Zinn's Inequality

The American Revolution had many more causes than the French Revolution. Both Revolutions were generally caused by taxation without representation; meaning the colonist and the third estate did not have a voice of opinion in these new laws. The stamp act and smuggling passed parliament, and those laws were placed on the colonist. Everything was being taxed; that money paying off the debt of the French and Indian War, also being sent to England. King Louis XVI raised the third estates taxes to pay off the debt of wars and deficit spending. Both the third estates and the colonist didn't have a say in the new laws or work they were now having to follow. The French and the Americans had a rebellion that lead them into the revolution. The colonist had the Boston tea party where the colonist dressed as Native Americans to board ship that help the highly

Before the Revolution, the people voted for the wealthy people the most, because they thought that the people with and education would help them the most. But after the Revolution, the people started voting for moderate people more, because most of the people were moderate. They realized over the acts that they needed representation, and they concluded that the best people to represent themselves were people like themselves. The acts changed the people of America

After winning the Revolutionary War, America was finally free from brutal tyranny. Unless you turned out to be a slave. This was one of the primary

Howard Zinn’s centers his argument on an editorial written by the historian Charles Beard. Beard stated that the rich founders protected what they had and that they did this by regulating the government by regulating the laws in which the government operates itself. Howard Zinn states that the Fathers were trying to keep the power that they already had. As most of the founding Fathers were “wealthy” lawyers, most of them had a significant amount of land, slaves or interest in manufacturing or shipping. They realized that they had loaned money to the government and that the only way to get money back was to create a strong government

Both the British and the American colonists contributed to causing the American Revolution. The war grew out of contempt: England’s contempt for the colonies and colonial contempt for British policies. A series of actions by the British eventually pushed the colonists over the edge and towards independence. The results of the war gave many citizens a new role in society while others, like slaves, felt no change at all. This paper will examine the specific causes and effects of the American Revolution.

Rich multimillionaires paid to escape military service by paying for substitutes to take their place. Not everyone had that luxury so it’s seems unfair that people could have just done that. Money can’t solve all problems. In addition, the bribing and secret deals that wealthy inventors and business workers made the country look corrupt. For example, Thomas Edison promised New Jersey politicians $1,000 if they crafted laws that favored his business interests and The Central Pacific line spent $200,000 on bribes to Washington, D.C. just to get free land and loans (Zinn, 173). Back then if you had money you could do whatever, which is unfair. Wealth shouldn’t matter and it definitely shouldn’t interfere with politics and law making. Both chapter 10 and 11 taught me new things that I believe should be taught in the social studies curriculum. Not only were they interesting but they are worth being

Howard argued American Revolution as an effort of members of colonial elites to “create consensus of popular support for their continued rule” and to hold back the rebellions against them (Zinn 243). The rebellions stood up against rich colonial elites and the colonial leadership turned their anger against England. In addition, during the revolution differences occurred between upper and lower classes. The indentured servitude increased during revolution and nothing was done by revolution to end it. The revolution according to Zinn led to a “…substantial body of support, a national consensus…that even with the exclusion of ignored and oppressed people, could be called America” (Zinn 255). The declaration of independence was for life, liberty and happiness of rich white males. The poor white workers, women, black slaves, menial farmers were in the same old condition even after the revolution. The revolution merely

A main reason for the revolution was the influence of the form of government on its people. For America, it was the change from a monarchy to a republic. The freedoms of the citizens in the colonies felt they were being denied what was rightfully theirs. This was the main reason for the switch to democracy. This allowed for the people to a choice in how they were governed and by whom. This was a radical change from the monarchal government of Britain because before taxes and laws were pushed onto these citizens they had a luxury of not being taxed prior French and Indian War. Although this became the case, many rich prior Revolution stayed in power, an example of these influential people are the plantation owners and wealthy families. Power was often derived from money in the colonial times, and this was proven to be true as people like Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and much more were influential in

Howard Zinn’s argument on the nature of the American War for Independence was the war for independence was not a social revolution. Instead, he argues the colonial elite used the war for their own personal gain in power and status. The wealthy and powerful found a strategy to maintain and even increase their social and political status by leading the war against England and the courtiers associated with England.

It allowed the creation of the Declaration of Independence, in which stated that all men are created equal, and the Constitution, which was “essentially an economic document based upon as recognizing the claim of property to a special and defensive position in the Constitution” (Doc H). The people who weren’t receiving the rights and liberties they deserved were inspired to fight for them by the creation of these two documents. The discernment of inequality became a consequence when wealthy, white men were believed to be superior to other genders and races, especially of lower class. Even though some may reason that the Revolution brought forth little to no change, the ideas Revolution gave the diverse groups justification to fight for their equality among the “superior” higher classes. Poor to middle class, African American slaves, and women were finally given the right ideas to protect their rights adequately. The Revolution became the period of accommodation with regards to

In chapter “The Other Civil War” of A People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn described the underlying class tensions caused by industrialization during the nineteenth century. He claimed that these tensions would have led to radical labor reforms if the working class’s anger had not been directed towards other issues. Zinn used The Age of Enterprise by Thomas C. Cochran and William Miller to show the upper class’s indifference towards the problems of the lower class and to prove that the rich manipulated the poor to promote their own interests. He also used Class and Community by Alan Dawley to offer examples of working class resistance, government oppression, and the effects of the Civil War. While Zinn’s use of Class and

Much like the French Revolution, the American Revolution was brought upon by the people who wanted a change. Growing numbers of immigrants added to the population in the lower and middle classes in the country, making overcrowding and poor conditions. As cities started to grow, the government- located across the ocean- decided to try and make changes, including larger taxes. The people in America did not like the idea of being ruled over by people so far away, so they began their search for new forms of authority. The people looked for independence, and their search led them to a war and the Revolution. As the country became free and independent, more and more changes were made. The Declaration of Independence was signed, and the Bill of Rights was issued. While it was largely political that change came from the American Revolution, it was America's people created, fought, and won the American Revolution, leading to a better life for them all.

The patriotic elite benefitted from the revolution in a few different ways. Independence from Great Britain lifted the constraints of taxes, but the elite also

The American Revolution, from 1765 to 1783, was a great movement and major changing point for the colonists. The colonists were fed up with all the taxes and unnecessary mistreatment that had been placed on them. The colonists finally had revolted against the British and surprisingly had taken the victory. The colonists were considered underdogs against the very powerful Britain and with much devotion and heart, the colonists pulled out a victory. Taking the victory was a huge turning point because now the colonists were free from British power and were able to form a nation of their own. The wealthy had lots of power and it affected the society a lot. America had created a new government and society, but it led to many problems and protests.

The government in the United States supposedly revolves around American ideals such as equality and diversity; however, this is simply not the case as perpetuated by class inequalities. The meaning of democracy has been skewed in the United States to represent something entirely different than it did in 1776. Today, American democracy behaves more like an aristocracy, where the upper class exercises power within the government and state, influencing discourse and therefore the laws and resources in our country, which are purportedly “for the people”. Democracy is presumed to provide everyone with equal political power, but the government in today’s America, although seemingly following this ideal model, does not. Instead, the elite upper class has a monopoly over the political influence and are the sole benefactors from public policies due to their influence over the policy making process. The upper class has an overall benefit from class inequality, as it greatly impacts American ‘democracy’ through the significant power gained through money and status, leadership roles that impact government, and the influence in the policymaking process that creates upper class advantages.