Howard Zinn Chapter One Essay - 663 Words

Columbus has always been portrayed as an enlightened, peaceful explorer who â€Å"discovered† a new world, and became friends with the native people. Howard Zinn’s view on Columbus’s encounter with the natives is an entirely different perspective. Zinn describes Columbus as a man who is willing to torture and kill others to be able to accomplish what he wants; in this case he wanted to obtain gold and other resources to take back with him to Spain. When Columbus and his men arrived to the islands, he noticed that the natives were generous, and accommodating because they willingly traded everything they owned and brought them such things like: food, water, and gifts. Since the beginning the natives offered all of their hospitality to Columbus†¦show more content†¦He became desperate to pay the dues back to the king and queen, so he order every native older than fourteen to collect a certain quantity of gold by three months. Once they had collected the amo unt, they would receive a copper to put around their neck, those without it had their hands cut off and bled to death. Many felt it was impossible to do this, and tried escaping but were always found and killed. When it was finally clear that there was no gold left, they took them all as slave labor to huge estates which are called encomiendas. Columbus’s big plan for Hispaniola since the beginning was to take advantage of the natives and take their land, and the gold he believed was located there. He built the first fort in the Western Hemisphere, and left some of his men to find and store gold there. Columbus had to ask for a little more help from their majesties, he convinced them by saying he would take them â€Å"as much gold as they need ... and as many slaves as they ask† (Zinn,6 ) Columbus’s plans affected the natives, in many ways; first of all they were going to lose their land, and also they were going to be taken captive for slave labor. Howard Zinn not only introduced a new perspective on Christopher Columbus, but he changed the way I viewed things. I never knew how much killings, and torture was put upon the natives in the searching of the â€Å"New World†. I learned how the hero I thought Columbus was, in reality was more like a villain. He didn’tShow MoreRelatedHistorical Contridictions in Slavery1494 Words   |  6 Pagestimes and dates, hence popular historians such as Howard Zinn, Paul Johnson, and Stanley Elkins twist historical events in slavery to promote their ideologies. Within Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, slavery is used as a provocateur, to persuade and create an assumption that the U.S government did not care about equal rights for black people. In the chapter titled Slavery without Submission, Emancipation without Freedom, Zinn immediately uses the cruelty of the slaves, to proveRead MoreAnalysis of A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn696 Words   |  3 Pagesenlightening read. It both teaches and inspires. Howard Zinn has offered us a perspective of the real story of American history heretofore unavailable to us – history from the perspective of real people – immigrant laborers, American women, the working poor, factory workers, African and Native Americans. A Peoples History of the United States, originally published in 1980, as a work of non-fiction by the political scientist and American historian, Howard Zinn. Zinn seeks to show us American history throughRead MoreAnalysis Of Howard Zinn s The United States 1224 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"There is an underside to every age about which history does not often speak, because history is written from records left by the privileged.† ― Howard Zinn, A People s History of the United States Zinn once remarked, â€Å"Objectivity is impossible and it is also undesirable. That is, if it were possible it would be undesirable, because if you have any kind of a social aim, if you think history should serve society in some way; should serve the progress of the human race; should serve justice in someRead MoreA People s History Of The United States2575 Words   |  11 PagesSujay Deshpande Mr. Lifland AP US History 1 August 2015 A People’s History of the United States: By Howard Zinn Chapter 1: Chapter one of Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States discusses the differences between the culture and attitudes of the Europeans and the Native Americans. It further describes how the Europeans came to the New World and committed genocide against the Native Americans in order to get land and gold from them, which displayed the cruelty and greed of the EuropeanRead MoreThe Lies My Teacher Told Me And A People s History Of The United States1691 Words   |  7 Pagesimportant details which introduce the focuses in a lighter manner and leaves the learner asking questions. In their novels, The Lies My Teacher Told Me and A People’s History of the United States, James Loewen and Howard Zinn divulged the missing facts that textbooks omit. Loewen and Zinn highpoint the important facts that people were not exposed to in the textbooks or other novels. In the case of young children, it is understandable for teachers to leave out such facts and only promote what is relevantRead More Howard Zinns A Review of A People’s History of The United States1212 Words   |  5 Pagesfrom 1492-present. It is a view of history from the common man’s perspective, rather than the view of the leaders and upper class of this country.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The book revolves around the views of history from the oppressed point of view. Howard Zinn makes it clear from the beginning that he will value the views and experiences of the oppressed over the view of the oppressor. He describes the conquest from the point of view of the Native American population. He describes slavery in theRead MoreEssay on Opposition to the Establishment of the American Colonies635 Words   |  3 Pages In this chapter Howard Zinn goes into detail about how the American Revolution was faced with opposition and conflict while trying to establish the Colonies. In spite of the oppositions there was still considerable growth and expansion by the Colonies. Although expansion had taken place, there were some differences between the elites and the poor whites among the Colonies which resulted in them wanting political freedom from Britain. The constant unjust treatment against the poor whites was causingRead MoreChapter 3 of A Peoples History of the United States by Howard Zinn614 Words   |  3 PagesPoor people had always been the backbone of the U.S. Their contribution to building America has always been overlooked. Rich people look upon the lower class with distaste, calling the unfortunate ones, â₠¬Å"savages.† This is why Zinn named Chapter 3 of his book, â€Å"People’s History,† â€Å"Persons of Mean and Vile Conditions.† He wanted to shed light on those who were taken advantage of while history was in the making— the slaves, the poor people, the Indians also known as the â€Å"persons of Mean and Vile ConditionsRead MoreI Consider Myself A Great Patriot1324 Words   |  6 Pagespatriotic: an American flag t-shirt; red, white, and blue shoes, and even an American themed suit at swim practice. At night, I go to bed in my ‘Murica sheets with Captain America’s shield hanging above my bed. I am a great patriot!! Yeah right. No one wakes up saying this. In fact, all of it is entirely made up (except for the Captain America’s shield part). Thus, if it makes so little sense for everything that I do to be purely inspired by patriotism, why do we assume that the founding fathers ofRead MoreAnalysis Of The American Pageant By David Zinn969 Words   |  4 PagesHistory Paper After reading a chapter of The American Pageant by David Kennedy, and a chapter of A Peoples History of the United States by Howard Zinn, they both discuss slavery but in two different contexts. Slavery is a huge part of American history, it has shaped America in ways that are still lasting today. Zinn focuses more on the hardships of the slaves from the shipment, through the cruel work. Kennedy tends to focus more on the trade of slaves and how it shaped the settlers. Zinns