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zinn
Charles Purkerson Jr
His 108
8/27/14
Zinn Chapter 1 Zinn Q and A
Q: 1. According to Zinn, what is his main purpose for writing A People’s History Of The United States?
A: 1. Zinn’s main purpose was to give a detailed account of American history from the victim's point of view or present the history from the point of view of the common people
Q: 2. What is Zinn’s thesis for pages 1-11?
A: 2. Zinn’s thesis is that Christopher Columbus was not a hero as most history books portray him; he was dishonest to those who supported his journeys and often offering them fake promises. He was also a cruel abuser to the Arawak Indians.
Q: 3. According to Zinn, how is Columbus portrayed in traditional history books?
A: 3. Zinn states that in many traditional history books Columbus is portrayed as a hero or almost holy, heroic figure that risked his life to travel to an unknown land and start the New World, but in all actuality his discovery was a completely accident.
Q: 4. Why does Zinn dispute Henry Kissinger’s statement: "History is the memory of states?"
A: 4. He feels that Kissinger only looks at history from the viewpoint of leaders, and not those who suffered from their policies. Zinn's viewpoint is to not accept history as the memory of the state, but instead focus on the true dispute.
Q: 5. What is Zinn’s basic criticism of historian Samuel Eliot Morison’s book, Christopher Columbus, Mariner?
A: 5. Zinn states that though Morison tells the truth about Columbus' as being mean and cruel, but then he goes on to state that Columbus was admirable despite his flaws.
Q: 6. What major issues does Bartolome de las Casas bring up regarding Spanish expeditions in the Caribbean?
A: 6. The major issues Batolome de las Casas bring up is Spanish cruelty towards the Indian people.
Q: 7. Identify one early and one subsequent motive that drove Columbus to oppress indigenous peoples.
A:

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