I believe that knowing the ladder alone, is reducing our society to sheep. Cultural history is largely absent: religion is ignored, film is only mentioned as anti-Communist propaganda, and music is only ever the product of New Deal investment in the arts, African spirituals, or protest songs. 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. 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 … They have no iron. Drawing the Color Line 3. That's a bad take though, because it's not representative. And primary texts should be focused on more. Zinn is much more interesting in the context of historiography than as an actual source of information. I get he accepts his own failures, but they're still failures as a writer and historian. The Intimately Oppressed 7. This is easily explained by Zinn's historical perspective, but not excused. My history teacher in my freshman year had us read Zinn, A History of the American People by Paul Johnson and the Outline of the US offered by the US department of State. A People's History of the United States is a 1980 nonfiction book by American historian and political scientist Howard Zinn.In the book, Zinn presented what he considered to be a different side of history from the more traditional "fundamental nationalist glorification of country". Answers must be in-depth and comprehensive, or they will be removed. As Long as Grass Grows or Water Runs 8. In fact, the word "Christian" only appears 16 times in all 622 pages; "Catholic" only 19, "Methodist" and "Baptist" only twice, "evangelical" only once. Bad history, it turns out, transcends political divides. [Howard Zinn] I think that's a pretty spot-on analysis. He can bring up sources to say that most anything happened, but he rarely does the legwork to prove that it's typical. 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. 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. 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." 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. So much glossed over. Retrouvez A People and a Nation: A History of the United States et des millions de livres en stock sur Amazon.fr. Achetez neuf ou d'occasion http://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/december/wineburg-historiography-zinn-122012.html. Noté /5. 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. But Zinn does nothing with this most fundamental force in American history, as he does with anything else that would force him to confront that the American people were racist, nationalistic capitalists far more often than he wants to admit. China & Taiwan | Mod. 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. This is my personal opinion, and is probably just as flawed as the next persons. But you need the base first. Additional time is better spent on primary sources and selected readings most likely, which could include Zinn. NOTE: Is this is a better question for ? Zinn's citations are absent or muddled in a single-page "bibliography." I believe he says this in his intro. 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. This bar-code number lets you verify that you're getting exactly the right version or edition of a book. Reading through A People's History of the United States... Close. 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. Please Read Our Rules before you comment in this community. 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. His introductory section on African and North American prehistory tries to prove their cultures were just as advanced as Europe, a metric that has popular appeal but deserves to be entirely thrown out. Yes, Zinn has chosen a particular topic to write about here, but that's not a choice you can make freely. Is the level of bias "A People's History of the United States" worse than your typical history book? Could you suggest by any chance a recent book on racist concepts in biological anthropology? I feel similar for Zinn. Lincoln was a hero-even though he sent six million Americans to their deaths in a war. To Noah, Georgia, Serena, Naushon, Will—and their generation. 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. A people's history of the United States. User account menu. 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. It really was the ego element. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts, Philippine Studies | Mod. Rather than demonstrate the diversity and ingenuity of the American populace, Zinn supplies anecdotes... and more anecdotes. He was the architect of a genocide, just like Hitler, Stalin, and every other historically 'evil' figure. I prefer my history dry and … Press J to jump to the feed. This is a moderated subreddit. 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. 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. A handful of other Protestant sects are name-dropped exactly once when they opposed a war, Islam, Hinduism, Orthodoxy, and Buddhism are entirely absent. More can always be said, but while you wait for new answers, you may wish to read the FAQ section on Zinn's work. To borrow from another critique, this is because Zinn operates with "yes-type questions: "according to historian Aileen S. Kraditor, yes-type questions send the historian into the past armed with a wish list [...] 'If one historian asks, "Do the sources provide evidence of militant struggles among workers and slaves?" Please read the rules before participating, as we remove all comments which break the rules. -history-listentothis-philosophy-InternetIsBeautiful-blog; more » Anarcho_Capitalism. 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. I have read Jill Lepore’s book and I think it’s quite excellent, by the way. Mostly anecdotal issues. 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. The A People’s History of the United States quotes below are all either spoken by Socialism or refer to Socialism. I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Arens is a biological anthropologist and he wrote this book to attack racist narratives that prevailed in anthropology at the time. A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn is a 2005 Harper Perennial Modern Classics publication. Whew as a high school English and History teacher thank you for a level headed response. A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 1492—PRESENT HOWARD ZINN. 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. 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: ). 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.' I’m not going to act like I am a scholar of American history. 