Howard Zinn s The Vietnam War - 1446 Words

Howard Zinn says it best when he writes that â€Å"from 1964 to 1972, the wealthiest and most powerful nation in the history of the world made a maximum military effort, with everything short of atomic bombs, to defeat a nationalist revolutionary movement in a tiny peasant country – and failed† (Zinn, 460). Zinn does not mince words when expressing his thoughts about the Vietnam War, because as Zinn says, Vietnam was basically a modern portrayal of David vs. Goliath. One could even go as far as to say that Vietnam was in essence a case of mass genocide in Vietnam. Thousands and thousands of Vietnamese and America soldiers were killed along with thousands upon thousands of innocent, Vietnamese citizens. War is an infectious disease and the Vietnam War is a perfect example of how deadly of a disease war can be. Everybody involved in the Vietnam War was affected, whether it was Vietnamese citizens, Vietnamese soldiers, American soldiers, or even American citizens back home . The disease that was the Vietnam War infected the hearts and minds of two countries half way across the world from each other. To get some context the Vietnam War was part of a series of wars known as the Indochina Wars. The Vietnam War was preceded by the first Indochina War around fifteen years earlier. The first Indochina War was a fight for freedom between the Vietnamese (Viet Minh) and the Japanese/French. France had previously occupied Vietnam and Vietnam was known as French Indochina. The Viet Minh wereShow MoreRelatedLosing Vietnam On The Home Front1672 Words   |  7 Pages Losing Vietnam on the Home-front Forty six years have passed since the United States officially stopped their involvement in Vietnam. Not since the Civil war had the country been so torn. Every American family was impacted, losing husbands, sons, and daughters. Over fifty thousand Americans were killed and many more still suffer deep physical and emotional scars . Veterans took their own lives, were treated as social outcasts, or ended up on the streets with the homeless. The Vietnam conflictRead MoreExploring Howard Zinns Life 1575 Words   |  6 PagesThis paper explores Howard Zinn’s life as an influential historian and public intellectual. It argues for his critical, singular position as an academic who left a mark on generations of Americans as well as international persons by guiding us all to critically view various institutions and structures of power, particularly in the realm of government. By looking at four major aspects of his life, as radical historian, civil rights crusader, anti-war activist , and labor rights activist, the paperRead MoreAnalysis Of Howard Zinn s Indians History Of The Us And Larry Schweikart s, Patriots1516 Words   |  7 PagesHistory 2112 Critical Analysis Paper #1 Dr. Pitts James Hamby Monday-Wednesday 8:30pm Patriot’s vs. People’s Howard Zinn’s, Peoples’ History of the US and Larry Schweikart’s, Patriots’ History of the US are two analytical views on history that most people would consider politically conflicting. Zinn’s Marxist book was widely praised by liberal activist and Schweikart’s book is greatly publicized by conservatives like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. 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Thomas Liao U.S. History Mr. Magill February 18, 2010 Word Count 2785 Table of Contents The Paper 3 Works Cited 12 From 1959 to 1975, America has been engaged in her longest and most disappointing war she has ever been in, the Vietnam War. The war heavily taxed the country’s patience and will of the government. There were several bad decisions which led to the ultimate defeat and retreat of U.S. The Vietnam War had a mostlyRead MorePeople s History Of The United States By Howard Zinn Essay2221 Words   |  9 PagesThe book People’s History of the United States by the author Howard Zinn represents the history to the readers in a different perspective, making the readers look into the history in a difference lens making it insightful. What is a history? To answer this question, we must first establish a commonality in language: namely, what is history? It is a continuous, systematic narrative of past events as relating to a particular people, country, period, person which is usually written as a chronologicalRead MoreHoward Zinn Defines American Exceptionalism As The Belief1845 Words   |  8 PagesHoward Zinn defines American exceptionalism as the belief â€Å"...that the United States alone has the right, whether it be divine sanction or moral obligation, to bring civilization, or democracy, or liberty to the rest of the world, by violence if necessary.† The American exceptionalist ideology has domestic implications found in political rhetoric and within the founding of the United States. External implications of exceptionalism are evident in American foreign policy and militaristic interventionsRead MoreCase Analysis : The Last Innocent Year 2355 Words   |  10 Pagesto America, Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali, and three civil right workers were murdered in Mississippi. It was also the year that students at Berkeley rose up in protest, African Americans fought back against injustice in Harlem, and Goldwater s conservationists took over the Republican Party. 1964 was the year America faced choices that would greatly affect the future of the cou ntry. The film 1964, based on The Last Innocent Year: America in 1964 by Jon Margolis, covers the major events thatRead MoreJohn D. Rockefeller as a Robber Baron Essay3605 Words   |  15 Pages The Standard Oil Company brought a measure of order to a formerly confused industry. Anton Chaitkin agreed that John D. Rockefeller was indeed a robber baron of his time. In Treason of America, he disputes his argument by stating that in the 1860s Rockefeller ruthlessly consolidated oil refineries and oil-carrying railroads so as to create a giant trust known as Standard Oil. This trust controlled nearly all the oil in America. The monopolization of oil was very difficult to maintain for RockefellerRead More Native Americans- Minority Role Essay3423 Words   |  14 PagesWorld explorer, Amerigo Vespucci further established this imagery in his writings about the natives stating, quot;The nations wage war upon one another without art or order. The elders by means of certain harangues of theirs bend the youths to their will and inflame them to wars in which they cruelly kill one another, and those whom they bring home captives from war they preserve, not to spare their lives, but that they may be slain for food; for they eat one another, the victors the vanquished,