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…show more content… The Arawak Indians were the tribe that Columbus encountered on his first journey. Zinn’s decision to tell the American story from the viewpoint of the many conquered groups stems from his belief that, “...it is the job of thinking people...not to be on the side of the executioners”(10). He tells bluntly the horrors faced by the native Americans throughout their history, how Columbus and other explorers such as Hernando Cortez and Pizarro used the native peoples as slaves to increase their personal wealth. The English settlers were no less guilty, and even used scripture to justify the taking over of land. The main purpose of the European explorers was to bring gold and slaves back to the mother countries, though they also wished to convert (by force if necessary) the native people to Christianity. The lives of the early English settlers were hard, and they lacked enough manpower to grow enough food. So white servants and African slaves were brought over to supplement labor. Initially, African slaves/servants and White servants saw no real difference in one another and united. But after the efforts of the government to distinguish the white servants from the African slaves, racism had become a government-sanctioned institution. There was a huge divide between the rich and poor of the colonies, and even after the American Revolution, the class divide was still
