Howard Zinn Articles Of Confederation

Howard Zinn discussed the actuality of Colonial America, in which the wealthy handled poor whites, black slaves, and Native Americans as undesirables. Zinn’s thesis was the idea of plutocracy, government by the wealthy, controlling American society. Class lines hardened, distinctions between rich and poor became sharper. Wealth equated to power, slaves, and estate subsequently, fortifying their superiority over the disadvantaged. This inequality of wealth and power caused disapprobation among the impoverished populace and defiances such as Bacon’s Rebellion undertook. Zinn introduced the chapter by delving into Bacon’s rebellion, an effort to overthrow the planter elite. Bacon’s plans were to seize Native American land in order to transition

They feared that impoverished whites and blacks would deteriorate them, so their strategy consisted separating them through practices such as racial bribes, and abandonment on the reliance of indentured servants, effectively eliminating the risk of future alliances between poor whites and black slaves. The idea that the structure of the original Constitution, Articles of Confederation, was based on the effort to preserve slavery, while at the same time offer political and economic rights to whites is probable, based on Zinn’s

The middle class is a social construct that was used to procure loyalty at the expense of black slaves, and Native Americans. In an effort to build a coalition amongst the whites for a revolution against England, “without ending either slavery or equality.” Zinn’s thesis could be supported by observing the wilder culture in the United States that have targeted people of color and poor people at an unprecedented rate, today. After ex-convicts are released from prison, they face numerous restrictions in employment, education, housing, and civic activities. These barriers have collateral consequences such as requirements in handling fees, costs, and fines to courts, probation departments, and other institutions. And since the system of recidivism is institutionalized and endorsed by public opinion, its chances of being resolved are bleak, similarly to the creation of the middle