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Events are already moving in certain deadly directions, and to be neutral means to accept that. Prolific and without pretension, Zinn chronicled the civil rights and anti—Vietnam War movements for the general public. His writing exposed the broader world to the realities facing ordinary Black people across the South, while also challenging the assumptions that the United States, by the sheer volume of its bombing campaign in Vietnam, could impose its will on that tiny country.
The power of Howard Zinn the writer has overshadowed his fascinating history as an active participant in these powerful social movements. John Tirman , the head of the MIT Center for International Studies since , notes that Duberman fills in Zinn's history beyond what other sources "commonly focused on" following his death, highlighting not only Zinn's role as orator and activist, but also "his considerable intellectual achievements," including how "he challenged the notion of objectivity.
Further, Tirman notes the omission of a discussion on the decline of the left through the '60s and '70s.
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Nonetheless, Tirman says that "Duberman's biography captures what was so attractive about this radical historian. Michael Kammen , a professor of American cultural history at Cornell , say that "[Zinn] could not be more fortunate in his amicable biographer. It is laudatory where praise is warranted yet critical in many respects, too. Kirkus Reviews suggests this book is best for readers who have a favourable impression of Zinn, for Duberman "clearly has no interest in challenging [Zinn's] fundamental underpinnings.
Contents move to sidebar hide. Chapter 6, "The Intimately Oppressed" describes resistance to inequalities in the lives of women in the early years of the U. If you look through high school textbooks and elementary school textbooks in American history, you will find Andrew Jackson the frontiersman, soldier, democrat, man of the people—not Jackson the slaveholder, land speculator, executioner of dissident soldiers, exterminator of Indians.
Zinn writes that President James Polk agitated for war for the purpose of imperialism. Zinn argues that the war was unpopular, but that some newspapers of that era misrepresented the popular sentiment.
Chapter 9, "Slavery Without Submission, Emancipation Without Freedom" addresses slave rebellions , the abolition movement , the Civil War , and the effect of these events on African-Americans. Zinn writes that the large-scale violence of the war was used to end slavery instead of the small-scale violence of the rebellions because the latter may have expanded beyond anti-slavery, resulting in a movement against the capitalist system.
He writes that the war could limit the freedom granted to African-Americans by allowing the government control over how that freedom was gained. Chapter 10, "The Other Civil War", covers the Anti-Rent movement , the Dorr Rebellion , the Flour Riot of , the New York City draft riots , the Molly Maguires , the rise of labor unions , the Lowell girls movement, and other class struggles centered around the various depressions of the 19th century.
He describes the abuse of government power by corporations and the efforts by workers to resist those abuses.
Howard zinn communist: Howard Zinn (August 24, – January 27, ) [1] was an American historian, playwright, philosopher, socialist intellectual and World War II veteran. He was chair of the history and social sciences department at Spelman College, [2] and a political science professor at Boston University.
Chapter 11, "Robber Barons and Rebels" covers the rise of industrial corporations such as the railroads and banks and their transformation into the nation's dominant institutions, with corruption resulting in both industry and government. The Teller Amendment is discussed. Zinn portrays the wars as racist and imperialist and opposed by large segments of the American people.
Chapter 13, "The Socialist Challenge", covers the rise of socialism and anarchism as popular political ideologies in the United States. Du Bois , and the Progressive Party which Zinn portrays as driven by fear of radicalism. Chapter 14, "War Is the Health of the State" covers World War I and the anti-war movement that happened during it, which was met with the heavily enforced Espionage Act of Zinn argues that the United States entered the war in order to expand its foreign markets and economic influence.
Zinn states that, despite popular belief, the s were not a time of prosperity, and the problems of the Depression were simply the chronic problems of the poor extended to the rest of the society. Also covered is the Communist Party 's attempts to help the poor during the Depression. Chapter 16, "A People's War? Zinn, a veteran of the war himself, notes that "it was the most popular war the US ever fought", [ 22 ] but states that this support may have been manufactured through the institutions of American society.
He cites various instances of opposition to fighting in some cases greater than those during World War I as proof. Zinn also argues that the US's true intention was not fighting against systematic racism, since the US had this itself, such as with the Jim Crow laws leading to opposition to the war from African-Americans. In accordance with American revisionist historian Gar Alperovitz , another argument made by Zinn is that the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not necessary, as the U.
The chapter continues into the Cold War , which Zinn writes was used by the U. Zinn believes this was possible because both conservatives and liberals willingly worked together in the name of anti-Communism. Chapter 17, " 'Or Does It Explode? Zinn argues that the government began making reforms against discrimination although without making fundamental changes for the sake of changing its international image, but often did not enforce the laws that it passed.
