Zinn presents the major historical facts of the first 250 years of American history starting from when Christopher Columbus's Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria landed in the Bahamas on October 12, 1492. It was there that Europeans and Native Americans first came into contact; the Arawak natives came out to greet the whites, and the whites were only interested in finding the gold. "They ... brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they owned...They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features... They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane... They would make fine servants... With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want" (Zinn 1).…
The Last Colonial Massacre by Greg Grandin is about the Panzós massacre of the Q’eqchi Mayans in 1978. This was unfortunately a violent precursor the Scorched-Earth campaign of the 80’s that would kill many more Q’eqchi. This book, while examining an individual event on a personalized level through the life of Adelina Caal, a focus of the last chapter, this book shows the effects of Neoliberalism, the US’s involvement in Latin America in the Cold War, and ethnic tension stemming from cultural differences and the racial caste system of Spanish rule.…
Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin Baron von Steuben was his name. He has become an exceptionally respected figure in European and American history. His services offered during the Revolution may be his most celebrated contributions today. Von Steuben played a critical role in training the American troops for battle during the Revolution and set the precedent for military practices today.…
Over a span of about twenty years Lonetree explores how new museum theory changed interpretation of the same subject and how different museums interpreted decolonization to varying levels of success. Lonetree argues that successful examples of decolonization in Native American museums includes tying the history to the Native community, relating the history to pre-colonization until today, and including the hard truths of western colonization on Natives. She sums up her idea of successful museum interpretation as incorporating “one of the most important goals...is to assist communities in their efforts to address the legacies of historical unresolved grief by speaking the hard truths of colonialism and thereby creating spaces for healing and…
In this paper I discuss what point Horace Miner was trying to make is his paper titled "Body Ritual among the Nacirema". Horace’s paper is about America but in the perspective that America is a tribe of third world country or such. I go through the individual topics, which mostly make fun of American’s vanity, and I describe what he is really talking about. I try to summaries Horace’s paper and put it in “American” terms.…
The material is presented in three parts. The first section introduces students to archaeology and pseudoarchaeology (literally “fake archaeology”), along with the basic concepts of science and anthropology that are necessary for a full understanding of both of these pursuits. In the second part, we apply the lessons of the first section to a series of pseudoarchaeological claims, ranging from the Cardiff Giant and Piltdown hoax to Atlantis and the Crystal Skull. We ask why do people make such claims, and why does the public embrace them? The third part surveys the real marvels of the ancient past, from Easter Island and Machu Picchu to Stonehenge and the Great Zimbabwe. We…
In Horace Miner’s “Body Ritual among the Nacirema,” the reader is introduced to an interesting group called the Nacirema, whose culture is then described and dissected in very tribal and primitive terms. At first, it is unclear as to where or how this culture exists under the guidelines and practices and beliefs its society maintains; but, the reader soon discovers, with contextual clues and a bit of pondering, that Nacirema is actually American culture. Miner uses creative contextual clues and diction to confuse the reader, letting the discovery and satire push his purpose, as well as allow reflection on how certain societies tend to inaccurately…
Leading up to the Great Depression, his father worked as a ditch digger and window washer, while his mother ran a neighborhood candy store. Growing up during tough times and living in a working-class household, Zinn’s family had little access to educational materials or financial resources, so he was sent to work in a shipyard before he turned 18. Coming from humble beginnings, Howard relates well with the stories of those who come from impoverished or minority backgrounds, and as a result, he focuses on highlighting their standpoints and experiences in his works. In A People’s History of the United States, chapter one introduces readers to the beginnings of the United States when Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas and the Spaniards began their efforts to colonize the New World. Within the chapter, Zinn uses primary sources to describe the way Indian women were treated in society, highlight the relationships among the Spaniards and the indigenous peoples, and expose the brutality of the times.…
