CHAPTER 1, pg. 1-22
Columbus, the Indians and human progress.
Directions: read the above chapter and answer the following questions on this sheet.
Major Question: Is Christopher Columbus a Hero?
1. According to Zinn, what is his main purpose for writing A People’s History of the United States?
2. According to Zinn, how is Columbus portrayed in traditional history books?
3. What is Zinn’s basic criticism of historian Samuel Eliot Morison’s book, Christopher Columbus, Mariner?
4. What major issues does Bartolome de las Casas bring up regarding Spanish expeditions in the Caribbean?
5. Identify one early and one subsequent motive that drove Columbus to oppress indigenous peoples.
6. What was the ultimate fate of the Arawak Indians?
7. Compare the strategies and motives underlying the conquest of the Aztecs by Cortez and the conquest of the Incas by Pizzaro.
8. What were the major causes of war between the Powhatans and the English settlers?
9 Discuss the significance of Powhatan’s statement, "Why will you take by force = what you may have quietly by love?"
10. Explain Governor John Winthrop’s legal and biblical justification for seizing Indian land.
11. Explain the main tactic of warfare used by the English against the Indians.
12. According to Roger Williams, how did the English usually justify their attacks on the Indians?
13. What ultimately happened to the estimated 10 million Indians living in North America at the time of Columbus’ arrival?
14. How does Zinn attempt to prove that the Indians were not inferior? Provide examples.
15. There is relatively little disagreement among historians about what happened to the Tainos. Why do you think this story is not more widely taught in school?
14. Given what you have learned in this chapter why do you think Columbus Day is an official holiday for federal employees in the United States?
Howard Zinn: A People’s History of the United States
CHAPTER 2, Pg 23-38
Drawing the Color Line
Directions: read the above chapter and answer the following questions on this sheet.
Major Question: What are the origins of Racism in the United States?
1. According to Zinn, what is the root of racism in America?
2. How does Howard Zinn describe the way the “color line” was drawn in early America? Do you think the drawing of this line was intentional or unintentional?
3. Describe the colonial period referred to as the “Starving time.”
4. Why did Virginians Massacre Indians instead of enslaving them?
5. List a few reasons why Africans were considered "better" slaves than Indians in Virginia?
6. Describe the conditions that slaves on ships coming to America ("Middle Passage").
7. What was the position of the Catholic church (according to Father Sandoval) on slavery?
8. What evidence exists that America’s slaves did not accept their fate easily?
9. Why did slave owners fear poor whites?
10. Why do you think slavery is so often referred to as the “peculiar institution”?
Howard Zinn: A People’s History of the United States
CHAPTER 3 Pg 39-58
Persons of Mean and Vile Condition
Directions: read the above chapter and answer the following questions on this sheet.
1. What was the underlying cause of Bacon’s Rebellion?
2. What was the "double motive" of the Virginia government vis-à-vis Bacon’s Rebellion?
3. What groups of people took part in Bacon’s Rebellion?
4. Howard Zinn claims, “It was a complex chain of oppression in Virginia” (p. 42). What was this “chain of oppression”? What evidence does he provide to enforce this contention?
5. Explain indentured servitude (also known as the "headright system").
6. How did the voyage of indentured servants to America compare with the "Middle Passage."
7. What generally happened to indentured servants after they became free?
8. How does Howard Zinn support his belief that “class lines hardened through the colonial period” (A People’s History, p. 47)?
10. Explain the statement: "The country therefore was not "born free" but born slave and free, servant and master, tenant and landlord, poor and rich."
11. How did the rich manage to keep Indians "at a distance?"
12. What was the probable reason why Parliament made transportation to the New World a legal punishment for crime?
13. Explain the statement: "race was becoming more and more practical."
14. How did the development of a middle class help keep the wealthy in power?
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
In Columbus, the Indians and Human Progress, Zinn exposes the discovery of America from the Arawaks’ perspective, whom he describes as hospitable, leaving aside the conquerors’ and colonizers’ traditional history. According to Zinn, the Indians who inhabited America before the arrival of Columbus did not live in complete barbarism as the curricular programs taught in the country's educational centers describe it, nor Columbus was a simple sailor en route to India as the stories we learn as children present him. That is to say, Columbus and the other conquerors did not rescue the Indians from a life of barbarism or misery because neither the conquerors were heroes, nor the Indians needed to be rescued. As Zinn points out at the end of his text,…
- 186 Words
- 1 Page
Good Essays -
In chapter one, "Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress" the reader is informed about early Native American civilization in North America and talks a little bit about the Bahamas. Zinn talks a great deal about the genocide that Christopher Columbus and his crew committed along the way. In this chapter we also discuss Pizaro and Iroquois. In this chapter the author quotes Columbus numerous times and I personally think that shows that his opinions rest in the hands of Columbus. I think that In Zinn’s writing you can see the biased opinions that he has. When I read this book I get the feeling that Howard Zinn believes his opinions are the only ones that matter; it seems to me that he is very cocky in his writing. Zinn’s views on things like Columbus are very different from the average writers.…
- 463 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Where to begin with the multitude of facts left out? Such hints equating material inequities with injustice abound in Zinn’s history. Zinn banks on the fact that schools produce graduates with only “a smattering of knowledge about the American past” at best—and almost no understanding about the foundations and intellectual history of our government. Other questions come up in regards to the rationale of our system of government. Zinn, in what has now become standard practice, indicts the founders for leaving out of the idea of all men being “created equal” black men, property-less men, and women. Then he preempts the reply that such exclusions have since been corrected by claiming that The problem of democracy in the post-Revolutionary society was not, however, Constitutional limitations on voting. It lay deeper, beyond the Constitution, in the division of society into rich and poor. For if some people had great wealth and great influence; if they had the land, the money, the newspapers, the church, the educational system—how could voting, however broad, cut into such power? There was still another problem: wasn’t it the nature of representative government, even when most broadly based, to be conservative, to prevent tumultuous change?20 Indeed, this sets up the basis for the rest of Zinn’s critique through over 700 tedious pages. All of Zinn’s analyses of succeeding events and developments follow from the flawed premise and the unwillingness to acknowledge the fact that his question had already been answered by the founders. Differences arise also from Zinn’s goals. Zinn is after “tumultuous change.” He seeks to overthrow the government rather than reform it. And he will display this view in his academic activities, especially when it comes to the civil rights movement. The need for “tumultuous” change will inform like-minded radicals who will keep raising the bar even as…