Zinn also argues that while nonviolent tactics may have been required for Southern civil rights activists, militant actions such as those proposed by Malcolm X were needed to solve the problems of black ghettos. Zinn argues that America was fighting a war that it could not win, as the Vietnamese people were in favor of the government of Ho Chi Minh and opposed the regime of Ngo Dinh Diem , thus allowing them to keep morale high.
Meanwhile, the American military's morale was very low, as many soldiers were put off by the atrocities which they were made to take part in, such as the My Lai massacre.
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Zinn also tries to dispel the popular belief that opposition to the war was mainly among college students and middle-class intellectuals, using statistics from the era to show higher opposition from the working class. Zinn argues that the troops themselves also opposed the war, citing desertions and refusals to go to war, as well as movements such as Vietnam Veterans Against the War.
People and events from the prison movement covered include George Jackson , the Attica Prison riots , and Jerry Sousa. Chapter 20, "The Seventies: Under Control? Zinn argues that the resignation of President Richard Nixon and the exposure of crimes committed by the CIA and FBI during the decade were done by the government in order to regain support from the American people without making fundamental changes to the system.
According to Zinn, Gerald Ford 's presidency continued the same basic policies of the Nixon administration.
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Bush administrations and their effects on both the American people and foreign countries. Zinn argues that the Democratic and Republican parties keep the government essentially the same, maintaining policies favorable for corporations and a militant foreign policy, no matter which party was in power. Zinn uses similarities among the three administrations' methods to argue for this.
Chapter 22, "The Unreported Resistance", covers several movements that happened during the Carter-Reagan-Bush years that were ignored by much of the mainstream media. Chapter 23 , "The Coming Revolt of the Guards", covers Zinn's theory on a possible future radical movement against inequality in America. Zinn argues that there will eventually be a movement made up not only of groups previously involved in radical change such as labor organizers, black radicals, Native Americans, feminists , but also members of the middle class who are starting to become discontented with the state of the nation.
Zinn expects this movement to use "demonstrations, marches, civil disobedience ; strikes and boycotts and general strikes ; direct action to redistribute wealth, to reconstruct institutions, to revamp relationships". Zinn argues that despite Clinton's claims that he would bring change, his presidency kept many things the same.
Zinn argues that attacks on the U. Bush , but by grievances with U. Professor Zinn writes with an enthusiasm rarely encountered in the leaden prose of academic history, and his text is studded with telling quotations from labor leaders, war resisters and fugitive slaves. There are vivid descriptions of events that are usually ignored, such as the Great Railroad Strike of and the brutal suppression of the Philippine independence movement at the turn of this century.
Professor Zinn's chapter on Vietnam—bringing to life once again the free-fire zones, secret bombings, massacres and cover-ups—should be required reading for a new generation of students now facing conscription. She loved theater and took to the stage. She loved the sea and swam in the coldest of waters. She loved literature and was always reading.
I had total faith in her literary sensibility, so she was the only one who read my writing before I gave it to the publisher. She would undoubtedly suggest that I shorten it. She loved people, and they loved her, instantly.
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Throughout his life, Zinn responded to letters he received from all over the world. A New York University student reviewing his archived letters at the Tamiment Library made note of his extensive correspondence with prisoners. Howard Zinn died on January 27, , in Santa Monica from a heart attack. There was an outpouring of tributes from around the world and public events to commemorate his life and legacy.
He ended his autobiography with these encouraging words:. The future is an endless succession of presents, and to live now as we think humans should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory. Howard Zinn August 24, —January 27, was a historian, author, professor, playwright, and activist. Images: Howard Zinn Revocable Trust.
View more in the Photo Gallery. More In-depth Biography. The Early Years Born Aug. He describes this experience as a turning point: From that moment on, I was no longer a liberal, a believer in the self-correcting character of American democracy. Jeffferson High School yearbook photo of Howard Zinn, In the Air Force.
Photographer: Unknown. Source: Howard Zinn Revocable Trust. While doing back breaking work as a warehouse loader and with Roz working part-time while raising two small children, Zinn earned a B. What he also found was that below the surface of this quiet, orderly college—resistance to the current social order was brewing. Students would come to their house to use the typewriter, for meetings, for rides, and for advice.
As Carol Polsgrove explained , Minutes before a sit-in began, he alerted the newspapers. See correspondence from Tamiment Library. In , Spelman president Beverly Daniel Tatum, committed to making amends, invited Zinn to give the commencement address.