There were a lot of significant takeaways, in my opinion, from Chapters 3 and 4 of Zinn’s book that definitely needs to be discussed more often and made a part of public knowledge or education. When I first read about the horrible injustices like rape, domestic violence, and other crimes that were committed by rich white males that were ultimately swept under the rug and ignored by the governing bodies (which were also made up of rich white males) I was disgusted but not shocked. It, unfortunately, reminded me of the current justice system and the rapes by white men like Brock Turner which aren’t rightfully punished. It was disheartening to see that this trend is embedded in our history and that it is still being repeated today.
Secondly, I am a very big fan of the Broadway production Hamilton and I used to take away from it, and US history in general, a story about the classic American dream and the victorious and honorable American Revolution. However, now I honestly see the American dream as a façade and a ploy by rich white males to maintain their power. Europeans were fleeing their home countries for a better life the American way, and from the beginning of time, that was all a lie. It makes me wonder why the American dream even became something that was strived for when in reality the US was always a place of division. Another key component of the American dream is that there is a chance for class mobility and that anyone can succeed and improve their living situations. However, I honestly don’t know how this came to be because the wealth disparity was so fixed that the wealthiest people didn’t want anyone else to rise to power and the middle class didn’t even bother trying to fight back; they were just happy that they weren’t the lower class. There was no unity before, during, or after the American revolution. There were no “us” or “our people” or common “man” that was equal as stated in the Constitution; these were all fake linguistic tools that were deployed by the wealthy out of fear of rebellion.
Further, the persistence of the top 1% of people to enforce racism in the lower classes was so intensive it makes me question why people ever thought that African Americans were naturally and innately inferior. The interracial relations were everywhere throughout history, yet the narrative of the minority, which was the white men with property, somehow prevailed and created consequences that are still unfolding today. It’s honestly perplexing to me how racism developed, yet I do understand the manipulation by leaders to end the phenomenon between white and black servants (and Native Americans as well) that can be described by the phrase “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
I agree with you that the idea of the 1% enforces racism. Race and socioeconomic standing are sadly very closely related because of the way that his country was built and formed. I also am perplexed by the way racism came to be because quite frankly it has no line of logic and it could’ve gone so many different ways. I like your use of the phrase “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” because it also helps with understanding this idea.
Sophia, I concur with you that the information Zinn (1980) presents in chapters three and four of his book needs to be included in the American school curriculum! I had a similar reaction when I read that the American dream and its ideals of liberty and equality were simply a device used by wealthy white men to secure the loyalty of the white middle-class men so that they could retain their wealth and property while continuing to oppress blacks, indigenous peoples, and women. It is a bit eerie at how strategic the elite of colonial America was in coercing the events leading up to the Revolutionary War. Additionally, Zinn’s (1980) arguments about what the Declaration of Independence truly meant when it advocates for equality and liberty for all men was enlightening as I did not know the context and intention behind the evocative rhetoric Thomas Jefferson employed when drafting this document.
I really agree with your comments about the facade of the American dream. I was fortunate enough to have an education in high school that made me aware of some of the falsities of the idea. Regardless of your hard work and ambition, sometimes systemic factors such as racist and classist oppression can keep even the hardest working of citizens from rising to the top and climbing the ladder of social/class mobility. Systemic factors such as these create a wide disparity of opportunity between various communities in the United States both then and now, and those lacking opportunity also often lacked the resources necessary in order to acquire those opportunities.