People's History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

People's History - Essay Example In this specific book, Zinn unfurls the early times when Christopher Columbus stumbled across the lands of current America while searching for the riches of Asia. Assuming to have reached the prosperous lands of Asia, Columbus tried in vain to uncover the non-existent riches from the barren lands. His failure to do so brought the unjustified wrath of the investors and Columbus himself befalling on the innocent and naive natives of the region. The bloodshed and series of wars that followed resulted in the loss of innumerable lives. According to a report, by 1650, none of the natives remained alive. (Zinn). The book holds elaborate accounts of how Columbus, revered as a discoverer of America, and other colonists waged wars against the natives, eliminating their existence from their very own lands. Zinn does not excuse the manslaughter and â€Å"genocide† that occurred; instead he focuses on all historical aspects to relieve the history of the distortions that have now been embed ded in it. Furthermore, the book talks about the mass imports of slaves from Africa which ranged from 10 to 15 million people. This brought about the establishment and acceptance of slavery. Racial and complexion biases were practiced ruthlessly. The resisting masses of â€Å"blacks† were forced into their places as slaves, not allowed to mix with the white people. This marked the â€Å"Drawing (of) the color line† (Zinn) as the title of the second chapter suggests. Moreover, the book develops the idea of social classes with extreme rapidity. Social classes were formed almost immediately thereof, establishing distinct living standards for all. The residents of England enjoyed the top-most tier of the social classes, followed by the elites in United States of America, then the frontiersmen who mainly consisted of white rebels against the tyranny of slavery, and