Howard Zinn
The brave historian
taking risks
(by Desi Diana)
INTRODUCTION
This critical review
discusses Howard Zinn book “A People’s History
of the United States”. I shall claim that
while the book is make the people have perspective about Zinn exactly of
American people because Howard Zinn write about evidence of the America,
Cristopher Columbus.
Zinn. He is the brave historian taking risks
because someone who dared to reveal
the dark side of history. Although there is a
speech stating that
history is always written by
the winners, but for Zinn that it is a myth until Howard
Zinn passed away on January 20, and Howard Zinn to try broke that
statement. He is very famous in
America, because he a reveals history about Cristopher Columbus. Howard Zinn has many masterpieces, as I know
the masterpiece book of Howard Zinn is “A
People’s History of the United States”.
The book explained about Cristopher Columbus. Zinn, as a competent scholar does, Zinn began
his revisionist look at Columbus by studying the primary evidence, namely
Columbus's log, prepared during his voyage of discovery. As with so much of history, we know little for
sure.
SUMMARY
He wrote a history textbook, A People's History of the United States,
to provide other perspectives on American history. The textbook depicts the
struggles of Native Americans against European and U.S. conquest and expansion,
slaves against slavery, unionists and other workers against capitalists, women
against patriarchy, and African-Americans for civil rights. The book was a finalist for the National Book
Award in 1981. In the years since the
first edition of A People's History was published in 1980, it has been used as
an alternative to standard textbooks in many high school and college history
courses, and it is one of the most widely known examples of critical
pedagogy. The New York Times Book Review
stated in 2006 that the book "routinely sells more than 100,000 copies a
year".
After the books which go out and
circulate, in the reality a lot of people who frown in perspective Zinn. Then many people around the world have a
perspective about Zinn, because the content of the book describes America as
predatory and repressive capitalist state, sexist, racist and imperialist that
is run by a corporate ruling class for the benefit of the rich. Zinn is historian the author of more than
twenty books, Zinn is best known for writing A People’s History of the United States (1980).
Truly, Zinn the radical American
historian died of a heart attack is attacked while he swimming. He leaved a wife and a big name from a
legendary book that he write “A People’s
of the United States”. The book that
when it was first published in 1980 only sold four thousand copies, has sold
out nearly two million copies and was represented five times. The book claims to present American history
through the eyes of the nation’s many victim groups, such as workers, American
Indians, slaves, women, blacks, and populists.
The book of Zinn has sold more than a million copies, making it one of
the best selling history books of all time.
MAIN BODY
On the other hand, In A People’s History Zinn’s projection of
Marxist theory upon historical reality begins with Cristopher Columbus. According to Zinn, Columbus and those
explorers who followed him to the New World did so for essentially one
overriding reason: financial gain.
“Behind the English invasion of North America, behind their massacre of
Indians, their deception, their brutality, was that special powerful drive born
in civilizations based on private profit,”Zinn asserted.
Zinn. As a competent scholar does, Zinn began his
revisionist look at Columbus by studying the primary evidence, namely
Columbus's log, prepared during his voyage of discovery. As with so much of history, we know little
for sure.
For instance, Zinn did not really
read the captain’s log. He read a
translation of a partial copy of the log that Bartolomé Las Casas made in the
1530s. The original log was lost
centuries ago. Over the centuries there
have been many portraits drawn of Columbus, and they all look different because
nobody really knew what Columbus looked like.
He may have had no portrait made while alive. Columbus's birthplace and year of birth have
been enduring controversies. The
standard view is that Columbus was born in Genoa, part of today’s Italy, in
around 1451, give or take a year, but there are arguments that Columbus was
Spanish, Portuguese, Jewish, and several other European nationalities. Debate has raged for centuries over where
Columbus first landed in the New World.
However there is other evidence
of the discovery of the American story As evidence that Columbus was the
discoverer of the America , namely the presence of a 500 year old world maps, answering
why the name permanently imprinted on the American continent found that
Columbus , on Thursday ( 13/12 ) on display at the Library of
Congress in Washington DC. This map was
made by a German, Martin Waldseemuller, in 1507. Waldseemiiller who lived in the village of St
Die , an area which is now in the province of Lorraine , France , the map was
made a year after the death of Columbus has been mentioned clearly the
America. That should, the map says
Continent Columbia , especially through the new year with the death of Columbus
in Valladolid, Spain , May 20, 1506. When
the map Waldseemiiller made of 500 copies , but only one that can last for
more than five centuries. Apparently , a
German noble family for almost 400 hundred years to save the maps in the
library in their castle.
So
why can name that appears on the map America and not the name of Columbia? It
is probable, Waldseemiiller create a map based on the information and
explanation given Amerigo Vespucci, Columbus assistant. In other words, Zinn did not get on the origin of the name American countries he just told the facts explained significantly less.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, Howard Zinn has
created many book histories. He is brave
historian taking risks although many controversy and perspective about his. Zinn, as a competent scholar does, Zinn began
his revisionist look at Columbus by studying the primary evidence, namely
Columbus's log, prepared during his voyage of discovery. As with so much of history, we know little
for sure. But Zinn keep brave to write
about Columbus exactly history of the American people from the different point
of view. Zinn said,”something is wrong when historians consider their
profession together with the cartographers but writing history is something really different”
References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Zinn
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