Not-so-fun Facts About America with Howard Zinn

 

    As the average child grows up in America, the curriculum seems to have similar themes throughout the story of America's upbringing. It was a noble, almost romanticized journey by key individuals, who advanced the interests of the 17th century colonies, and then the United States. The expansion westwards in the 19th century was a tale of settlers on a benign journey to the West. The American Revolution was a war against overseas tyranny. And what about the fight for workers' rights and against the monopolies of the Gilded Age? Well, if you only learned through the curriculum of most schools, such a thing never existed. The Civil War, the American Revolution, and the migration westwards take precedence over such topics. 

    Howard Zinn's book, A People's History of the United States, doesn't follow the same sort of narrative, instead telling the other side of the story of America, adding facts that the average elementary school curriculum tends to omit. Zinn tends to focus on 3 main themes within his massive 700-page book, covering them in a more detailed and new light as compared to other history books. Those themes are the fight between Native Americans and Europeans, the cost of war, and economic/social inequality.

    Consider the way Indian-European relations are covered in this book. Over the course of my education, the first time I learned about the true nature of colonial expansion was in 7th grade. I had already learned about Columbus and the Mayflower, 2 consistent topics for social studies classes, many years ago. Zinn's book immediately discusses how Indians were pushed back via a cycle of betrayal and annihilation, in the name of advancing Western Civilization, which was in many ways inferior to Indian societies. The part in which Zinn covers the topic of European warfare against the Indians is perhaps the most engaging and best part of the book.

    Zinn also puts forward a new perspective on many well-known wars with famous battles, of which a decent majority made their way into mainstream history textbooks. He does make some mentions of well-known battles, but his focus is on the individual cost of war, and what this meant for military casualties, civilian casualties, and individuals behind the front. Zinn documents individuals and groups opposing needless wars for expansion, turning the tide of public opinion away from war, to such a degree that 2 well-known wars have ended as a result of public opinion.

    Yet the most striking, and possibly the most controversial, addition that Zinn makes is the consistent theme of a struggle between the wealthy high class, and the working lower class. In the early chapters of Zinn's book, he points out the vast inequality between the wealthy landowners and the servants, laborers, and landless craftsmen. The poor sometimes begin recognizing their plight, and rise up against said wealthy landowners, only to be repressed via a system of polarization, deception, appeasement, and force. Zinn fleshes out the concept of class conflict throughout the book, showing the brief times in which the poor majority, or 'the people,' score victories for themselves, even against the opposition of the wealthy.

    I only touched a bit on the different ways Zinn breaks away from the mainstream narrative in American history, offering a new perspective on the events we know from our years of education. Although A People's History of the United States shows clear bias in its depiction of war, social justice, and class warfare, if you can recognize the fact that Zinn is opinionated on many of these topics, you can read about the history of the United States, except now from the view of the people.