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. Tyranny is Tyranny 5. A People’s History of the United States, 1492-Present By Howard Zinn . The book is still important now for that reason. Get this from a library! Focus questions and key terms (with definitions, of course) help you concentrate on important information and easily review it as you prep for tests. The tragedy however, is that I only ever read it because I went to college. There are problems with it, to be sure, but it’s less about “is this as objective as possible?” and more about “this is trying to reject bad trends in history”. It's hard enough to get through a traditional text like Foner in a school year. Is the book worth reading for someone who wants to gain a better understanding of American history? Cookies help us deliver our Services. Log In Sign Up. ISBN. You can tell these stories without religion, but they don't make much sense without them. | English; limit my search to r/Anarcho_Capitalism. 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. The way it integrated itself into the minds of American people is hardly addressed. Kazin is genuinely frustrated with the way Zinn dismisses the motivations of those he disagrees with, attributing nearly everything to manipulation and deception. the sources will reply "Certainly." 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. 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. Each book has a different take, so you get a very complete and holistic view. Zinn assumes the reader knows the typical narrative and aims to fill in the gaps. A People’s History is bad history, albeit gilded with virtuous intentions. The authors bring history to life by encouraging you to imagine what life was really like in the past. Only way to do it imo. The result is a book that mentions "war" at least 970 times and whose focus on the wars, business, and politics of American history make it feel a lot closer to standard curriculum material than it would like to admit. My general rule of thumb is that if something seems too good to be true (or too "clickbait-y" to be true) there's likely something more to the situation. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. 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. Like, does Zinn just straight up convey blatantly false or misleading information? 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. (killed/captured/wounded). 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. I would love other historians to discuss this here honestly. I also rather enjoy this review from Georgetown professor Michael Kazin. Ya. It was a horrid racist trend in anthropology to say so many non-Western cultures were cannibalistic. Welcome to r/AskHistorians. It's important to be aware of this. 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. 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. 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. Are there any books you would recommend as a replacement? The evidence was shoddy and Arens rightly attacked it. I couldn't finish reading his stuff due to how frustrated I got with him. It's an old book so a lot of you have probably read it already, but if you haven't, I highly recommend it. I mean, all human beings are biased and historians are no exception to that. 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). It's one thing to write in this style, it's another to dismiss critics and biases en masse. They offer idiosyncratic interpretations of its function and nature. ISBN-13: 978-1285430843. Also a fair amount of Bury My Heart. While theories like Historical Materialism aren't interested in religion- it's the "opiate of the masses" after all- they do not ignore it. So I feel like I want to defend Zinn a bit here. The real issue is that it is written as a supplement. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. 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. Did people think the US should be a monarchy? In the meantime our Twitter, Facebook, and Sunday Digest feature excellent content that has already been written! We can talk all day about Zinn's "bias," though I don't think it will get us anywhere. Hundreds of famous people have listed A People’s History of the United States as one of their favorite books. Nevertheless, it is not a good introduction on how to do history. We Take Nothing by Conquest, Thank God 9. 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. '' seems inappropriate or muddled in a war encouraging you to imagine what life was really like in past. More anecdotes the us should be a good introduction on how to do History important. Situation Zinn is honest and direct about his politics to the extent that treating it as ``,! Liberal point here History | History of the book, while also on... Goes to great lengths to tear down certain types of narratives that erased ethical. He did not welcome the Americas into the minds of American History is History. Last kid at the time sources to prove it reducing our society to sheep years ago rules! Mean, all Human beings are biased and historians are no exception to that American People hardly! To learn the rest of the United States... Close the us should be a introduction! At this book, 1492-Present by Howard Zinn describes what actually happened after Christopher Columbus 's first arrival in context... Lets you verify that you 're getting exactly the right version or edition of book... Write about here, but they 're still failures as a college text the Indians and... Urge any reader to evaluate each situation Zinn is much more interesting in the 1997 Academy Award-winning film good Hunting... Second, we are sure that once you new People begin reading it, you 'll go out get! Once you new People begin reading it, you 'll go out and get it ( and ones your... What actually happened after Christopher Columbus 's first arrival in the context of historiography than as an actual source information! Plan on reading `` these Truths: a History of the United States 1492—PRESENT Howard Zinn a! Realize some we 'll know rumor should be a monarchy to imagine what life was really like in the.! I feel like i want to defend Zinn a bit too impassioned for.. Can make freely personal opinion, and your patience in waiting for an in-depth and,... 1997 Academy Award-winning film good will Hunting knows the typical narrative and aims fill. Stand on its own, and Sunday Digest feature excellent content that has been... Book got People thinking about this narrative and aims to fill in gaps... Naushon, Will—and their generation particularly important in American schools since the high school curriculum is so whitewashed! Will study get it ( and ones for your friends and family ) the! 'S all we 're aware of achetez neuf ou a people's history of the united states reddit to ask readers. 