Paper 1

Submitted By beglane7
Words: 1045
Pages: 5
Open Document
ZINN CHAPTER 1; Columbus, The Indians, and Human Progress

1. According to Zinn, what is his main purpose for writing A People’s History of the United States?
Zinn’s purpose for writing A People’s History of the Americas is so that he can show the view of the people who have rarely been represented throughout history. The tradition of the historical textbooks is to tell it from one point of view, mainly the side of Europeans. For example, we celebrate the day that Columbus “discovered” America, however it was actually a tragic story from the point of view of the Native Americans, who have had genocide and atrocities committed on them due to the desire for Columbus to pay back his investors and to become rich by exploiting the wealth of resources that America had to offer.
2. What is Zinn’s thesis for pages 1-11?

Zinn’s thesis for pages 1-11 is that history is extremely biased. Although we view bias as an obvious favor of one side, his argument is that historians subtly have a favor of one side and manage to conceal it. An example that Zinn gave was that a respected Harvard historian Samuel Eliot Morison biased his book on Columbus in favor of Columbus. He did this not by withholding information as is common in many children textbooks but by disproportionately revealing the darker side of Columbus. A majority of Morison’s book was dedicated to promoting Columbus but a single page was dedicated to revealing the genocide that Columbus committed during his exploration of the Americas.
3. According to Zinn, how is Columbus portrayed in traditional history books? Zinn says that Columbus is portrayed traditionally as a hero and that traditional textbooks have little to no evidence that Columbus committed genocide and caused epidemics. As further evidence that traditionally Columbus is viewed as a role model, he mentions that an entire day is dedicated to his initial discovery.
4. Why does Zinn dispute Henry Kissinger’s statement: "History is the memory of states?"
Zinn disputes Henry Kissinger’s statement because the statement is under an incorrect assumption that the state is one whole rather than many classes struggling for power. He gives the example that the peace that Europe had before the French revolution was peaceful for only one group and the minorities’ situation got even worse therefore it would historically inaccurate to qualify a history of the world by nation over classes within nations.
5. Identify one early and one subsequent motive that drove Columbus to oppress indigenous peoples.
One early motive that drove Columbus to oppress indigenous peoples (in the form of taking some of the natives captive) is that he needed information about the area; the information that Columbus primarily desired was where a large supply of gold was located. Columbus knew that gold was nearby because the Arawaks wore tiny gold earrings. Long term, Columbus’ motivation for oppressing the natives was that he had investors to pay back for financing his expeditions and that he promised that there were an indigenous people that was easy to oppress and so he needed slaves in order to verify his statement. Consequently, Columbus took many natives captives or as slaves and used them in his hunt for gold and wealth.
7. Discuss the significance of Powhatan’s statement, "Why will you take by force what you may have quietly by love?"
Powhatan’s statement is significant because it shows the difference in cultures between the Natives and the European explorers. The native’s culture, according to Zinn, was through sharing of property and working as a community for survival. As such they were friendly towards the strange European people, trading to them what they considered valuable in exchange for strange items. The story of the kindness shown by Native Americans is commonly told on thanksgiving, when the “Indians” showed the Europeans how to plant crops and to survive in the rough winter. Meanwhile the Europeans, used to a
Show More

Related Documents: Paper 1

Paper #1

September 08, 2013 Paper #1 In my ninth grade year I thought that everything would be a breeze. I was completely lost the first three weeks of school. When I saw how much freedom I had being in high school, I was too excited. It was so much to be in and be a part of. I immediately wanted to join things, but I knew that I had to stay focus. High school is so easy to get off track, that if you don’t pay attention to what you are doing, and stays organize, you will fall in a whole. My…

