CHAPTER 4TYRANNY IS TYRANNY:A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES BY HOWARD ZINN

BY ANDREA DAMIAN

A SUBSTITUTION OF ONE TYRANNY FOR ANOTHER

“Around 1776, certain important people in the English colonies made a discovery that would prove enormously useful for the next two hundred years. They found that by creating a nation, a symbol, a legal unity called the United States, they could take over land, profits, and political power from favorites of the British Empire. In the process, they could hold back a number of potential rebellions and create a consensus of popular support for the rule of a new, privileged leadership”.- Howard Zinn

LEADING UP TO THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR Tensions building between colonists and the British authorities

more than a decade before the outbreak of the revolution in 1775 Efforts by the British government to raise revenue by taxing the

colonies Stamp Act of 1776 Townshend Tariffs of 1776 Tea Act of 1773

Protest among many colonists Begrudged British’s lack of representation in Parliament Colonists demanded the same rights as other British subjects. Colonial resistance led to violence in 1770, when British soldiers

opened fire on a mob of colonists, Five men killed in what was known as the Boston Massacre

BRITISH OPPRESSION British government sought to tighten control over the colonies After the French and Indian War the British looked to the colonies

for revenues to pay for the war Takeover of Colonial trade Of great importance to British economy and much more profitable

Amounted to 500,000 pounds in 1700 Later worth 2,800,000 pounds in 1770

British abuse of power "No taxation without representation!” American leadership less in need of English rule, the English

more in need of the colonists’ wealth

= ELEMENTS FOR CONFLICT

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION War of Independence Breaking off from British rule and abuse of power Americans revolt against British oppression The End of the 1st Revolutionary War in 1781 “When we look at the American Revolution this way, it was

a work of genius, and the Founding Fathers deserve the awed tribute they have received over the centuries. They created the most effective system of national control devised in modern times, and showed future generations of leaders the advantages of combining paternalism with command.”

- Howard Zinn

THE 2ND AMERICAN REVOLUTION? The war between wealthy and poor Americans Land rioters saw their battle as poor against rich. A

witness at a rebel leader’s trial in New York in 1766 said that the farmers evicted by the landlords “had an equitable title but could not be defended in a course of law because they were poor and… poor men were always oppressed by the rich”

Land hungry farmers in Hudson Valley turned to British for support against American landlords

Poor tenants tended to side with the British in their anger against the rich while conflict with Great Britain intensified

War against their own people

RICH OPPRESSION The separation of classes: rich vs. poor New American Elite leadership oppressing the poor Could class hatred be focused against the pro-British elite, and

deflected from the nationalist elite? – Howard Zinn And How could people truly have equal rights, with stark

differences in wealth? “In America, too, the reality behind the words of the declaration of

independence was that a rising class of important people needed to enlist on their side enough Americans to defeat England, without disturbing too much the relations of wealth and power that had developed over 150 years of colonial history. Indeed, 69 percent of the signers of the Declaration of Independence had held colonial office under England.” – Howard Zinn

Rich supporting their own interests and ignoring the poor

TYRANNY IS TYRANNY LET IT COME FROM WHOM IT MAY Dictatorship and Oppression The Declaration of Independence proved that all men are

not created equal!!! Poor Inequality Ethnic Inequality Gender Inequality No equality and No Justice for all “The rich, it turned out, could avoid the draft by paying for

substitutes; the poor had to serve.” – Howard Zinn

REFERENCE PAGE

Zinn, Howard. A People's History of the United States. New York: Harper & Row, 1980. Print.