” either (pg. 10). He states that in historical writing, in order to be creative, authors should emphasise the hidden parts of the past where “people showed their ability to resist, to join together, occasionally to win,” (pg. 11) without denying or concealing the sinful components.

In addition, the factors of race and culture can make it more comfortable to view history from the point of view of the white colonists rather than the Indians. Howard Zinn’s approach to history is subjective because he offers balance by being sure to tell the story at least partially from the victims’ side. Zinn brings up an excellent point in the beginning of his book: What did Columbus really do to the Indians? People always think that he settled and discovered the Americas, but after reading Zinn’s book, they would discover that Columbus is not the man he is portrayed to be. Zinn’s interpretation of American history is that Americans have done things they may not be proud of, but to be honest, they must admit that they occurred. Zinn gives a balanced viewpoint from both the people in power and the people without power, such as the slaves and the slave owners. He includes how the slaves were treated and the horrible origins of the slave trade. He also discusses what little power women had during much of American history. On the other hand, Flynn offers a much more traditional interpretation of history. Flynn would say that including the point of view of the victims and including unflattering episodes of American history is “little more than an 800-page libel against [the] country” (Flynn). Some criticism that Flynn puts forth on Zinn is that

Regarding the article, “Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress, Dr. Howard Zinn argues that there is another perspective to consider as to Christopher Columbus’ adventures. Dr. Howard Zinn’s position is that history books have omissions of slavery, death and innocent bloodshed that accompanied the adventures of Christopher Columbus. In the following statements Dr. Howard Zinn describes his perspective; “The writer began the history, five hundred years ago, of the European invasion of the Indian Settlement in the Americas. That beginning, when you read Las Casas- even if his figures are exaggerations (were there 3 million Indians to begin with, as he says or 250,000, as modern historians calculate) is conquest, slavery, and death. When

For my summer assignment for AP U.S history I had to read the novel, A People’s History of the United States. This novel is a nonfictional literary work that was written by the American historian, playwright, and social activist named Howard Zinn. In this novel, Zinn attempts to present American history through the viewpoint of the common people rather than the conquerors and the economical and political elite. The chapters that I had to read from this book were chapters 1 through 10. The chapters were very informative and it allowed me to revisit major events in American History. Therefore; prior to reading this novel, the three events that stood out to me were the Arawak Indians that encountered Columbus, the enslavement of African Americans