Words 1460 - Pages 6

PAPER 1

History 2 5/1/2012 History Paper 1 Historical Figure: “Nikola Tesla” Throughout history, there have been many great scientists and inventors that have had a big influence in the United States, as well as the entire world. One of these scientists was Nikola Tesla. Many times he is referred to as the genius who changed the way in which we use energy. Nikola Tesla was born to Serbian parents on 28 June of 1856 in the village of Smiljan, in the Austrian Empire. His father was Milutin Tesla, who was…

Words 2676 - Pages 11

Paper 1

Nat Bedford CAS WR 100 K6 Paper 1 9/28/12 Women in Leach’s New Capitalist Culture: Equality in the Department Stores Historian William Leach, in The Land of Desire, argues that a new culture developed in the United States after the Civil War into the early twentieth century, shaped by capitalism. A part of this new culture, Leach claims, is the “democratization of desire” (Leach, 3). An idea that now everybody could desire whatever they wanted, there was no social class limit on what you…

Words 1357 - Pages 6

paper 1

Ana Gonzalez September 29, 2014 Diversity in Society Paper #1 In “The Pedagogy of the Oppressed” by Paulo Freire, Freire focuses on the causes of oppression, why it is difficult to stop it, and what one can do to help prevent it. Oppression takes away the humanity from those being oppressed and also those who oppress –it is the biggest problem of humanity. It is humanity’s biggest problem because many do not treat others as their own kind – instead they treat them like objects that do not have feelings…

Words 1448 - Pages 6

Paper 1

The two defining wars of the decade have been the ‘War on Terror’ in Afghanistan and ‘Operation Iraqi Freedom.’ The main beginning of both of these wars would be 9/11. The attack on America including the both World Trade Centers in New York, as well as the Pentagon in Washington, and the lost plane over Pennsylvania, was the worst American disaster in history. The attacks killed over 3,000 innocent Americans. On September 18, 2001 President George W. Bush asked congress to declare war on those who…

Words 470 - Pages 2

Paper 1

Sehar Resad Professor Lisa Ruddick (CA: Eric Powell) Introduction to Poetry 3 November 2014 Design Tactics in Robert Frost’s Design Robert Frost’s Design, is an intricate poem taking the reader on a journey of questioning whether the random occurrences in the world are mere coincidences, or alternatively, occurrences that are designed to happen or controlled with a purpose. This question is further complicated by the ideas of lightness versus darkness and good versus evil, and how something such…

Words 1751 - Pages 8

Paper 1

Health Care reform in the United States is part of an ongoing debate for years and of most recent substantial legislation. Even the Presidential Elections between Obama and Romney was a big issue on the debate platforms. I will discuss some of the key issues at hand are: In what ways have recent health care reform measures expanded or inhibited access to care? How might the changes to access influence utilization? Understanding the concept of what universal health care is and how the current care…

Words 606 - Pages 3

Paper 1

Up until recently, interracial marriage was not a widely discussed or contested subject because of its link to the history of racism and sexism. Even today, for example, many families who follow their ancestor’s footsteps on the topic of tradition forbid their children to be married off into a random family. Similarly, in the seventeenth century colonial America, there were many strict laws that were enforced to punish blacks, women, slaves, servants, and other classes of people who engaged in…

Words 1126 - Pages 5

Paper 1

Unit 8 Project Courtney Cook June 12, 2010 Employment and Staffing Dr. Sherri Beasley Background checks are a useful tool for employers to determine the fit of a candidate to the organization. They pull up any issues or discrepancies that may not have been provided by the candidate during the interview. It is very important that during the interview, the candidate is advised that there will be a background and reference check conducted so that they cannot say they did not know. After…

Words 937 - Pages 4

Paper 1

Hoang Le HIST 1302 – 502 Paper 2 11/19/2014 The Black Power movement was a collective social and political expression of pride, strength, and self-determination during the late 1960s and 1970s in the United States. It was a logical progress of the African Americans civil rights movement. However, the era of Black Power movement overlapped with an expansion of African Americans’ political power development and therefore, it was interpreted differently within and outside the black communities. The…

Words 458 - Pages 2