Ap History Essay Example
Zinn Questions – A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn
Chapter 1 – Columbus, the Indians and Human Purpose 1. According to Zinn, what is the main purpose for writing A Peoples History of the United States? * Zinns purpose for writing this book is because he wants to tell the various point of views of the common people. 2. What is Zinns thesis for pages 1-11? * Zinns thesis for the first eleven pages is to tell/ describe events the way they happened. He starts with Columbus but he doesn’t complement him for being a hero but as a fake. He described him as he was. 3. According to Zinn, how is Columbus portrayed in traditional history books? * Columbus was portrayed as a hero, a peaceful explorer, glorious. But Columbus portrayed by Zinn was full of lust for gold, greedy, and a torturer to gain things he wanted. 4. Why does Zinn dispute Henry Kissinger’s statement, “History is the memory of states.”? * Zinn disputes Henry Kissinger’s statement because he thinks that no one has the right to take the memory of their nation as their own. 5. What is Zinns basic criticism of historian Samuel Eliot Morison’s book Christopher Columbus? * Zinns basic criticism of the book is that Morison praises Columbus too much, he goes overboard. According to Zinn, Columbus was a bad guy. Zinn was more on the people’s side, and would have liked to see their view on things. 6. What major issues does Bartolome de las Casas bring up regarding Spanish expeditions in the Caribbean? * Bartolome brings up the treatment of the native people by the Spaniards. He tells about the living styles and what kind of people the Indians were. He also says that the Spaniards grow more and more conceited. He described how the natives died, disappeared, and were killed by the Spaniards. 7. Identify one early and one subsequent motive that drove Columbus to oppress indigenous people. * Gold was a sign of wealth. Columbus was greedy and
Chapter 1 – Columbus, the Indians and Human Purpose 1. According to Zinn, what is the main purpose for writing A Peoples History of the United States? * Zinns purpose for writing this book is because he wants to tell the various point of views of the common people. 2. What is Zinns thesis for pages 1-11? * Zinns thesis for the first eleven pages is to tell/ describe events the way they happened. He starts with Columbus but he doesn’t complement him for being a hero but as a fake. He described him as he was. 3. According to Zinn, how is Columbus portrayed in traditional history books? * Columbus was portrayed as a hero, a peaceful explorer, glorious. But Columbus portrayed by Zinn was full of lust for gold, greedy, and a torturer to gain things he wanted. 4. Why does Zinn dispute Henry Kissinger’s statement, “History is the memory of states.”? * Zinn disputes Henry Kissinger’s statement because he thinks that no one has the right to take the memory of their nation as their own. 5. What is Zinns basic criticism of historian Samuel Eliot Morison’s book Christopher Columbus? * Zinns basic criticism of the book is that Morison praises Columbus too much, he goes overboard. According to Zinn, Columbus was a bad guy. Zinn was more on the people’s side, and would have liked to see their view on things. 6. What major issues does Bartolome de las Casas bring up regarding Spanish expeditions in the Caribbean? * Bartolome brings up the treatment of the native people by the Spaniards. He tells about the living styles and what kind of people the Indians were. He also says that the Spaniards grow more and more conceited. He described how the natives died, disappeared, and were killed by the Spaniards. 7. Identify one early and one subsequent motive that drove Columbus to oppress indigenous people. * Gold was a sign of wealth. Columbus was greedy and