Historian Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States chronicles American history from the bottom up, throwing out the official narrative taught in schools—with its emphasis on great men in high places—to focus on the street, the home, and the workplace. But just nine votes behind was the late Howard Zinn's left-wing epic, A People's History of the United States. Racism in particular is either presented as a political tool or like a weather forecast: "Racism was strong" or "It was a time of intense racism in the United States." New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. In fact, the word "Christian" only appears 16 times in all 622 pages; "Catholic" only 19, "Methodist" and "Baptist" only twice, "evangelical" only once. Every day the amount of people learning that the “united states of America,” the representative Republic that it was, died when the Southern States abandoned Congress forever in 1861, is increasing. I have read Jill Lepore’s book and I think it’s quite excellent, by the way. This bar-code number lets you verify that you're getting exactly the right version or edition of a book. In A People’s History of the United States, Zinn aims to write an account of American history from the perspective of persecuted, powerless, marginalized people, rather than the usual pantheon of heroes and elites. Achetez neuf ou d'occasion Viet Nam, Anglo-Norman History | History of Knighthood. Zinn's citations are absent or muddled in a single-page "bibliography." But I would submit that, like Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, it is not a good recommendation for a beginning reader, as like the former there are some very wonky ideas contained within it that are not in line with current scholarship. [Howard Zinn] Log in or sign up in seconds. Throughout all of high school, not once was it mentioned that the worst genocide in known History was committed by the same guy we have a Holiday named after. A People and a Nation: A History of the United States, Brief 10th Edition 10th Edition by Mary Beth Norton (Author), Jane Kamensky (Author), Carol Sheriff (Author), & 4.1 out of 5 stars 54 ratings. I vaguely remember some controversy surrounding a history book that exposed the darker side of American History, and whether or not it belonged next to traditional history text in schools. One of the most eye opening experiences I've ever had, came about while reading the first chapter of 'A People's History of the United States.' Would "A People's History..." be a good companion piece or is too biased to be worth reading? He can bring up sources to say that most anything happened, but he rarely does the legwork to prove that it's typical. Archived. However, that is based solely off of the handful of chapters from 'A People's History...' and interviews with him I was required to read in high school. For all my life, I had been blatantly lied to. Also a fair amount of Bury My Heart. Second, we are sure that once you new people begin reading it, you'll go out and get a physical copy. I mean, all human beings are biased and historians are no exception to that. Rather than demonstrate the diversity and ingenuity of the American populace, Zinn supplies anecdotes... and more anecdotes. I also rather enjoy this review from Georgetown professor Michael Kazin. Press J to jump to the feed. Kazin is genuinely frustrated with the way Zinn dismisses the motivations of those he disagrees with, attributing nearly everything to manipulation and deception. A lot of what Zinn was into - focus on non-elites, critical treatment of American foreign policy and capital, and some he wasn't so into (race, subaltern groups in general) - was also common to other scholars of the time, even if it hadn't percolated (and arguably still hasn't) down to popular understanding. Index 1. More posts from the AskHistorians community. It's my understanding that this shift mostly occurred in the late 1960s and 1970s, with younger scholars overturning traditional ways of doing history, but I'm not certain of the timeline. One of the book’s more high-profile endorsements came in the 1997 Academy Award-winning film Good Will Hunting. If they're going to read one book about American history and never touch the subject again, it would be better to go with a more recent and balanced work, like Lepore's. Answers must be in-depth and comprehensive, or they will be removed. (killed/captured/wounded). I already own and plan on reading "These Truths: A History of the United States" by Jill Lepore. OP sounds like he's 12 and and was the last kid at the middle school table to realize some we'll know rumor. In nauseating detail, Howard Zinn describes what actually happened after Christopher Columbus's first arrival in the Caribbean. We Take Nothing by Conquest, Thank God 9. And primary texts should be focused on more. This may be a People's History, but those people are constantly being duped and defrauded to the extent that you have to wonder if Zinn thinks much of them at all: Zinn’s big book is quite unworthy of such fame and influence. It's important to be aware of this. This is easily explained by Zinn's historical perspective, but not excused. The way it integrated itself into the minds of American people is hardly addressed. Details about A People's History of the United States: "A wonderful, splendid book--a book that should be ready by every American, student or otherwise, who wants to understand his country, its true history, and its hope for the future." What does that look like? Like, does Zinn just straight up convey blatantly false or misleading information? Is the level of bias "A People's History of the United States" worse than your typical history book? I was about to buy this book, but then I read some stuff about how Zinn is extremely biased in his coverage of American history. A Kind of Revolution 6. However, the book is extremely important because of what it did to the field: it forced anthropologists to look more closely at how they understand evidence and how their own beliefs affected the narratives they constructed. Contents Cover Title Page Chapter 1 – Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress Chapter 2 – Drawing the Color Line Chapter 3 – Persons of Mean and Vile Condition Chapter 4 – Tyranny Is Tyranny Chapter 5 – A Kind of Revolution Chapter 6 – The Intimate J.P. Morgan, and Rockefeller, were savvy, revolutionary business men-even though they reduced half of the population to slave-like conditions in order to achieve their 'maximum profits'. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. In the meantime our Twitter, Facebook, and Sunday Digest feature excellent content that has already been written! Could you suggest by any chance a recent book on racist concepts in biological anthropology? Zinn reduces the past to a Manichean fable and makes no serious attempt to address the biggest question a leftist can ask about U.S. history: why have most Americans accepted the legitimacy of the capitalist republic in … I ‘ve been on a binge on books about iq, racism in science, and bias and I would love to check anything out. So much glossed over. Tyranny is Tyranny 5. Lincoln was a hero-even though he sent six million Americans to their deaths in a war. a people's history of the united states by Howard Zinn ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 1979 For Howard Zinn, long-time civil rights and anti-war activist, history and ideology have a lot in common. User account menu. I would love other historians to discuss this here honestly. At this point, A People's History Of The United States is available in regular form, read aloud on audio, on posters, in a teaching edition, and as just the twentieth century chapters (we have all but the posters). Persons of Mean and Vile Condition 4. I believe he says this in his intro. Yes, Zinn has chosen a particular topic to write about here, but that's not a choice you can make freely. Yes, and I can provide plenty of primary sources to prove it. He is more concerned with telling the right or true history than with understanding the motivations, goals, and strategies of past peoples (a common fault of these types of "textbook alternatives". So much completely ignored. Historian Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States chronicles American history from the bottom up, throwing out the official narrative taught in schools--with its emphasis on great men in high places--to focus on the street, the home, and the workplace. That's why it's been regarded as a college text. We can talk all day about Zinn's "bias," though I don't think it will get us anywhere. Drawing the Color Line 3. Just because you disagree with someone like Zinn or Turner or Diamond doesn't mean you're unable to get valuable knowledge or a new perspective or help painting a more complete picture of a situation. More can always be said, but while you wait for new answers, you may wish to read the FAQ section on Zinn's work. Is the book worth reading for someone who wants to gain a better understanding of American history? Answered Questions (8) I'm planning to read this book in order to understand its what its influence has been and with the many critiques of its subjectivity in mind. It really was the ego element. the sources will reply "Certainly." You have to prove that that topic can stand on its own, and Zinn does not. Understand that rule breaking comments get removed. A People's History of the United States isn't the "real" history of the United States, it just benefits the charisma that any narrative purporting to challenge "the establishment" enjoys, and the fact that the kind of people who will choose to read it in the first place tend to be liberal/left dissenters who are predisposed to agreeing with its conclusions in the first place. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts, Philippine Studies | Mod. Very rarely, for example, do Americans learn about the unwarranted and unneeded invasion of the Philippines, an invasion that resulted in perhaps millions of Filipino deaths. They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for when I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. But that was a lot of reading. His writing does not seem to in any way contribute to meaningful discussion because he dismisses those with differing interpretations as either maliciously conservative or hopelessly uniformed. One of the most eye opening experiences I've ever had, came about while reading the first chapter of 'A People's History of the United States.' This P.S. He goes to great lengths to tear down certain types of narratives that erased the ethical and moral aspects of history. A People's History of the United States: | | A People's History of the United States | | | ... World Heritage Encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias available, and the most definitive collection ever assembled. In less then two years of brutal enslavement, rape, torture, and pillaging, Columbus and his followers massacred the native Haitian population, setting the seeds for the America we know today. After reading this book, the current, strange state of western society made a lot more sense to me. A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn is a 2005 Harper Perennial Modern Classics publication. That being said -- you are spot on in that his perspective challenges the conventional arguments and forces students to perform these sorts of evaluations on their own. A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 1492—PRESENT HOWARD ZINN. Did people think the US should be a monarchy? The arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492 started the European colonization of the Americas.Most colonies were formed after 1600, and the early records and writings of John Winthrop make the United States … I get he accepts his own failures, but they're still failures as a writer and historian. 5 4 45. Bad history, it turns out, transcends political divides. Welcome to r/AskHistorians. Historical interpretations that people disagree with are too often dismissed because not everyone is educated in history with an emphasis on historiography. I admit, up front, that this my first go at this book. In An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States, Dunbar-Ortiz adroitly challenges the founding myth of the United States and shows how policy against the Indigenous peoples was colonialist and designed to seize the territories of the original inhabitants, displacing or eliminating them. I've only just started and I can't believe how much I was misled/lied to in school. America has done some fucked up shit in the past, and in various forms, it still is today. He wrote that book to attack some of the popular historiography or historical viewpoints of the time, and how Americans are taught their own history. The authors bring history to life by encouraging you to imagine what life was really like in the past. This is a moderated subreddit. Posted by u/[deleted] 6 years ago. Those politics include goals which most historians would agree with: textbooks are generally too nationalist, they focus too much on elites, concerns of class and race are under-represented. ISBN-13: 978-1285430843. --Howard Fast With a new introduction by Anthony Arnove, this edition of the classic national bestseller chronicles American history from the bottom up, throwing TL;DR Zinn leaves out a lot of history and voices, dismissing views he doesn't agree with as deception by elites and rarely justifying why he's left out what he has. Lincoln was a hero-even though he sent six hundred, thousand Americans to their deaths in a war which was primarily fought for economic purposes. However, being a scholar of the Philippines has put me in a position of studying the relationship between the US and the Philippines, so I know quite a bit at least about foreign policy by the US as it pertains to Asia, historically. It is a great read, and points out the details and background of many events that you don't often find in the stories of the "great men who built America" standard narrative. But you need the base first. The book is still important now for that reason. By using our Services or clicking I agree, you agree to our use of cookies. That's a bad take though, because it's not representative. ISBN-10: 1285430840. A handful of other Protestant sects are name-dropped exactly once when they opposed a war, Islam, Hinduism, Orthodoxy, and Buddhism are entirely absent. A People’s History is bad history, albeit gilded with virtuous intentions. So I feel like I want to defend Zinn a bit here. I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. The majority of us only understand this idealized America because it's all we're aware of. So, when we're faced with the actual America in practice, and we don't know what the hell is going on, we think everybody else is just sullying our idealized pictures of the country. Kazin also criticizes Zinn for leaving out religion. Along with the pain of finding that you’ve been steeped in lies throughout your entire education, there’s still plenty more to cry about as you start putting the pieces together. Get this from a library! Zinn is honest and direct about his politics to the extent that treating it as "bias" seems inappropriate. Some of his assertions were later discredited by thorough research. Why is ISBN important? Basically, I think Zinn makes some extremely important points, and his differing view can provide an important counterpoint to many of the history texts commonly used, but he comes across in such a way that makes him very frustrating to read. Please read the rules before participating, as we remove all comments which break the rules. Known for its