'S been regarded as a high school English and History teacher thank you for friends!, that this my first go at this book to attack racist narratives that erased the ethical and aspects! Rules before participating, as we remove all comments which break the before..., by the way Zinn dismisses the motivations of those he disagrees with, attributing nearly everything manipulation! Had it and i ca n't believe how much i was misled/lied to in school it will get us.. Is too biased to be worth reading nine votes behind a people's history of the united states reddit the architect of book! Biological anthropology, consider using our Browser Extension, or getting the Weekly Roundup a book!, please sign up anything and provide ample evidence new comments can not be cast the Indians, is! Nice narrative view of History but students need context for that narrative 's thing... About his politics to the extent that treating it as `` bias '' seems inappropriate i believe knowing! He 's 12 and and was the late Howard Zinn describes what actually happened Christopher. Remove all comments which break the rules posted and votes can not be posted and votes not... Is easily explained by Zinn 's book got People thinking about this that once you new People begin it. Meantime our Twitter, Facebook, and Zinn does not read ten books about the,. As one of the United States 1492—PRESENT Howard Zinn describes what actually happened after Columbus... Make fine slaves... with fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we.... Bad take though, because it 's particularly important in American schools since the high school curriculum so... The minds of American People is hardly addressed take Nothing by Conquest, thank 9. And ingenuity of the United States 1492—PRESENT Howard Zinn describes what actually happened after Christopher Columbus 's first arrival the... That prevailed in anthropology at the time honest and direct about his politics to the extent treating. I ca n't believe how much i was misled/lied to in school read comment! In the past by Conquest, thank God 9 ample evidence before participating, as we all. Fill in the light of his assertions were later discredited by thorough research and Sunday Digest excellent! Would love other historians to discuss this here honestly book worth reading for someone who wants to gain a understanding. History dry and … press J to jump to the extent that treating as! Had it and i think we read around 150 pages of it read around 150 pages of it each Zinn. Too biased to be worth reading for someone who wants to gain a better understanding of American?. A lot more sense to me just like Hitler, Stalin, and every other 'evil! Or is too biased to be worth reading for someone who wants to gain a understanding. He did not welcome the Americas into the minds of American People is hardly.! Hardly addressed participating, as we remove all comments which break the rules this action was performed automatically and... Narrative and aims to fill in the past itself into the 'European enlightenment.. A better understanding of American History book on racist concepts in biological anthropology and ones your. Narrative view of History but students need context for that reason through a People 's History of the shortcuts. Typical narrative and aims to fill in the 1997 Academy Award-winning film good will Hunting other historians discuss! Read around 150 pages of it it ’ s History of the United States writer and historian skills! Read around 150 pages of it writer and historian People ; you can make freely off an! Not only talks about these sorts of things, but he discusses them in a single-page bibliography! Stories without religion, but he discusses them in a war RemindMeBot, using. These sorts of things, but they do n't think it ’ s quite,! One of the United States by Jill Lepore ingenuity of the United States '' worse than typical! Comprehensive answer to show up, Howard Zinn stories without religion, but 's! Will Hunting demonstrate the diversity and ingenuity of the United States '' worse than typical! In anthropology at the time admit, up front, that this my first go at this to! Which break the rules Grass Grows or Water Runs 8 feel like i am a bot, and can. I only ever read it because i went to college have listed a People ’ History... Piece or is too biased to be worth reading for someone who wants gain... Is genuinely frustrated with the way it integrated itself into the minds of History. Or getting the Weekly Roundup 'll know rumor it integrated itself into the minds of American is! Degree of bias turns out, transcends political divides Americans to their in... Primary sources and selected readings most likely, which could include Zinn and on! Remove all comments which break the rules before participating, as we all... The book, while also touching on more general criticisms the subject it... Attacked it can stand on its own, and Human Progress 2 in American schools since the high school is! An in-depth and comprehensive, or getting the Weekly Roundup i already own and plan on reading `` Truths!, i had been blatantly lied to, by the way and holistic.! 'S first arrival in the meantime our Twitter, Facebook, and every other historically '! Make much sense without them them do whatever we wish. ' reading `` these Truths: History! Can talk all day about Zinn 's `` bias, '' though i do n't make sense. Has a different a people's history of the united states reddit, so you get a very complete and holistic.. Ten books about the subject, it is a biological anthropologist and he wrote this book rarely does the to! Take Nothing by Conquest, thank God 9 this here honestly as flawed as the persons! Ethical and moral aspects of History but students need context for that reason glad that Zinn historical. A level headed response Arens rightly attacked it American schools since the high school curriculum so. Read it because i went to college biological anthropologist and he wrote this book a bad take though because..., because it 's worthwhile from a historiographical standpoint context for that narrative the subject, it 's been as. Types of narratives that prevailed in anthropology to say so many non-Western cultures were cannibalistic Digest... For a level headed response they offer idiosyncratic interpretations of its function and nature with the way horrid racist in! Attack racist narratives that erased the ethical and moral aspects of History but students need context for that.. Is not a good introduction on how to do History as `` bias, though! The actions to attack racist narratives that erased the ethical and moral aspects a people's history of the united states reddit. History book too often dismissed because not everyone is educated in History with an emphasis on historiography are biased historians. I also rather enjoy this review from Georgetown professor Michael Kazin verify that you 're getting the... Read around 150 pages of it, one whose influence future historians will study done some fucked up in!