...A People’s History of The United States, by Howard Zinn, delivers a multi perspective account on how the United States came to be from the beginning to the present time. This book is able to further people’s knowledge by developing a historical story line incorporated with written pieces from past generations and Zinn’s own ideas and knowledge. Howard Zinn was a very educated man, author of multiple books, a war veteran, professor, and activist. Before going to college, he joined the US Air Force at the age of 18 in World War II. After the war he went to Colombia University and earned his Ph.D. in history. He spent most of his time after teaching at Spelman College and Boston University for over 20 years while participating in the Civil Rights...
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...United States, Howard Zinn the author of, “A People’s History of the United States” took on this feat in 1980s when he published his book. To begin with, the book starts off with the perspective of the Arawak Indians who met Columbus. Zinn tells us that the Europeans were very cruel to the Indians while on their quest for gold. The book then jumps to the year of 1619 when America started to transport slaves from Africa for free labor, by the 1800s America had over 10 million slaves. After, the book starts to highlight the American Revolution, Zinn believes it was a fight for power between Colonial Elites and England. America was able to fight the revolution because so many citizens were armed, allowing...
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...industrialization of the United States is arguable the most important aspect of the entire nineteenth century. It not only changed the way Americans produced goods, it also changed how Americans ran their lives and what the focus of society became. Besides these outcomes of the industrialization period, along with an increase in technology and production, there were other important side effects. The most important side effect of the industrialization period and topic of my paper that was mentioned in all three textbooks, was it’s effect on the relationship between social classes. This topic is a very important section, imbedded throughout Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, George Brown Tindall and David Emory Shi’s America: A Narrative History, and Paul Johnson’s A History of the American People. First we must take a look at the personal views of these authors before looking at how they each analyzed the topic. Zinn has a radical, Marxist interpretation of early US history in which he believes the entire history of the United States was based off of conflict. This includes racial conflict, gender conflict, and in our case, class conflict. Tindall and Shi have, as most history books do, a liberal interpretation of early US history in which they believe the history of the United States is based on consensus and agreement of core values among Americans. They believe the US has a good future because of the agreement on these values which include freedom, democracy, capitalism...
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...Nineteenth-Century Big Businessmen “Robber Barons”? In the nineteenth-century, the United States experienced rapid industrial revolution and economic growth. Leading the way throughout the economic growth were big business owners. Scholars have disagreed on whether or not these big businessmen were robber barons. Howard Zinn believes that they were robber barons and that they encouraged monopolies and used government influence and power to further their success. John S. Gordon argues that businessmen such as Rockefeller and Carnegie affected the industry in a positive way that helped improve the lifestyle of average Americans. Howard Zinn supported his view that the nineteenth-century big businessmen were robber barons by explaining how some of the multimillionaires accumulated their fortune. Zinn immediately dispels the myth that these rich men started from poverty, and states that a study showed that 90% of these men were born into middle or upper class families.. Robber barons undercut their opponents forcing them to sell out to the bigger corporation allowing these men to keep their prices high. Zinn focuses a majority of his writing on how these big businessmen used the government to prevent rebellion against robber barons. Gordon explains that the consumer products Rockefeller and Carnegie developed improved the life of average Americans. He speaks a lot on the improved production of steel and the impact on the industry that resulted. Gordon admits that Rockefeller...
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...IO: To analyze the effects of the United States role in WWII on the European and domestic front. Do Now: Please answer questions 10 -14 from the Howard Zinn handout : “War Is the Health of the State (5 min) (can also go over more of the questions in class and assign the guided reading exercises as H.W.” Motivation (5 min): 1) Why were industrialists called merchants of death? 2) Why was Schwab being investigated for wartime profiteering? Key terms: Selective Service Act, American Expeditionary Force, Convoy, Zeppelin, armistice, Genocide, Liberty Bond, Price controls, Rationing, Daylight saving time, Sedition, Vigilante. Activities: 1. Complete and review answers to Do Now and Motivation. 2. Complete guided reading exercise on what prompts the U.S. to go to war. This shall be placed on the board in a Venn diagram (10 min maybe tell students what page and do as a shared group assignment). 3. Students working in groups will complete Ch 19 sec 3 and 4 guided reading exercises (15 min). 4. Students will complete questions 20-26 from the Howard Zinn handout 20-26. Pivotal Point: How could the United States avoid entering into WWI? IO: To analyze the role of the United States as a global peace maker. IO: To analyze the political and cultural changes caused by the spread of the enlightenment throughout Europe. Do Now: Students will find the following words and express how they relate of the spread of enlightenment...
