2.24 Teaching Howard Zinn Instead of History
My daughter's school assigned her to read "A Young People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn. Many other schools and colleges are assigning Howard's books for history class. These books convince young people that America is bad, racist and imperialist and that capitalism is bad. Zinn whitewashes communism and the communist leader Lenin.
Bruce Bawer wrote the following about Howard Zinn on Frontpage Magazine's web site.
His parents were peasants from Russia and the Ukraine. Had they stayed in that part of the world, any children they had would’ve grown up under Stalin – and, if they’d dared to say anything critical of Uncle Joe (Stalin) in public, they wouldn’t have made it to adulthood. In fact, both mom and dad emigrated to America, where their son, like so many other offspring of destitute immigrants, succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. He became rich and famous, in fact. And how did he become rich and famous? By celebrating Communism and savaging America...
For example, Zinn maintains that America was founded as – and has always been – a totalitarian state. Yes, Americans today are richer and freer than pretty much everybody else who’s ever lived on this planet; but Zinn’s readers are presented with a picture of an America whose economic inequality and political oppression are virtually without parallel. American heroism? American accomplishment? American ingenuity? Your kids won’t learn about these things from Zinn’s jeremiad. In his hands, even the most admirable chapters of American history become evidence of the depths of American perfidy.
Today, Zinn’s diatribe is used at schools and colleges all over America, at virtually every level, and in a wide range of disciplines. For decades, despite severe criticism by responsible and objective historians, it’s been by far the most influential of all American history textbooks. As Mary Grabar, born in Communist Yugoslavia, demonstrated in her powerful 2019 exposé Debunking Howard Zinn: Exposing the Fake History that Turned a Generation Against America, it’s proven to be a magnificent tool for left-wing teachers who see it as their role not to educate but to indoctrinate, and has consequently played a huge role in turning young Americans against their own country and transforming them into devout socialists.
Dr. Mary Grabar tells us about Dr. Zinn and his books in the video below.
Dr. Mary Grabar mentions how Zinn portrayed Columbus as evil. This web site has a page about Columbus that shows he had both good and bad qualities. Dr. Grabar said in the video that Marxists believe that those who have power are bad and those who don't are good. They only believe that if Marxists aren't in power. That kind of belief will cause Marxists to keep trying to overthrow any government that isn't Marxist. One way they might do that is by trying to convince everyone that their current government is bad which is exactly what Mr. Zinn did.
Zinn portrays Lenin as a hero. Here is a short excerpt about what Bruce Bawer wrote about Lenin:
Lenin faced the challenge of another branch of Communists, the Mensheviks. To help bring them down, Lenin’s colleague, Leon Trotsky, hired former Czarist officers to lead some of his troops – and, in a typically charming Bolshevik touch, ensured their loyalty by holding their families hostage. Once Lenin wiped out the Mensheviks, he turned his sights on the so-called kulaks – namely, “wealthy peasants,” which in that era meant families who might own “a cow or two.” Lenin savaged them relentlessly, calling them “bloodsuckers” and “vampires” and encouraging other peasants to wreak havoc upon them. ...Meanwhile Lenin’s agricultural policies led to mass starvation. Lenin demonized the U.S., but in response to the famine in Russia the U.S. government established the American Relief Administration, led by future President Hoover, which spent enormous sums to relieve Russian hunger. And how did the Communists respond? They kept the American food from their people, and instead sold it abroad in order to get their hands on hard currency – the ruble being worthless on the international market. Eventually the famine got so bad that Lenin briefly permitted a free market to flourish. As a result, the economy boomed overnight. The people suddenly thrived. Emma Goldman, the ardent Communist writer and activist (she’s the one who was portrayed by Maureen Stapleton in Reds as a homey, down-to-earth idealist), was shocked to see with her own eyes that a free market could make such a positive difference. But soon enough Lenin shut it all down, and that was that.
Click Here to Take Quiz and Earn Points
Click here to find out how to get rewards for taking quizzes
Dr. Grabar mentioned that Zinn said that America went to war with the North Vietnamese because America is imperialist. Is that true?
 Lesson List |
