American war Quote by Howard Zinn
““Thus, in that inevitable taking of sides which comes from selection and emphasis in history, I prefer to try to tell the story of the discovery of America from the viewpoint of the Arawaks, of the Constitution from the standpoint of the slaves, of Andrew Jackson as seen by the Cherokees, of the Civil War as seen by the New York Irish, of the Mexican war as seen by the deserting soldiers of Scott’s army, of the rise of industrialism as seen by the young women in the Lowell textile mills, of the Spanish-American war as seen by the Cubans, the conquest of the Philippines as seen by black soldiers on Luzon, the Gilded Age as seen by southern farmers, the First World War as seen by socialists, the Second World War as seen by pacifists, the New Deal as seen by blacks in Harlem, the postwar American empire as seen by peons in Latin America. And so on, to the limited extent that any one person, however he or she strains, can “see” history from the standpoint of others.””
About This Quote
Source Book: A People’s History of the United States, 1980
The author urges viewing historical events through the eyes of marginalized groups rather than dominant narratives.
In simple terms: Look at history from the perspective of those left out.
Seek diverse viewpoints to understand truth.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- education
- public policy
- media analysis
- community dialogue
- museum curation
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How would your view of a major event change if you heard it from the oppressed?
- What barriers prevent marginalized stories from being heard?
Dominant narratives often suppress minority voices, making balanced understanding difficult.