A Peoples History of the United States vs the Enduring Vision.
US History I
A People’s History of the United States
Vs.
The Enduring Vision How complete are our textbooks these days? Yes, they may cover Christopher Columbus’s all the way to today’s current events. But just how complete are they? Often books tend to lean a certain direction, and offer perspective from only one point of view; most commonly the views of the victors, dominant country or possibly stories of heroes. What about the other side? Far too often the lesser of the two is left out of the textbooks and out of our minds. There are always two sides to a story, in this case, much of what we read is a mere, “partial truth”. In the following paragraphs and analysis, assumptions and generalizations we have made about our country and it’s “heroes” will be examined in an in-depth interpretation of the standard American textbook, The Enduring Vision vs. Howard Zinn’s, A People’s History of the United States, a strongly worded book meant to offer a different point of view, one not of the hero, but of men they truly were. Everyone knows who discovered America, Christopher Columbus, of course! “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue” At a very young age we are taught that, but that’s only half the story. According to, The Enduring Vision, “Religious Fervor led Columbus to dream of carrying Christianity around the globe, but he also hungered for wealth and glory.”(p.27) Upon discovery, Columbus became very fond of himself, and what he had done. He discovered a land and a people that before his discovery never existed. Because of this, Columbus’s hunger for wealth and glory came to the forefront. The textbook makes no mention of the less publicized portions of his life; it certainly was not carrying Christianity to the world. The book fails to mention, the cruel and inhumane things that were done to the Native American who currently inhabited the “New World”. Those actions seem to be brushed under the rug, because of the fact that he is an American hero. However,
A People’s History of the United States
Vs.
The Enduring Vision How complete are our textbooks these days? Yes, they may cover Christopher Columbus’s all the way to today’s current events. But just how complete are they? Often books tend to lean a certain direction, and offer perspective from only one point of view; most commonly the views of the victors, dominant country or possibly stories of heroes. What about the other side? Far too often the lesser of the two is left out of the textbooks and out of our minds. There are always two sides to a story, in this case, much of what we read is a mere, “partial truth”. In the following paragraphs and analysis, assumptions and generalizations we have made about our country and it’s “heroes” will be examined in an in-depth interpretation of the standard American textbook, The Enduring Vision vs. Howard Zinn’s, A People’s History of the United States, a strongly worded book meant to offer a different point of view, one not of the hero, but of men they truly were. Everyone knows who discovered America, Christopher Columbus, of course! “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue” At a very young age we are taught that, but that’s only half the story. According to, The Enduring Vision, “Religious Fervor led Columbus to dream of carrying Christianity around the globe, but he also hungered for wealth and glory.”(p.27) Upon discovery, Columbus became very fond of himself, and what he had done. He discovered a land and a people that before his discovery never existed. Because of this, Columbus’s hunger for wealth and glory came to the forefront. The textbook makes no mention of the less publicized portions of his life; it certainly was not carrying Christianity to the world. The book fails to mention, the cruel and inhumane things that were done to the Native American who currently inhabited the “New World”. Those actions seem to be brushed under the rug, because of the fact that he is an American hero. However,