---
title: "2 Citizenry Quotes By Howard Zinn"
description: "2 Citizenry quotes by Howard Zinn. Plus more from Howard Zinn and more Citizenry sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c6/howard-zinn-576_boxes_that-whole-idea-of-threats-to-national-s_1548899.jpg"
---

> [That whole idea of threats to national security is a very interesting one. The phrase is very useful for the government to try to encompass the citizenry in the same box as the government is in. To say, "We're all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/that-whole-idea-of-threats-to-national-security-is-a-very-interesting/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c6/howard-zinn-576_boxes_that-whole-idea-of-threats-to-national-s_1548899.jpg)

> [The function of traditional history is to create a citizenry that looks to the top - the president, Congress, the Supreme Court - to make the important decisions. That's what traditional history is all about: the laws that were passed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/the-function-of-traditional-history-is-to-create-a-citizenry-that/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/433/howard-zinn-576_built_the-function-of-traditional-history-is-t_1844180.jpg)

## Other authors on Citizenry

## More by Howard Zinn

> [“A black man, Benjamin Banneker, who taught himself mathematics and astronomy, predicted accurately a solar eclipse, and was appointed to plan the new city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/a-black-man-benjamin-banneker-who-taught-himself-mathematics-and/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/there-is-no-flag-large-enough-to-cover-the-shame-of-killing-innocent/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [“a good education is a synthesis of book learning and involvement in social action, because each enrich the other. The accumulation of knowledge, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/a-good-education-is-a-synthesis-of-book-learning-and-involvement-in/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [The mountain of history books under which we all stand leans so heavily in the other direction-so tremblingly respectful of states and statesmen and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/the-mountain-of-history-books-under-which-we-all-stand-leans-so/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [Let's face a historical truth: we have never had a "free market", we have always had government intervention in the economy, and indeed that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/let-s-face-a-historical-truth-we-have-never-had-a-free-market-we-have/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [I can UNDERSTAND pessimism, but I don't BELIEVE in it. It's not simply a matter of faith, but of historical EVIDENCE. Not overwhelming evidence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/i-can-understand-pessimism-but-i-don-t-believe-in-it-it-s-not-simply/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it. It is a corrective to the sluggishness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/protest-beyond-the-law-is-not-a-departure-from-democracy-it-is/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [Now I have been studying very closely what happens every day in the courts in Boston, Massachusetts. You would be astounded--maybe you wouldn't, maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/now-i-have-been-studying-very-closely-what-happens-every-day-in-the/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [They were not mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, they were absent in the Constitution and they were invisible in the new political democracy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/they-were-not-mentioned-in-the-declaration-of-independence-they-were/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [“Sexual purity was to be the special virtue of a woman. It was assumed that men, as a matter of biological nature, would sin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/sexual-purity-was-to-be-the-special-virtue-of-a-woman-it-was-assumed/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [“Middle-class Americans might be invited to join a new elite by attacks against the corruption of the established rich. The New Yorker Cadwallader Colden,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/middle-class-americans-might-be-invited-to-join-a-new-elite-by/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [If those in charge of our society - politicians, corporate executives, and owners of press and television - can dominate our ideas, they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/if-those-in-charge-of-our-society-politicians-corporate-executives/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [We were not born critical of existing society. There was a moment in our lives (or a month, or a year) when certain facts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/we-were-not-born-critical-of-existing-society-there-was-a-moment-in/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [Behind the deceptive words designed to entice people into supporting violence -- words like democracy, freedom, self-defense, national security -- there is the reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/behind-the-deceptive-words-designed-to-entice-people-into-supporting/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [“George Washington had turned down the requests of blacks, seeking freedom, to fight in the Revolutionary army. So when the British military commander in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/george-washington-had-turned-down-the-requests-of-blacks-seeking/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizenry/howard-zinn/#itemlist",
            "name": "2 Citizenry Quotes By Howard Zinn",
            "numberOfItems": 2,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "That whole idea of threats to national security is a very interesting one. The phrase is very useful for the government to try to encompass the citizenry in the same box as the government is in. To say, \"We're all in this together. It threatens all of us.\"",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Howard Zinn"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/that-whole-idea-of-threats-to-national-security-is-a-very-interesting/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c6/howard-zinn-576_boxes_that-whole-idea-of-threats-to-national-s_1548899.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c6/howard-zinn-576_boxes_that-whole-idea-of-threats-to-national-s_1548899.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c6/howard-zinn-576_boxes_that-whole-idea-of-threats-to-national-s_1548899.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“That whole idea of threats to national security is a very interesting one. The phrase is very useful for the…” — Howard Zinn",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The function of traditional history is to create a citizenry that looks to the top - the president, Congress, the Supreme Court - to make the important decisions. That's what traditional history is all about: the laws that were passed, the decisions made by the court. So much of history is built around \"the great men.\" All of that is very anti-democratic.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Howard Zinn"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/the-function-of-traditional-history-is-to-create-a-citizenry-that/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/433/howard-zinn-576_built_the-function-of-traditional-history-is-t_1844180.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/433/howard-zinn-576_built_the-function-of-traditional-history-is-t_1844180.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/433/howard-zinn-576_built_the-function-of-traditional-history-is-t_1844180.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The function of traditional history is to create a citizenry that looks to the top - the president…” — Howard Zinn",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizenry/howard-zinn/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizenry/howard-zinn/",
            "name": "Citizenry Quotes by Howard Zinn",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizenry/howard-zinn/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c6/howard-zinn-576_boxes_that-whole-idea-of-threats-to-national-s_1548899.jpg"
            },
            "description": "2 Citizenry quotes by Howard Zinn. Plus more from Howard Zinn and more Citizenry sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizenry/howard-zinn/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizenry/howard-zinn/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Citizenry",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizenry/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "Howard Zinn",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizenry/howard-zinn/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```