Title The People's History of the United States of America

Author Howard Zinn

Year Published 1980

Kind of Book History

How strongly I recommend it 7/10 

My Impressions

This offers a compelling counter narrative to US History. I did think he underscores some of the positive aspects of American History, however he makes the case that the prevailing narrative does enough back patting and that the point of this book is to highlight the atrocities that those not in power faced.(“...That makes it a biased account, one that leans in a certain direction. I am not troubled by that, because the mountain of history books which we all stands leans so heavily in the other direction..”) I honestly need to reread the book. I read it before I really knew how to take good notes. I doubt I even absorbed 1/10th of the material.

Date Read circa 2018 

Big Ideas

  • Murder, Genocide, rape, and other atrocities are often excused by historians in the name of "progress"

  • History is mostly told from the point of view of those in power (eg. Conquerors and leaders. Not the oppressed)

  • There is no way to test to see if whites and black could coexist well in favorable conditions

  • Because

  • Now we only can see how whites and blacks coexist after a history of oppression

  • Slave owners gave each of their slaves different jobs (eg. field workers, house workers, and slaves who punished misbehavior of the other slaves)

  • This created jealousy and resentment amongst the slaves

  • This was done to keep slaves from joining together and rebelling

  • War makes the ruling class more secure against internal threat

  • Because

  • During times of war the "enemy" becomes the other country for the lower class (rather than the ruling class who is oppressing them)

  • How happy or unhappy someone is (or a group of people is) isn't a good way to judge whether or not something is just or unjust (ie. There are plenty of people who remain happy despite being treated unjustly)

  • Things didn't really change after the revolutionary war for the poor. They still faced outrageous prices for rent and food. Mostly this just got better for upper class because the British were gone

 

Surprising Facts

  • During Columbus first trip across the Atlantic he was looking for gold in Asia.

  • There were 36 men on Columbus's first trip across the Atlantic

  • In 2 years after Columbus's arrival in Hispaniola half of the 250,000 Indians of Haiti were dead

  • The Sedition Act of 1798 made it illegal to say anything against the government or president (7 years after the first amendment was passed)

  • Indiana means lands of Indians in a native American language

  • Ohio means large river in Iriquoian (a native American language)

  • Texas means friends in a Caddo (a native American language)

  • When slaves were freed they had no money land or rights. They were little better than slaves, still dependent on the white man

  • 2/3 of whites in the south didn't own slaves and were against the civil war.