Jacob Grijalva 10/3/19

Summer Assignment Part II APUSH Per. 6

The American Pageant
Chapter 1 Summary:
Chapter 1 represents the origins of the New World. It discusses in great detail how the
New World developed. It discussed the land bridge that connected Asia to North America, the
developing tribes who made massive societal advancements, the true importance of agriculture in
the New World, the Europeans who sought to explore the world, and the era of Spanish
conquest. The authors of this textbook were really trying to convey the importance of the early
advancements made in the New World and how they have impacted the events to unfold later on.
Considering this is a textbook, the amount of evidence is limited to an extent. Obviously the
writers could not casually write full essays of each topic for discussion, especially because the
textbook was written for the intent of students to learn about the history. However, there are
small pieces of evidence on some pages of the textbook, usually referencing a primary source
document or an artifact or even just a map to provide structure and support to the history given.
Of course, the historical accounts given are considered secondary sources, and are not biased in
any way. This allows for the audience, being students, to receive a broad range of views and
stances on certain aspects of historical context, making this textbook a perfect learning tool. The
points most deeply explained in Chapter 1 would be the importance of agricultural goods on the
developing tribes and the spread of Spanish conquest throughout the Americas.
Chapter 2 Summary:
Chapter 2 discusses the development of English America, covering the battles the British
and Spanish had to control the Americas, the development of the earliest American settlements,
and the first interactions the American settlements had with each other, leading to the
developments of the colonies. Religion played a huge role in the colonization efforts in the
Americas, as the Protestant Reformation caused division not only in England, but it divided the
relationships England had with other countries like Spain and Ireland. The authors of this
textbook were trying to convey the impact that these early disputes had on the development of
the colonies. The amount of evidence is once again limited because it is from a textbook meant
to teach students. The small amounts of evidence are still there, keeping the writers of this
textbook credible throughout. The textbook at all times remains unbiased and represents a
secondary source account of these events for the sake of learning purposes. The topics most
thoroughly discussed in Chapter 2 are the Protestant Reformation, the Virginia Company, the
settlement of Jamestown, the Anglo-Powhatan Wars, the agricultural behavior of the settlements,
the first form of government (House of Burgesses), the importance of Maryland as a religious
safe-haven, the Iroquois Confederacy, and the development of the other colonies. The textbook
does an excellent job of conveying how these topics impacted each other and the future events.
 A People’s History of the United States
Chapter 1:
Chapter 1 describes Christopher Columbus’ discoveries when he reached the Americas by
accident. He was meant to go to the East but he accidently arrived in North America. He arrived
on the Bahamas in 1492 and was greeted by Arawak Indians. He was searching for gold,
considering that if he found any, he would be given the right to govern all the land he discovered.
Columbus noticed that the Arawaks had gold ornaments in their ears, so he decided that he
would capture them constantly in hope to find the gold that they have. Columbus reported to
Spain saying that the islands he was on contained gold, and Spain sent out more ships to search
for it. Meanwhile the Indians he had captured became slaves. Zinn (the author) then continues to
describe the Spanish conquest on the Aztecs and Peru. Hernando Cortes killed the Aztecs, and
Francisco Pizarro managed a capitalist system in Peru. The development of the settlements in
North America became the next topic, where Zinn discussed the wars between English Puritans
and the Indians who were already living at Massachusetts Bay, and how the Indians eventually
became wiped out by the English. Rather than just giving an unbiased account of all of these
historical events, Zinn also puts in some of his own opinions. One example of this is how he
believes that the genocide of the Indians was unnecessary for moral and logistical reasons.
Zinn’s goal as the author is not to describe the historical accounts from a nation’s point of view,
but to go more in depth into the effect the historical accounts had on individual societies and
communities. He acknowledges that it isn’t only what happened that makes the history
important, but how it affected individuals makes it all the more important. It is also worth
acknowledging that compared to The American Pageant, Zinn describes the historical accounts
much faster and doesn’t go as in detail about every intricacy. The purpose of this is because Zinn
is also sharing his opinions and beliefs on certain topics rather than just describing them all in
detail. This requires him to compensate for the amount of writing he decides to do. While The
American Pageant was obviously directed to students as an audience, Zinn’s book can be
directed to not only students, but people who want to see different views on the same history. It
is important to note that not all historians describe all history the same, especially if they are
writing biased accounts. For example, Zinn may feel that the genocide of the Indians at
Massachusetts Bay was unnecessary meanwhile another historian may feel that it was absolutely
necessary. As a student (for the purpose of these two texts having a shared audience), this book
is great for being able to truly understand history, as history cannot be told without opinion. It
provides for a broader range of views and stances on the same topic. One will see that opinion
may even be important to have a deeper understanding of any topic in general.