Essay on American Civil War and Fugitive Slave Act

From 1865 to 1900 African Americans, despite being presumed free; blacks quickly realized they were only free from was the whippings, break-ups from their families, and sexual exploitation. (Experience History 457) African Americans were still force to live with the hostility of whites. It has taken blacks a long time to be freed from the hatred, and discrimination of white southerners, and after decades’ racism among whites still exist today.

Howard Zinn discussed several things in this chapter. At first, he mentioned the white frontiersmen rebellion and how the rebellion threat the government. This rebellion was bacon’s rebellion. Also, he talked about how the England government ended this rebellion. The main argument for Zinn in this chapter was the division of the community in the colonies according to social and economic status into upper class which was the wealthy people, and the lower class which consist of poor people. Also, he talked about the relationship among white, and Indians, and black slaves.

Drawing the Color Line by Howard Zinn the second chapter from A People’s history of the United States. The authors writes this chapter to explain racism and how it started, “a continent were we can trace the coming of the first whites and the first blacks-might supply at least a few clues” he wants to use history to try to explain why it started. In this chapter Howard Zinn gives us an insight on Slavery and racism in the early 17th century of America. This chapter does not only tell us why slavery accrued but how it happened. The author Howard Zinn tells us how the Americans were simple prone to having slaves because of the circumstances they faced in the early 17th century. It was a period of starvation Howard

As always, Schweikart chooses to focus on the positive aspects of colonial life- expansion, government, religion, and even an extensive tolerance for others. Zinn, on the other hand, chooses to focus on only one element of American colonial life-slavery. While both believe that harsh slavery and some class distinctions did exist, drastically different stories are told.

Slavery was abolished after the Civil War, but the Negro race still was not accepted as equals into American society. To attain a better understanding of the events and struggles faced during this period, one must take a look at its' literature. James Weldon Johnson does an excellent job of vividly depicting an accurate portrait of the adversities faced before the Civil Rights Movement by the black community in his novel “The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man.” One does not only read this book, but instead one takes a journey alongside a burdened mulatto man as he struggles to claim one race as his own.

As Zinn presents his weakly-formed argument in chapter one of “A People’s History of the United States,” he uses unconventional amounts of emotion and factual details in an attempt to relay his message that textbooks and historians deliberately exclude alternative perspectives in order to

lives would have been saved and blood need not have been shed in the name

In the first chapter of Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States, there are mulitple important themes distinguishable from the text. The first is that people of power take advantage of the giving and kind, for when the Arawaks gave Spanish explorers goods, they took them as slaves. Also, that it is best to tell history from the side of the victim, because views from the higher power (Government, conquerors, leaders, etc) do not emphasize the struggles of the lesser. They also only tell history in their own interest, glossing over their cruelty and painting themselves in a heroic light. Finally, and maybe most importantly, is that if sacrifices must be made for progress, the decision to do so must be in the hands of those being

In A People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn tells America’s history from the perspective of those who did not necessarily prosper as a result of America’s creation. Through the eyes of the Native Americans, African slaves, and poor white servants, Zinn tells a story different from the typical tale of a prosperous and virtuous young nation attempting to make its place in the world. Instead, Zinn tells a tale of brutality, genocide, and greed, along with the prosperity told in other versions. By exploring America’s history through the many people groups involved, the reader can better understand the paradoxes of equality for all that still exist today.

This paper explores Howard Zinn’s life as an influential historian and public intellectual. It argues for his critical, singular position as an academic who left a mark on generations of Americans as well as international persons by guiding us all to critically view various institutions and structures of power, particularly in the realm of government. By looking at four major aspects of his life, as radical historian, civil rights crusader, anti-war activist, and labor rights activist, the paper delineates Zinn’s impact in these areas and how he shaped the thinking of countless individuals on these topics.

This book has proven to be an enlightening read. It both teaches and inspires. Howard Zinn has offered us a perspective of the real story of American history heretofore unavailable to us – history from the perspective of real people – immigrant laborers, American women, the working poor, factory workers, African and Native Americans.

Debate has existed in the world for hundreds of years, developing at the beginning of humanity but more publicly in the early eighteenth century. Humans love to argue their point of view with others in order to determine the “correct” viewpoint on various matters. Throughout the world, many approach a debate with opinions formulated from different outlooks on life. Perceptions of a situation establish themselves based on where and how a person was raised. When elaborating on historical events, more often than not, two passionate sides emerge, those who focus on injustices and freedom and those who look at events focused on traditional values. After examining two takes on colonial America it is obvious that Howard Zinn focuses on injustice

The goal of the civil war was never originally to free slaves but slaves became a large part of the war. African American slaves overcame many challenges to finally receive their freedom. Many African Americans endured the chance to fight for the union and that immensely increased the man power of the union.

After reading this chapter I can say for what I already learned about the enslavement of African Americans were similar to how the author, Zinn, explained it. This is because what already knew was that slavery was created do to the need for labor in order to grow many essential crops and tobacco for trade and food. This too was explained in Chapter 2 because Zinn explained how the Virginians in the year of 1619 were desperate for labor in order to increase food supply and tobacco. In the winter of 1609-1610 was known as the “starving time.” This is what drove them to seek African slaves. Something about this event that I already learned and that was mentioned is the Middle Passage. I say this because in this chapter, Zinn describes the Middle Passage abroad the slave ship conditions as dark, gloomy, deformed, and hopeless. Zinn also reports that by the year of 1800 ten to fifteen million black slaves have been transported to the Americas. I learned after reading Zinn’s explanation of this event is that he explained how Europeans sometimes justified their slave trade by stating that slavery existed in African states. Something that I already knew about this event was that slavery is what caused racism and the separation between the blacks and the whites. One example of this that Zinn reported was how

Even though freedom has been our nation’s identity for its entire existence, our nation has suffered “dark ages” when the freedoms of African Americans were repressed. During the period of slavery, African Americans were forced to labor under often cruel and gruesome conditions, for their white masters. Solomon Northup, a free man forcefully made a slave, describes his thoughts on slavery in his 12 Years a Slave: