The different title from: A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn?

Question

Why do you think Zinn selected the title A People's History of the United States as opposed to something like The History of the United States?


I think because the United States was founded by our people; and so on, our history began.


I need your opinions though. Thanks ;)

Answer 1

Bill P has correctly termed Howard Zinn a ‘social historian.’ Bill is also correct that teaching only place names, dates, events, focuses on the structure of history and certainly history is made up of people. People, their hopes, desires, achievements, failures, depressions, and certainly their relationships to one another places flesh on the bare bones historical structure.

Shelby Foote was one such writer. More than learning what happened, to some degree through his writings you came to almost know those people of another time. An example is in his three volume set of the Civil War. In one small part he has the letter of a soldier to his wife. I don’t see how anyone could read this without ‘feeling’ love of this man for his wife and it takes on more intensity when the reader learns that shortly after posting the letter he was killed. Yes, people are the reality of history.

Another example (from other sources written by historians from the time) is the dynamics of the interplay between the members of President Lincoln’s cabinet in those last weeks prior to the initiation of hostilities. It becomes very clear that this was not just a series of events leading to war but interaction of strong beliefs between strong personalities.

There is a danger in this approach to history. That is, that we imbue the acts of these individuals with our own beliefs and passions. This is a disservice not only to current readers, but to the people who walked upon the historical stage under the eye of the ‘social’ historian. In my opinion, Howard Zinn has fallen victim to this failure of historical ethical credibility.

Further, in my opinion Howard Zinn is a creature of the far left. That in itself is not a problem, everyone has the right to see our world as they see fit, however, when one’s current view of the world becomes political spin in twisting the historical facts to change the intent of the Founders, that is unethical. When that artist of the political spin is one of Howard Zinn’s stature it is even more of an unethical act. He knows history to the point that he must be aware of the political spin he places on the acts of our forbearers.

In this context I believe that it is likely that Howard Zinn used the Title “A People’s History of the United States” to create some untoward justification for his political spin of historical acts.

Answer 2

Those who will mainly answer are those who think that Zinn is far out in left field and should not be read. However I see it quite differently.

Most US historians want to teach with names, dates, places and faces - George Washington, July 4, Philadelphia, etc. But you can't student history by just memorizing a bunch of things in that order. People make up history and what Zinn is doing is trying to explain to his reader just what the people had to go through, for instance, during the Revolution, the War of 1812 and so forth. Conventional history books don't do that.

He is only one of a school of historians in social history of the US. He might today be the main player in that area of historiography, but he is only one in the school.

Answer 3

Perhaps "The History of The United States" was taken.

Also check out the Zinn reader.

Answer 4

Zinn wanted to show how bad life was for the everyday American in various times of history. The horrible treatment of Native Americans, Communists all Americans. The title, The Peoples History shows that this history the one forgotten about or avioded by many did happen. And this history is differeent than the history pressented in your history textbook.

Answer 5

The traditional approach of history is to focus on government, politics, wars, famous people and so forth. Zinn, on the other hand, focuses on the lives of the ordinary people with much less emphasis on the 'rich and famous.'

Traditional history tends to focus only on the ruling minority and events that were important to them, not the events that were important to the vast majority of the people living at that time.

Answer 6

Randy gives an excellent answer.......let me add:

it has become traditional in leftist writings to hijack the term "People's".........Peoples History, Peoples Party, Peoples Park, whatever....in order to try and give a cloak of respectability and impartiality to an otherwise partisan and narrow political view....after all , what is more American than the people......We the People, a Government for and of and by the People, the People Will is the Supreme Law......

so our liberal/leftist writers and pols have found they can hang "People's" on the most biased opinions and sayings and platforms, and have found that many folks won't challenge them, for it is after all, the people....kinda like Fox News is "Fair and Balanced". it is just as hypocritical and implying ignorance in the reader to think they can run that scam by you......

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE if you are assigned Zinn as a history "text" please read at least something else or you will have as distorted a view of American history as if you only got information on baseball from the Yankees Network, or Iraq from Al Jaserah or climate change from the National Association of Coal Burning Power Plants.

OF course if it was The PEOPLE'S Association of Coal Burning Power plants, then everything they said MUST be the truth..........right?

Answer 7

I agree, absolutely it does! I think it is the best history book ever written. I read it first in high school, again in college, and then was assigned the book in law school. One of the reasons I think it is such an accurate reflection was that when classmates of mine who had never read it finally did, it really struck them. If it weren't an accurate reflection, people wouldn't have those "oh, I get it" moments when reading it. Happy holidays!