A People’s History of the United States

Since the arrival of the Virginians to the saucy World, they were desperate for labor. The Virginians were unavailing to grow enough food to stay alive. During the winter, they were cut down to roaming the woods for dotty and berries and digging up graves to eat the corpses until phoebe bird hundred colonists were cut down to sixty. They couldnt force the Indians to work for them because they were outnumbered and despite their master copy firearms, they knew the Indians could massacre them.The Indians alike had amazing spirit and resistance. They would prefer to die than be controlled by opposites. obligate servants wouldnt suffice because they had non been brought over in sufficient quantity. Also, bandaged servants only had to work for a a couple of(prenominal) historic period to repay their debt. articled servants eventually assimilated into society, increasing the need for laborers. Black slaves were the answer, as a one thousand thousand blacks had already been bro ught from Africa to the Portuguese and Spanish colonies.The first Africans that arrived in Virginia were considered as servants, nevertheless were treated and viewed differently from white servants. Even before the slave clientele begun, the color black was distasteful. The Africans were viewed as inferior and that was the ascendent of racism. It was easy for the incline enslave the Africans. They were helpless the English tore them from their subvert and culture and they were no match for the Englishs guns and ships.Africans were captured and sent to the brim where they were kept in cages until they were picked and sold. Then they were packed aboard the slave ships in spaces that were no bigger than coffins. The combination of desperation from the Jamestown settlers, difficulty of develop custodyt whites and Indians as servants, the availability of Africans and their weakness do them the ideal candidates for enslavework forcet. They were the solution to the settlers probl ems.Tabaco, cotton, and sugar plantations made the colonies extremely wealthinessy however, there simply were not enough whites to touch the need of the plantations. So as the plantation establishment grew, slavery grew. The slaves were taught to be insubordinate. They endured hard labor, separation from their families, and the power of law, allowing them to be penalize physically. And thus the outset of slavery and the drawing of the racial line.A Peoples tale of the coupled StatesHoward Zinns A Peoples History of the linked States appears to be unique as it presents historical events from the perspectives of the poor, minorities and dispossessed.The expeditions of Christopher Columbus to North America, as Zinn had presented, resulted in the appalling genocide and exploitation of Carribeans indigenous peoples (only few Americans have learned such in school and most historians bunk to overlook) (Zinn, Howard 1980).Zinn viewed and presented Columbus as the oppressor. From th e beginning of the expedition, Columbus had intended to extract wealth from the natives. He demonstrated Columbus malevolent motives as he quoted the latter(prenominal)s words upon encountering with the Indians They brought us parrots and balls of cotton in exchange for the candy beads and hawks bellsThey would make fine servantsWith fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want (Zinn, Howard 1980). Indeed, this is raise that from the beginning, Columbus had been eager to assess the exploitability of the native inhabitants.Furthermore, Zinn also described the brilliance and innocence of the natives and had proved that Indian culture treated its women well using the following quotation from a Spanish priest who was with Columbus marriage laws are non-existent men and women alike choose their matesIndian men and women look upon total nakedness with as much casualness (Zinn, Howard 1980).Personally, Zinns presentation of historical events with respect to C olumbus religious motivations varied from other historians. In the case of other historians (like Marshall) for instance, they took Columbus desire to evangelize the natives with serious-mindedness as if they are willing to take these statements at face entertain while Zinn, dismisses them by saying He was full of religious ripple (stated on page 3).Work CitedZinn, Howard (1980) A Peoples History of the United States Columbus, the Indians and Human Progress edited by Harper Collins (2003) haltA Peoples History of the United StatesSince the arrival of the Virginians to the New World, they were desperate for labor. The Virginians were unable to grow enough food to stay alive. During the winter, they were reduced to roaming the woods for nuts and berries and digging up graves to eat the corpses until five hundred colonists were reduced to sixty. They couldnt force the Indians to work for them because they were outnumbered and despite their superior firearms, they knew the Indians c ould massacre them.The Indians also had amazing spirit and resistance. They would prefer to die than be controlled by others. Indentured servants wouldnt suffice because they had not been brought over in sufficient quantity. Also, indentured servants only had to work for a few years to repay their debt. Indentured servants eventually assimilated into society, increasing the need for laborers. Black slaves were the answer, as a million blacks had already been brought from Africa to the Portuguese and Spanish colonies.The first Africans that arrived in Virginia were considered as servants, but were treated and viewed differently from white servants. Even before the slave trade begun, the color black was distasteful. The Africans were viewed as inferior and that was the beginning of racism. It was easy for the English enslave the Africans. They were helpless the English tore them from their land and culture and they were no match for the Englishs guns and ships.Africans were captured a nd sent to the coast where they were kept in cages until they were picked and sold. Then they were packed aboard the slave ships in spaces that were no bigger than coffins. The combination of desperation from the Jamestown settlers, difficulty of using whites and Indians as servants, the availability of Africans and their helplessness made them the ideal candidates for enslavement. They were the solution to the settlers problems.Tabaco, cotton, and sugar plantations made the colonies extremely wealthy however, there simply were not enough whites to meet the need of the plantations. So as the plantation system grew, slavery grew. The slaves were taught to be insubordinate. They endured hard labor, separation from their families, and the power of law, allowing them to be punished physically. And thus the beginning of slavery and the drawing of the racial line.