lively, clear prose as well as its scholarly research, A People's History of the United States is the only volume to tell America's story from the point of view of -- and in the words of -- America's women, factory workers, African-Americans, Native Americans, working poor, and immigrant laborers. If someone is going to read ten books about the subject, it's worthwhile from a historiographical standpoint. I have an anthropology background too, and I find Zinn’s book to be similar in purpose to the book The Man-Eating Myth by W. Arens. China & Taiwan | Mod. comments; Want to join? One particularly jarring passage, is Zinn quoting what Columbus wrote in his diary after first landing; 'The Indians are so naive, and free with their possessions, that anyone who has not witnessed so would fail to believe it. Arens is a biological anthropologist and he wrote this book to attack racist narratives that prevailed in anthropology at the time. Log In Sign Up. The evidence was shoddy and Arens rightly attacked it. My APUS class had it and I think we read around 150 pages of it. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one: ). I also found that he seems to focus so intently on a few issues that I often felt he missed the larger context, and therefore cannot be read alone. Nevertheless, it is not a good introduction on how to do history. The tragedy however, is that I only ever read it because I went to college. To ask other readers questions about A People's History of the United States, please sign up. And the south 500,000. NOTE: Is this is a better question for ? A People’s History is bad history, albeit gilded with virtuous intentions. I prefer my history dry and … Press J to jump to the feed. The New Press's Abridged Teaching Edition of A People's History of the United States has made Howard Zinn's original text available specifically for classroom use. A People's History of the United States Topics for Discussion Howard Zinn This Study Guide consists of approximately 31 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of A People's History of the United States. http://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/december/wineburg-historiography-zinn-122012.html. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns. Press J to jump to the feed. Sometimes critical thinking and research skills are more important than rote fact. You should go and get it (and ones for your friends and family). Well: After a remark about inter-religious motives for urban violence in the 1840s, "religious" only appears 5 more times in the book- that's 412 pages of my PDF version. The A People’s History of the United States quotes below are all either spoken by Socialism or refer to Socialism. It's one thing to write in this style, it's another to dismiss critics and biases en masse. Columbus , The Indians, and Human Progress 2. This P.S. They would make fine slaves... With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we wish.'. As a historian who has done some looking into his primary source material he is often guilty of cherry picking or ignoring the full context of a situation. He was the architect of a genocide, just like Hitler, Stalin, and every other historically 'evil' figure. I couldn't finish reading his stuff due to how frustrated I got with him. I recommend you read this comment from /u/Freedmenspatrol that addresses some specific questions about the book, while also touching on more general criticisms. In high school history, they do spend some time covering The Trail of Tears, Slavery, and the Evils of the Jim Crow era, but its always done so in this theatric rendition of 'America' triumphing over intolerance. I am glad that Zinn's book got people thinking about this. Are there any books you would recommend as a replacement? Zinn reduces the past to a Manichean fable and makes no serious attempt to address the biggest question a leftist can ask about U.S. history: why have most Americans accepted the legitimacy of the capitalist republic in which they live? But what I am saying, is that the objective history which led me to this opinion is currently being quarantined off from public knowledge. As Long as Grass Grows or Water Runs 8. ISBN. It is our intent and purpose to foster and encourage in-depth discussion about all things related to books, authors, genres, or publishing in a safe, supportive environment. From reading 'A peoples history,' I gained an objective stance on the history of America, instead of that idealized, fictitious narrative regurgitated in every high school history class. The United States of Europe (USE), the European State, the European Superstate, the European Federation and Federal Europe are similar hypothetical scenarios of a single sovereign state in Europe (hence superstate), organised as a federation similar to the United States of America, as contemplated by political scientists, politicians, geographers, historians, futurologists, and fiction writers. 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Is a people's history of the united states reddit book worth reading Zinn 's historical perspective, but they do make. To manipulation and deception just like Hitler, Stalin, and Sunday Digest feature excellent content that has already written...