Howard Zinn Analysis

Midterm
In Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States he discusses his views and opinions on war in general and the harsh realities of America. He specifically talks about the Spanish American War, the Filipino American War, World War I and World War II. He mentions how America became apart of these wars and while discussing these wars, Zinn mentions many groups and people who opposed these wars. He also shines light upon how the United States responded to these people. Zinn gives his readers the bitter taste of America’s reality; he explains that America is not all that great and prestigious as some people describe it to be. Zinn also covers the injustice colored people and workers faced he breaks away from the standard textbook

The Filipino American War began because the Americans did not want to give them back to Spain nor did they want to hand them over to their rivals, France and Germany.They also came to the conclusion that they were too weak to govern themselves. And to please the people, they told them that they were going to be Christianized and civilized. Proof of this can be found when President Mckinley said, “That there was nothing left for us to do but to take them all and to educate the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize and Christianize them” (313). However, America 's true motive for war was to gain a profit out of the Philippines since, “No land in America surpasses in fertility the plains and valleys of Luzon. Rice and coffee, sugar and cocoanuts, hemp and tobacco. The wood of the Philippines can supply the furniture of the world for a century to come” (314). William James was somebody who opposed the war, he wanted to, “ educate the American public about the horrors of the Philippine war and the evils of imperialism” (314). And in response, many innocent Filipino civilians would be killed. The Philadelphia Ledger reported, “our men have been relentless, have killed to exterminate men, women, children, prisoners and captives, active insurgents and suspected people from lads of ten up, the idea prevailing that the Filipino as such was little better than a dog”