A People's History of the United States

When was the working class strongest in America? What made them strongest? What tactics did they implement that made them so?

When was the American working class the weakest? What tactics worked well in disrupting activism? What is the role of pessimism versus optimism in regard to activism?

Zinn suggests that war suppresses activism. Evaluate this position. Are there cases where war builds activism? Did America’s wars generally weaken or strengthen activist movements?

Would you rate American popular movements as overall more successful or unsuccessful? Pick a side, no fence-sitting! What did they achieve? Were their successes durable? Did they achieve what they set out to or were they frustrated in their larger aims?

What is the utility of moderation versus radicalism? Zinn argues that moderation only produces hollow victories, limited gains that are easily revoked. Is that correct? Is radicalism the only way to produce tangible changes, or is radicalism unsustainable in the long term? Cite examples from American history.

What is the relationship between capitalism, activism, and imperialism? How did imperialism change the American experiment in the late 19th and 20th centuries? How did it affect the American economy, and how did it affect American labor?

Why do you think American activism fell apart during the 1970s? The 1960s seemed to be a hopeful and optimistic time for many advocates. Why did this change? Why do you think this lasted into the 21st century? Is this something still present in the United States, or was there a moment that reversed the trend?

What are the strengths of A People’s History? What are its weaknesses? What do these tell us about the challenges of writing history?