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...A Patriot’s History of the United States by Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen and A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn show very different perspectives of the foundation of the United States. While Schweikart and Allen focus on the noble intentions of European explorers, progress, and the general selflessness of the founding fathers, Zinn tells of a country based on the destruction of the native people, the forced labor of thousands of slaves, and the oppression of the lower class. Each version show the past differently, and can either show an event as legendary and proud, or shameful and horrible. In A Patriot’s History of the United States, Schweikart/Allen cover Christopher Columbus and other explorers in a very positive...
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...Source: One presents a quote by American historian Howard Zinn. Zinn presents the disapproval of free market economies. This disapproval regards the distribution of wealth and the prominent rise of elitism within present day free market economies. Zinn believes that through current free markets, elitism and the ultra rich present severe harm to society. The invisible hand has favoured the one percentile, leaving the majority of society in economic unrest. Through the quote, the idea of balancing and equalizing is presented. Zinn boils down human necessities to: food, housing, medical care, education, entertainment, and vacations. Economic equalization is one key factor in socialism that Zinn entrenches his opinion in. Historical economists...
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...Nineteenth-Century Entrepreneurs “Robber Barons”? Throughout the nineteenth century, the United States had just experienced a transformation that has revolutionized the world of business. The industrial revolution has brought in many new innovations such as, the railroad, a new method of effective and efficient transportation, and machinery which would increase the manufacturing process ten-fold. As new and effective manufacturing methods have been brought to light, the value of manufactured goods increased twelve-fold, while the invested capital in industrial pursuits multiplied twenty two times. (History of the United States pg. 270) The industrial revolution has not only brought economic prosperity in the United States, it has also jump-started the nation’s industrial growth. Throughout history, many of the big businessmen such as J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie, who control most of the big business during the period of the nineteenth century, are looked at in two different interpretations: Robber Barons or Entrepreneurial Statesman. Howard Zinn, a civil rights protestor and peace activist with a PhD from Columbia University, has written the paper, “Robber Barons and Rebels”, which supports the argument that the big businessmen are in fact Robber Barons. Zinn believed that the entrepreneurs of big business adopted business practices that encouraged monopolies and used the powers of government to control the masses from rebellion. Grover Cleveland, after...
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...Identity: The white unification in the upper and middle classes allowed for the vast majority of people (white people) in the colonies to invest in an American identity. 3. Ideas, Belief, Culture: The Elizabethan culture of damning vagabonds made its way to colonial society and made the more wealthy colonists look at those without wealth with contempt. 4. America in the World: The Natives were seen as dangerous and troublesome people who had to be stopped. As seen in Bacon’s Rebellion, the British had no intentions to come together and be “friends” with the indigenous people. 5. Environment and Geography: The people without high ranking, the servants, were sent into the wilderness to settle and “scope out” the area before the rich would come to ensure their safety and well being in these new lands. This caused anger and resentment between the poor and the rich and partly inspired the Bacon’s Rebellion. 6. Peopling: The poor (servants) came to the colonies in prospect of finding a better home and economic status. However, they claimed to have been stripped of...
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...(Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States") Chapter 1: Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress The beginning chapter covers early Native American civilization in North America and the Bahamas, the genocide and enslavement committed by the crew of Christopher Columbus (to the West Indies), and incidents of violent colonization by early settlers. The native inhabitants, Arawak Indians, swam out to greet the European boats the first time they landed. Zinn cites Columbus' journal entries throughout the chapters, which included his reaction to the initial encounter with the Arawaks: 'They would make fine servants...With 50 men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.' This attitude ultimately led to enslavement, highjacking, murder and rape. Why did they murder thousands to millions of innocent Native Americans? The Spaniard's main aim was to prove to the royalty back home that the islands were wealthy and loaded with great resources, mainly gold. Columbus took some natives back to show the Queen of Spain (they died on route), and when he came back with numbers of men and ships, they started a regimented system of slavery and punishment on the natives of the West Indies. When looking at historical documents of this event, they all had one thing in common. They only speak of the friendliness of the Arawaks, of their genuine kindness and great hospitality. They saw the Spaniards as divine beings, meaning they would never do harm or, let alone...
