Emily Brummer’s Reviews > A People’s History of the United States: 1492 - Present > Status Update

certain chapters of this book just make me want to read more and learn more about whatever the topic is. Chapter 13 was a big one of those. Eugene Deb’s is such an underrated historical figure

the brutality of this chapter was particularly devastating, i never realized how little i knew about US imperialism in the pacific/ south east asia.

it highlighted how much of our education truly was propagandized. so many topics that were touched upon but without any in depth understanding of how it all connects together. like how was i taught about The Jungle 100 times but never in the context of socialism?

this might have been my favorite chapter yet. america was built on the back of its working class. unions 4ever

okay this book was losing me for a little because it felt really granular and repetitive but this chapter brought me back.

These are the corners of history i have seen typically taught through white saviorism and supremacy, but not here. Zinn chooses to tell the stories of the civil war emancipation through a lense of dignity and empowerment.

almost every chapter of this book reminds me of the line in Les Mis where marius sings “is it {revolution/ liberation} simply a game for a rich young boy to play?”

is the theme of american history that national conquest means anything to the poor man?

1. i will never forgive the east meadow public school district for EVER leading me to believe andrew jackson was a good and moral leader
2. the privatization of indian removal feels oddly similar to the privatization of immigration enforcement
3. the parallels of village burning from indian removal to american colonialism in South east asia was haunting

ahhh, the plight of the white woman

“what was not made clear — was the shakiness of anyone’s liberty when entrusted to a government of the rich and powerful”

this chapter kind of dragged a bit, especially compared to the first few. it was the also the first chapter that made me feel a moment of …… defensiveness? it was brief, don’t get me wrong. but if we don’t have the constitution, what do we have 😭

this book is so fckin dense but man i love it.

america was really always meant to be the land for the elites, huh?

okay chapter 3 made me realize two things

1. we, as a society, should bring rioting back- i’m impressed how much time they spent rioting in revolting in the 1600s and 1700

2. it is slightly comforting how repetitive history is