Steve Tjiang’s Reviews > A People's History of the United States > Status Update

Zinn's penultimate chapter re-interprets last half of the 20th century. His arguably cynical re-intepretation fits that history into the larger theme of the 1% (the elites, white wealthy men) subjugating the 99% (the working class, poors, blacks, women). Those in control make overtures of equality and structural changes but their actions were merely small concessions to appease the People.

The rise of feminism and women's right movement.

The Vietnam war. It was really about imperialism and a war fought under false pretexts. Unpopular war. Tied war protests to labor movement and that it was not supported by the working class, despite the impression that the protests were led by young, white, middle-class.

Despite the announced noble causes fought for, the interests of the capitalists drove many events, and decisions. This might preserving markets for American goods, even if that meant the support of dictators and unsavory regimes. It also meant suppression of domestic labor unrest and control of labor. Hence the creation of the red scare of the 50s.

Despite WW II's popularity, there exist quite a bit of resistance. Hitler's invasion of Russia seemed to have swayed much of the American Left to support the way. The dropping of atom bombs on Japan was part of strategy to limit Soviet influence in Asia. And the end of the war, saw the emergence of the perpetual war economy to create the military-industrial complex with full government support.

Unorganized labor unrests increased during the Great Depression. The New Deal was a response to control labor, to stabilize the capitalist system and to give minimal concessions to labor, so that labor can be managed. The AFL and CIO, though established by workers, were really institutionalized way to control labor.

The end of WW I saw increasing number of strikes, despite efforts to break the IWW. Eventually, the excesses and imbalances of "capitalism" system (as established then) led to the Great Depression. Roosevelt was elected because of Hoover's inabilities to fix the economy and treatment of labor. Roosevelt's new deal was really about "fixing" capitalism and was in the hands of the capitalists.

Chronicles the suppression of free speech during WW I. Highlights the jailing of socialist leaders during this time.

The last two chapter chronicles the birth and rise of "socialism", and the response of the capitalists. The movement started with labor unrest during the Civil war, and continued until the beginning of WW I. To counter the rise of socialism, a progressive movement emerged, aided by capitalists and government. In this class struggle revision of history, WW I was a convenient response to stop socialism.

Two chapters about the "The Other Civil War" and the Populist and labor movements after the civil war. They were about labor versus the capitalists. Labor unrests in the 1880s and 90s were rife and represented the struggle of the working class. Sometimes it united the races and urban and rural workers. But utlimately, the two-party system allowed the capitalists to squash the labor movements.