Howard Zinn, A Crusher History
INTRODUCTION
This paper offers a critical of my prespective on Howard Zinn’s
writing. A historian, writer conciusness of social and an activist that is Howard Zinn.
I knew him when I have read his article “Speaking Truth to Power With Books” to doing critical review assignment
from my lecturer. According to the site of the internet, he was a child from jewish imigran family, and he was born August 24th, 1922. At 18 year, he became a shipyard worker and then flew bomber
missions during World War II. These experiences are helped shape his opposition to war and passion for
history. After attending college under the GI Bill and earning a Ph.D. in
history from Columbia, he taught at Spelman, where he became active in the
civil rights movement. After being fired by Spelman for his support for student
protesters, Zinn became
a professor of Political Science at Boston University, were he taught until his
retirement in 1988. From his books A People’s History of
United States, Zinn changes prespective of American peoples. My
prespective on Howard Zinn’s writing, he said every history created to some interest,
and I think Zinn have missions when he had
written history
books in different point of view from the other history.
SUMMARY
Zinn also
wrote many books, but I have been reading his fenomenal book “A people’s History of
United States” ecaxtly the first chapter on title Columbus the Indians, and Human
Progress. In that book, he tell about fact who Columbus is. To instance, in the first chapter tell that
columbus as
a murderer, a toreture, a kindapper, and a multilator people. For American people who grow up in America of course the story made their shocks, becouse
they had learned that Columbus was the hero, the great discoverer, and the pious Bible reader, so I think they thinking that Howard Zinn
have been affronted they hero Columbus.
Some American people perhaps think that Zinn is teaser their
country, and hard to changed their sees about who Columbus is. However, the
other American people can be aware about the history of their country, perhaps
they dissapointed with the history of who Columbus is. Howard Zinn books show omitted of history Christopher Columbus, that book also
change one
generation consciousness about history of Columbus.
MAIN BODY (CRITIQUE)
I have been interesting in what Howard Zinn was saying about history
created by a winner, it was Howard Zinn try to crush until his died. What I
think is Zinn also makes history to get winner for his life, and realize
nowdays after his died. The word’s that Howard Zinn made tell every stress of history
in writing history will carry a interest such us can be political, economic,
racial or national. Unfortunately, in the historical narrative, this refraction
is not as bright as in the writing of the map. Historian writes as if any
reader has a single common interest. The particular writers seemed to forget
that the production of knowledge is a tool of combat in the antagonism between
social classes, races, nations or peoples.
There are three poin on history that are negleted in
Zinn’s writing. First, in the history books that was he wrote, Zinn is more flower the people than the founding who owned
slaves and most of the very famous establishment. In that story
discussed about the history of Christopher Columbus, Zinn stated that Columbus the perpetrators of genocide to India. Word genocide was first used by
the Polish jurist Raphael Lemkin, in 1944
in his book Axis Rule
in Occupied Europe,
published in the United States. This word is taken from
the Greek word genos γένος
('race', 'nation' or 'people') and
Latin caedere ('murder').
According to the Rome Statute and the
Law no. 26 of 2000 on Human Rights Court, genocide are acts
committed with intent to destroy
or exterminate whole
or in part a
national group, race, ethnic group, religious group by killing members of the group; cause
physical suffering or mental harm
to members of the group; create conditions life
group that created the physical extermination partially or completely;
take action to prevent births within the group; forcibly transferring
children in the group to another group. Furthermore, a term of cultural genocide was
killing civilization by prohibiting the use of the language of an ethnic group or
alter historical or destroy the symbols of civilization. As Columbus did, who committed
genocide against Indians in Haiti and caused half of the 250,000 people died in
1515. In fact there is a report in 1650 that indicates the absence of the
original Arawaks or their descendants who live on the island.
Second, he try to show who Chritoper Columbus, that
Columbus not the inventor of New
world (America) without say the reality who is the founded exactly. Research who conducted by some Western researchers, or
the study of written sources from Muslims, they discovered new data that the
American continent was discovered by Muslim explorers 603 years before Columbus
set his foot on the American continent. Third, Zinn crush
history from the other historian with his point of view
and focused on peoples without tell more deeply what history he crush about. The
literature explains that Muslim explorers had come to America before Columbus,
such as the historian and geographer Abul Hassan Ali Ibn al-Hussain al-Masudi
(871-957M). In his book Adh-Dhahabwa Muruj Maad al-Jawhar (The Meadows of Gold
and Quarries of Jewels), al-Masudi have been wrote that Khaskhas Sa'ied Ibn Ibn
Aswad, a Muslim explorers from Cordova, Spain, successfully reached the
American continent in the 889M.
CONCLUSION
The great
action’s from Howard Zinn is he brave to speaking truth about history, change
our prespective and expressing the other knowledge about Columbus is. Zinn expressly tell about fact
aspect of Columbus is, on the other hand Zinn also figure in the act
that was seen in the writings that he created. His courage is also seen when he
and four colleagues
doing the secretary's
refusal to stop the strike in case of a vote
to stop the rector
of the University of Boston,
and led him and four
colleagues was accused of being the instigator. Zinn attitude
that was so active in the civil rights movement
as involved in
the demonstrations, the figure shows that Zinn was firm and courageous
in exposing the truth. Are all the courage
that he did
not have an intention?
Of course someone does an action
with a specific purpose, because the action is not likely to happen if there is
no problem that must be given action right? Of course Zinn has a specific
purpose when he did something in his life. As he wrote in auto-biography book
entitled "You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train" (1994) From the
beginning, what I teach is understood also by the history of my life. I should try
to always be honest with different views, but I want more than just teach the 'objectivity'.
Every various actions that Zinn did, such as courage and honesty truly he also
want to be one person in history that he said that.
In
summary, there are two basic points that can be concluded from Zinn’s writing. First,
I think Howard Zinn missing something that backup from his book, for example
when he was trying to show up who Christoper Columbus, that Columbus was not the founded of New world (America) without
said the reality who is the founded exactly. Second,
he only focus on who Columbus is, but he was spread out many aspect on
history. I think he just descrimination about the fact of a history exactly. If
he know about the rality of a history, why he just tell about Columbus is, he shoud tell who people which found the New World. Finally, I think Zinn try to crush history from the other historian
but he just focus in one aspect except driscribe all reality in history itself.
REFFERENCES
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