Zinn's Immbalance In Objectivity, Perspective, And Justice
In the book Zinn, The author gives a point of view of Christopher Columbus that is usually not given. Most of the time the story of Christopher Columbus is told from a historian point of view. They usually tell you of his mission, and of the three ships that he takes in order to find gold and other new riches. Zinn informs us that he is not the hero that, that we all think that he is. It shows us that he tortured, abused, and overwhelmingly embarrasses the Arwark Indians.
The United States is a government founded upon the principles of equality, or are we? That is the question studied and debated by historians of American history. Our founding fathers motives are scrutinized through the study of their personal letters, historical documents, and public records. Two historians, Howard Zinn and Gordon S. Wood, support opposing viewpoints. Howard Zinn describes the Founding Fathers as only interested in writing the Constitution to upholding the wealthy’s power.
America’s citizens are often very patriotic and love to celebrate those that have helped make their great nation, Columbus, supposedly, being one of these people. However, it is quite astonishing that Columbus Day is even celebrated as a patriotic holiday, considering all of the terrible things he did to the indigenous people of the New World. Citizens all over America express many different beliefs about the world, but the vast majority have a universal belief that murder and cruelty are wrong, so why celebrate a man who practically specialized in unnecessary, unprovoked cruelty. Many know the arrival of Europeans on American soil was terrible for the Native Americans, but few know the role Columbus himself played in the cruelty indigenous people
Loewen argues, “The authors of history textbooks have taken us on a trip of their own, away from the facts of history, into the realm of myth.” As historical events regress further into the past, writers may misinterpret facts that they may have studied. A story of discovery and friendship or a tale of conquest, murder, and greed, which of these are Christopher Columbus’ true stories? I believe the best method to teach American high school students about Christopher Columbus’ story is through historiography because historiography teaches students to compare and distinguish different outlooks from different writers’ point of views instead of just remembering misinterpreted facts. Historiography would guide and force students to study and learn history through a diverse set of historians who focused on the same subject and come to different conclusions.
As Arthur M. Schlesinger said in Columbus on Trial, European culture has "its share of monsters and atrocities" and that civilizations who had many conquests "did not show anything like concern for moral behavior and treatment of others" (Document 6). Ultimately, European explorers, conquistadors, and settlers from the Age of Exploration should not still be glorified and celebrated because they caused more harm than good, and tore apart others just to make a name for
The first chapter of both APeople’s History of the United States (Zinn, 1980) andA Patriot’s History of the United States(Schweikart and Allen, 2004) tells the story of the discovery of the New World. Beginning with the landing of Columbus in the Bahamas, these accounts are told from two separate perspectives. Zinn often refers to the telling of history as a tale between victims and executioners, saying that in the “inevitable taking of sides which comes from selection and emphasis in History” he prefers to stand on the side of the victim, whereas Schweikart and Allen tend to stand behind the executioner. Much of APatriot’s Historyis spent arguing the accuracy of the number of natives murdered by invading European entities, attempting to minimize the blame reflected on these executioners.
“Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress”, chapter one of “A People’s History of the United States”, written by professor and historian Howard Zinn, concentrates on a different perspective of major events in American history. It begins with the native Bahamian tribe of Arawaks welcoming the Spanish to their shores with gifts and kindness, only then for the reader to be disturbed by a log from Columbus himself – “They willingly traded everything they owned… They would make fine servants… With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.” (Zinn pg.1) In the work, Zinn continues explaining the unnecessary evils Columbus and his men committed unto the unsuspecting natives.
History does not always convey the absolute truth. It offers only one side of the story. The strong and powerful voices always drown out the sounds of the weak and beaten. The winner’s word will always be taken over the loser’s. The content that lies within the textbooks was not written by the defeated.
Zinn uses the lens of social justice to view American history and put forward the argument that American history is rife with racism (civil rights issues and omission of non-white historical figures), violence (genocide of Native Americans and race riots), capitalistic greed leading to immiseration (upper class and its then ownership of 2/5th of America’s wealth), and power run amok leading to a type of imperialism (worldwide military interventions). S&A put on rose-colored glasses to argue that American history is fair (the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights), and that Americans are a people of character (Adams’ refusal to create conflict) and virtue (Founding Father’s insertion of slavery-ending measures into government), thereby painting Americans as a moralistic and exceptional people. Based upon what little bit of these two books that I’ve read, I’m going to view both of their contents with skepticism; Zinn seems to be pushing a liberalist agenda, while S&A are adhering to a conservative interpretation of American history. Whenever something so blatantly biased is encountered, it is best to view it with a healthy degree of doubt. The ironic thing is, I believe that both Zinn and S&A are right: American history is violent and exclusive, Americans are a truly amazing people that have achieved greatness, and NEVER trust the federal
Injustice is the lack of fairness in justice directed towards an individual or group. There are numerous accounts of injustices in our society today, some may be observed as directed towards criminals, races, and those with special needs or disabilities. In the novel Out of my Mind by Sharon Draper, the main character Melody suffers from a disease called cerebral palsy. This disease prevents her from speaking and being able to control her own movements. She has a photographic memory, but because of her disability she is prevented from speaking her mind and many doubt her ability to think on her own.
It took just forty five days for United States citizens to acquiesce their rights to freedom and privacy for the sake of safety following the events of September 11, 2001. Forty five days is how long it took the United States Congress to pass a law that gave up the very concept of liberty upon which this country is founded. The morning sky was a brilliant shade of blue with not a cloud in sight in New York on that fateful day of September. That all changed at 8:45 AM when a Boeing 767 jet plane tore into the north tower of the World Trade Center. Eighteen minutes later, a second Boeing 767 bit into the sixtieth floor of the south tower.
The struggle for truth has arguably inspired and produced the greatest achievements in human history. Truth is only attainable through change, and to change is to be open to truth. History's overwhelming presence of biases and dogmatism has contributed to stifled progress and deprived men from pursuing the truth. To oppose a viewpoint contrary to one that is strongly believed in, is characteristic of humans; however, few are open to change, even when confronted by the status quo. If observed, further, it is found that views which substitute the consensus for an objective standard have certain consequences which few would accept.
Objectivism Pros • Advocates for “independent thinking, productiveness, justice, honesty, and self-responsibility” (Biddle, 2014). o As educators we encourage independent thinking and when it comes to online learning, one will need to be able to think independently as sometimes the course will be asynchronous. • Objectivism advocates scientific advancement, industrial progress, objective (as opposed to “progressive” or faith-based) education” (Biddle, 2014). • “Every principle is derived from the observable facts of reality and the demonstrable requirements of human life and happiness” (Biddle, 2014). o I feel that my district is doing this currently with their “visible learning walkthroughs.”
Although his ends in an impasse. The lines between reality and fiction, what is credible and not, blur suggesting that the myth America will create for itself is disingenuous. The need and desire to fabricate the past results in no real accountability or adequate satisfaction to society. The story proves that society does not want to recognize its past. It wants to create one that justifies their current actions.
We were raised in a world where we have been indirectly forced to believe “The One and Only Truth”, leading us to assume that the stories that we have been thought and told, are the only ones that exist, that our reality had to be either this or that without any chances of in between or a combination of each. No story has only one side since everybody is different and each person sees the story from its own perspective. To tell one side of history doesn’t mean the other side doesn’t exist or that it can be hidden or put away just like that. We tend to choose which one to believe, the one that better suits us, that makes us look good or that doesn’t harm our reputation.
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