If loss of egalitarian values were a detrimental factor in the formation of river valley then the scale of hierarchy, patriarchy, and monarchy in the second wave empires could be considered ruinous. This unfair treatment of human beings was an unfortunate trait that both civilizations and empires shared. Hierarchies of class came about as one of the major turning points of human history in the first civilizations though unequal distribution of wealth and resources, ant were solidified by laws that kept them in place. In Mesopotamia, the Code of Hammurabi declared that if a commoner was strike to a man of his rank he would only have to pay a small fine, but if he dared to touch a man of a senior rank he would be reprimanded severely by being publicly whipped. Likewise, class differences played an important role in second-wave civilizations. In the Mauryan and Gupta empires, the caste system was an indicator of spiritual development, one 's position, and whether or not they were pure. Additionally, under Qin and Han dynasties there was sever class hierarchy with dominance of bureaucratic elites which gave rise to peasant rebellions. Patriarchy was also present in both river-valley societies and second wave empires. What started out as men and women playing equal roles in society soon turned to women staying at home and taking care of children while men went out to farm and fight in wars. This led to ideology that men were to be regarded as higher than women in society. Evidence of this can also be observed in Mesopotamian laws which dictated that men could hold certain privileges while women could not, such as being considered as a victim of rape. This way of thinking can also be found in Roman society. Centuries of empire building and warfare led to idea that a man could hold absolute control over his wife and had the right to kill her…
At night when you think your cities are deserted, they will throng with the returning hosts that once filled them and still love this beautiful land. The White Man will never be alone. Let him be just and deal kindly with my people, for the dead are not powerless.” As Seattle wraps up his speech, his tone shifts again from uncertainty, to certainty, to triumphant. Although the President, and the Governor may take over the land, the indians will always win because “the dead is not powerless.”…
Tindall, George Brown & Shi, David Emory.: America: A Narrative History Ninth Edition Volume II. Norton & Company, Inc. New York, New York 2013…
My immediate response to Las Casas’ account was one of sorrow, dread, and horror. I cannot even express in words the emotions that ran through my mind and soul as I read this terrifying report exposing the truth of our country’s beginnings. My voice cracked as I read aloud Las Casas’ words, and I felt myself holding back tears as a roar against injustice raged within me. I wish I could believe Las Casas was a liar, but his brutal honesty wipes away every possible doubt.…
Nettels Curtis P., The Roots of American Civilization A History of American Life F.S. Crofis & CO New York 1945…
Complex societies are a relatively recent socio-political development. For the vast majority of its history, the human race has lived in hunter-gatherer groups and not in state-level civilizations. In order for a civilization to be recognized as a state level society, it must meet certain criteria. There must be centralized political power, social classes based on access to resources, occupational specialization, coercive military or police force, multiple levels of decision making, writing or complex record keeping, and urban centers controlling periphery.1 There are a variety of competing theories of the origins of state level societies. In “A Theory of the Origin of the State,” Robert Carneiro argues that warfare is the prime mechanism for the development of the state level society while it must take place under certain conditions. In “Generalized Coercion and Inequality: The Basis of State Power in the Early Civilization,” on the other hand, Bruce Trigger argues for generalized coercion where people give up their autonomy to adopt and obey a hierarchical structure. Lastly, in “Hydraulic Civilization,” Karl Wittfogel proposes a voluntaristic theory where leaders coordinate projects for obtaining water and people have to give up their individual sovereignty so that the large-scale irrigation system can be carried out. I will argue in this essay that Robert Carneiro’s warfare theory is the most applicable and fits the most evidence of the archeological and historical records of early civilizations. Let us now turn to Robert Carneiro’s ideas of environmental circumscription, social circumscription and resource concentration.…
In Howl by Allen Ginsburg, he speaks about the scenery of the world he lives in. Jazz and drugs circulated in a seemingly grim setting. He praises poets as some of the greatest minds of his generation and spoke about homosexuality and graphic sexual descriptions. The Port Huron Statement by Students for a Democratic Society spoke about race and alienation as two focal points to improve and be wary about for a better America. Racism and discrimination have been around since Columbus’ discovery of this continent and not all too much has changed since. There is a decline of utopia and hope in our social society. The horrors of the twentieth century, symbolized in the gas-ovens…