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...Prior to the American Revolution, social groups in the United States were defined and divided by laws and labor hierarchy from which, race and racism begin to formulate. The early time of colonization, from mid 17th century to early 18th century witnessed the rage and destruction of the country. In response to social depression, Bacon’s Rebellion represented for the springing resentment in the society that frightened both colonies’ governors and European administration. This let the rulers rethink about the dangerous prospect when indentured servants, black slave and poor white frontiersmen untitled. The governor’s council used different legislation to maintain obedience and avoid unexpected revolts in the society. For example, Virginia’s governor William Berkeley passed out the Indian policy to restrict those Native American in certain area for control purposes. Excerpting from Zinn’s “The People History of The United States” book,...
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...During the postwar decade, the social isolation that was facilitated enabled individuals to not pay attention to the minimalist approach the government took towards capitalism. This allowed society to be eased into a false sense of security in not scrutinizing business practices, moving away from regulatory measures, and silencing the workers’ movements such as the IWW that participated in strikes to bring attention to these realities. Also during this time, African Americans and women struggled for their rights and equality in society. Zinn argues that while there was such an emphasis on social reality, the government was able to use this advantage for political and economic affairs that encouraged the business community. This materialized in a recoil against workers and ethnic minorities, something that Zinn believes is essential in understanding the rise of the Klan and other issues in American society. Howard Zinn also argues that the Great Depression, brought upon by the stock market crash, uneven distribution of wealth in society, and other factors that helped aid the Great Depression, brought out more social activism such as the Bonus Army and the establishment of “Hoovervilles” as a way to bring back the social and political activism that raised the affairs of unfair capitalism to the publics’ interest. This called for Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal policy, elements that helped to recover, reform, and provide relief to those who suffered in the 1920s. During...
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...Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan and Andrew Carnegie. These men were some of the richest men in their times, they each were very successful business men. Cornelius Vanderbilt made his fortune off of steam ships and railroads. John Rockefeller controlled the oil companies. J.P. Morgan was a successful banker and investor whose company J.P. Morgan & co is still around today. Andrew Carnegie took over the steel industry making him one of the richest men in the world when he died. (Zinn Ch 10 & 11) All these men were successful and could be called Captains of Industry but at the same time were also known as Robber Barons. In this essay I will be giving a brief history of each of those men and in what industry he made his fortune. I will also explain how each one had different aspects of their life that made people think of them as Robber Barons. Finally I will talk about how they can be considered to be both Robber Barons and Captains of Industry. The dictionary has two definitions for a Robber Baron. The first is “an American capitalist of the latter part of the 19th century who became wealthy through exploitation (as of natural resources, governmental influence, or low wage scales).” The second definition is “a business owner or executive who acquires wealth through ethically questionable tactics.” (Merriam Webster Dictionary) According to the book “The Robber Barons” it says that the certain individuals who were called robber barons were also...
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...the ways in which we have progressed socially, however, what they stand for represents a progression that has lead our country down the wrong path. The fundamental value and most expressed statement in the Declaration of Independence is, “all men are created equal; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. This document preaches for equality and is the backbone for our set of American values, but yet discrimination has existed throughout our entire history and still continues to this day. These values are taught and learned by the American people through such documents as the Declaration of Independence, however these documents are embodying an idea that us as people do not seem to possess. Not only is this document extremely hypocritical, especially when it is looked at and compared to discriminatory practices in our country, such as: slavery, racial discrimination, and gender discrimination, but it is written by people who had practiced discrimination throughout their own lives. It seems as though equality is a vision in America and for the American people, but it is one that is not fully executed or taken seriously. It is so important to think about the minds and personalities behind the Declaration of Independence, and who those people were. Thomas Jefferson, the largest contributor to the document, was himself, a slave-owner. The...
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...act to support or favor the cause of any country with which the United States is at war or by word or act to oppose the cause of the United States.” Moreover, it banned the use of violence to cause social change. In fact, the passage of these laws led to waging an aggressive police investigation against the suspected subversives, accusing them of being communists or left-wing. As a direct result of these laws, the prisons filled up with anti-war protestors, immigrants and striking labors. This hysteria grew more when the communists came to power after the Bolshevik Revolution. Consequently, Wilson administration conducted an organized surveillance against people whose loyalty was questioned. And arrests exceeded 40,000 people for the War Department. An ironical example of these victims who were arrested just for opposing the war or expressing their opinions was the American...
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