- 4694 Words
- 19 Pages
Powerful Essays -
2. There are many scholarly disagreements about the research described in 1491. If our knowledge of the past is based on the findings of scholars, what happens to the past when scholars don’t agree? How convincing is anthropologist Dean R. Snow’s statement, "you can make the meager…
- 10047 Words
- 41 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Howard Zinn challenges the American identity by suggesting that America is just as bad as Great Britain in that the countries are both incredibly elitist. Going back to the founding fathers, the U.S. has an uneven distribution of wealth, and the founding fathers wanted to oppress the lower class. Once the lower class realized this, riots were held against the elites.…
- 285 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
1. Howard Zinn, author of A Peoples History of the United States believes that American history is influenced the most by the following concepts: class, racism, and a bias against the government elitists. Zinn is able to showcase these ideas by featuring the viewpoint of those who are commonly swept under the rug; the conquered, enslaved, worked and dominated. Zinn brings to light that America has been run by rich white males for most of this nations existence, and the assumption that the upper, middle and lower class all want the same things is utterly nonsensical. Racism, one of the largest parts of American history, is a constant theme throughout the book. Whether it be the black people of Africa, being enslaved and traded like inanimate objects or the Indians being massacred and killed off by disease. Zinn focused his book on the opinions and viewpoints of those not spoken for and made it clear of his opinions of the rich white men that have controlled the United States for most of it's existence. In the chapter The Coming Revolt of the Guards he showcases the idea that most American people have a distrust for the government considering most of them are of the upper class. Zinns ideas, throughout the book, stress a basis of equality over freedom, an active national government over state government, greater women's rights, and gave no religious opinions making him more secular by omission. These ideas by definition are of a liberal standpoint, making Zinn's book with more liberal contributions.…
- 843 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The readings in Zinn’s book added to my previous knowledge of the practice and experience of slavery in this country. I had no idea that there were so many slave uprisings. One secret keeper wrote to another, “[I]t will not be long before it will take place, and I am fully satisfied we shall be in full possession of the [w]hole country in a few weeks” (Zinn and Arnove 53). This illustrates how confident the slaves were regarding their plan for freedom and insurrection. Additionally, I already knew about how badly the slaves were treated, but their personal accounts were heartbreaking. An unknown slave wrote, “ We have no Property. We have no Wives. We have no Children. We have no City. No Country. But we have a Father in Heaven, and we are…
- 457 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
the United States? Howard Zinn’s main purpose for writing A People’s History of the United States is to give history in an un-biased manner. For example, he says that he will not glorify any movement and denounce any ‘bad guy’ in history; he will give information as it should be given. Fairly.…
- 798 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
3. What argument does Henry provide against the notion that the colonies are too weak to fight the British?…
- 1135 Words
- 3 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Although often viewed as inferior, savage and helpless, many historians are starting to discover the intelligence and wisdom the Indians had and shared with the colonists that came to America so long ago. As the settlers slowly began to create a new world on the already inhabited North America, they were plagued with starvation due to a severe drought in the area. Due to the dry lands and the settlers expectations to “rely on Indians for food and tribute,” (Norton 17) they were disappointed to find that the Indians were not so keen to handing out food and help to the strangers that have just come onto their land and begun to settle in such a time of severe weather and starvation. As time goes on, both the Indians and the Englishmen realize they both have what the other needs; tools from the white men and crops, land and knowledge from the Indians. As a result, the chief of Tsenacomoco, Powhatan, and colonist, Captain John Smith on an ideally peaceful, mutualistic relationship to ensure the survival of both civilizations. This agreement will leave the groups in cahoots for 100 of years leading to some disastrous scenarios and betrayals.…
- 689 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
2. Write down the five most important things Zinn says about Columbus and the two most important things Zinn says about the writing of history.…
- 623 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
2. According to Howard Zinn, whose voices are the ones often neglected by/ left out of history?…
- 2164 Words
- 9 Pages
Good Essays -
Explain Zinn’s opinion on the event(s) in the chapter, and explain what you think about Zinn’s opinion. (How does Zinn portray the event(s)? What spin did he put on history that maybe wouldn’t be in a traditional interpretation of history such as a textbook? Do you agree with Zinn’s interpretation or do you think he’s leaving things out that may change a person’s viewpoint?) Note: this is not a chapter summary. You should mention the main topics of the chapter, but only in order to explain Zinn’s opinion on those topics. For example for Chapter 1 think about the following: What is Zinn’s opinion of Columbus and early European settlers in the Americas? What is Zinn’s opinion on exploration and conquest? How does Zinn view the Native Americans? Etc.…
- 796 Words
- 3 Pages
Better Essays -
“He had persuaded the king and queen of Spain to finance an expedition to the lands" (1)…
- 1825 Words
- 8 Pages
Powerful Essays -
5. How might the history of New England have differed if the Indians had won King Philip’s war?…
- 317 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays