Activity #1

1. But even allowing for the imperfection of myths, it is
enough to make us question, for that time and ours, the excuse
of progress in the annihilation of races, and the telling of
history from the standpoint of the conquerors and leaders of
Western civilization.
2. His main argument is that historians give credit too
easily to some of the great explorers and leaders of our
history without giving the same attention to how many of them
forced brutal tactics on several races in order to acclaim
their fame. He is assuming that many history lessons taught to
American children don’t tell of the terrible acts that many
conquistadores such as Christopher Columbus forced upon other
races, ethnicities, or religions. He explains this when he
states in his book, “If history is to be creative, to
anticipate a possible future without denying the past, it
should, I believe, emphasize new possibilities by disclosing
those hidden episodes of the past when, even if in brief
flashes, people showed their ability to resist, to join
together, occasionally to win….That being as blunt as I can, is
my approach to the history of the United States.” He also
states in his book, “The history of any country, presented as
the history of a family conceals fierce conflicts of interest
(sometimes exploding, most often repressed) between conquerors
and conquered, masters and slaves capitalists and workers,
dominators and dominated in race and sex. And in such a world
of conflict, a world of victims and executioners, it is the job
of thinking people… not to be on the side of the executioners.”
By these two statements he is clearly stating that we as a
nation learn too much about how these conquistadors benefited
our country rather than the damage they did to other cultures.
3. I would definitely apply his argument to the way
history should be taught in our schools. I took history from
fifth to eighth grade and twice in high school and I had never
heard about these alarming actions that Columbus headed.
Generally in my history courses we are taught that anything our
government or other historical heroes did on benefited our
country. We are not told about how Columbus was brutal to the
Native Americans he encountered. We are not told about
Constitution from the standpoint of slaves and so on. I agree
that many of our nation’s heroes have had a wonderful effect on
our nation, but we are rarely told about their flaws. I think
instances like this should be more closely examined in history
classes especially in high school and on up.
4. I was honestly stunned when I read this article. I had
never heard these terrible revelations about Christopher
Columbus before or if I had heard them they had just been a
side note while discussing him. I always knew Columbus as being
the guy who discovered American in 1492 and established
friendly relations with the Native Americans in Virginia. I
think that Howard Zinns’s article was wonderfully written. It
not only had portions of Columbus’s account, but also another
different account from a Las Casas who was against Columbus’s
actions. This helped make his argument more believable and
accurate. After reading this article I am now going to ask
other members in my family is they have any knowledge of this
so I can see if maybe during me history learning experience I
missed something or if Zinn’s article is as valid as he made it
seem to be.