At a time when the United States is in the news for a lot of reasons I undertook reading this widely known book. This
book bursts a lot of myths about the United States. Being the most developed
nation in the world, it is believed that everything was and is rosy there. This
book highlights how the foundation of the U.S was laid on top of the corpses of
native Indians, laborers, African-Americans and the minorities.
The
book accuses (with a lot of evidence) that the
-
Founding Fathers deliberately set up a strong central government to protect the interests of the bondholders, the slave owners, the land speculators, the manufacturers. For the next two hundred years, the American government continued to serve the interests of the wealthy and powerful, offering millions of acres of free land to the railroads, setting high tariffs to protect manufacturers, giving tax breaks to oil corporations, and using its armed forces to suppress strikes and rebellions.
Founding Fathers deliberately set up a strong central government to protect the interests of the bondholders, the slave owners, the land speculators, the manufacturers. For the next two hundred years, the American government continued to serve the interests of the wealthy and powerful, offering millions of acres of free land to the railroads, setting high tariffs to protect manufacturers, giving tax breaks to oil corporations, and using its armed forces to suppress strikes and rebellions.
And
this is in strike contrast with the grand claim inscribed on the Statue of
Liberty –
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
#Tidbit
– The book is mentioned in the movie “Good Will Hunting” in the bar scene where
Matt Damon talks about it. Maybe in reciprocation, the book recalls a protest where
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon appear. There is a documentary with the name The People Speak (IMDB) based on the book which was broadcasted on History Channel starring the Good Will Hunting duo.
The
book ends with the author calling upon the masses and the cogs in the System to
wake up and rise against the oppression, selfish purposes of the Establishment.
Rise like lions after slumber
In unvanquishable number!
Shake your chains to earth, like dew
Which in sleep had fallen on you -
Ye are many, they are few!
I
managed to note some of the key points while reading it. I strongly recommend
you to read the book but if you're hard pressed for time here is a gist :-
In 1740s – 1830s
The author points out an uncomfortable fact – that
Men who engineered American revolution were largely members of ruling class.
They were people who were already well-to-do, landowners and the idea of
ushering in the revolution was to drive away the British in such a way that
their status quo maintained. [Thomas Jefferson - American founding father - was a slaveholder,
rich and had regressive views about women]
The govt. thus established represented the dominant
economic interests of the wealthy elite, small property owners, for middle
income mechanics and farmers. It enabled the elite to keep control.
Normal ordinary people were swept into the rhetoric
of “We The People” and under the fanfare of patriotism and unity. Interestingly
it didn’t include women and African-Americans.
The condition of women at that times was
deplorable. Women who were Afro-Americans were at a double disadvantage –
firstly being a woman and then being a slave. They went through unspeakable
miseries and it was only after a long struggle with lot of resistance
(including from the “wise” men) –
women finally managed to get equal share in the society. Lot of women thinkers,
leaders during the time just after Independence worked hard to bring in an
awakening among their sisters about their rights and prepped up their
self-esteem.
In 1830s – 1880s
A
forgotten fact is that Native Indians used to inhabit most of the present
United States of America. Even after driving out the British – a streak of
Imperialism remained in the people and this is what led them to take over the
lands of Native Americans. They used to inhabit those lands where their fathers
and their forefathers had lived and died. But they were driven out by conniving
outsiders using methods like bribing, war and atrocities. Treaties were made
under pressure and deception broke up tribal land into individual holdings
making each person prey to contractors.
Even
though slave importation was declared illegal in 1808, the South continued to
illegally import slaves and the slave population grew. Slaveholding was in
practice and racism was prevalent in the North as well as the South.
However,
the socio-economic system was such that the North was more prosperous and elite
– with the first wave of capitalism deepening its roots there. The South
meanwhile was rich with economic resources.
Leading
to the US Presidential election in 1860 (Abraham Lincoln became POTUS), there
were lot of policy clashes between the North and the South. The Northerners
wanted economic expansion, free land, free labor, a free market, a high
protective tariff for manufacture, a bank of the US. The slave interests in the
South opposed all of that and it finally culminated in 11 southern states
seceding from the Union.
The
popular perception is that Lincoln abolished slavery and the Civil War was
fought to abolish slavery from the United States. But the book suggests that
Lincoln wasn’t very keen on abolishing slavery.
In
a letter to his commander General Halleck, Lincoln wrote[verbatim from the
book] :
Dear Sir:... I have not
meant to leave anyone in doubt.... My paramount object in this struggle is to
save the Union, and is not either to save or destroy Slavery. If I could save
the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; and if I could save it by
freeing all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could do it by freeing some and
leaving others alone, I would also do that. What I do about Slavery and the
colored race, I do because it helps to save this Union; and what I forbear, I
forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union.... I have
here stated my purpose according to my view of official duty, and I intend no
modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men, everywhere, could
be free. Yours. A. Lincoln.
The
main purpose of the Civil War was to hold the nation together. And it so
happened that abolishing slavery fell in the path to hold it. This is how -
Emancipation Proclamation declared in Sept, 1862 was a military move which gave
the South 4 months to stop rebelling, and threatening to emancipate their
slaves if they continued to fight.
Lots
of slaves fled from the South and joined the Union Army and fought with the
North against the Confederates. It is ironic – that in the war assumed to be
fought for abolishing slavery: Initially, the blacks and whites were not on
equal pay until the Congress passed a law in 1864 granting that.
When
the war was over, the property confiscated in the slave states were returned
back to the heirs of the owners inexplicably because the slave owners were not
due any compensation. The govt. did not give a fair chance to the freed people
to start afresh by awarding them land and property. Instead they remained
dependent on the privileged southern whites for jobs and living even after the
War was over.
The
13th Amendment (1865) provides for abolition of slavery from the
United States, however the situation on the ground didn’t change a lot. Ku Klux
Klan and other such organizations sprang up.
1870s – 1930s
As
a way of drowning class resentment in a flood of slogans for national unity –
there was patriotism. Modus Operandi
America
supported Cuba in its liberation attempts against the Spanish – thinking it to
be an act of generosity by helping the rebels. They could see parallels of 1776
in Cuba. Also, at the back of the mind was the idea of opening of a new market
for their products.
Under
Teller Amendment -> U.S pledged not to annex Cuba.
However,
U.S didn’t annex Cuba but after sending its forces to help the Cuban rebels
against the Spanish (without even being formally asked for help) – the Cuban
Constitutional Convention was told that the U.S forces won’t leave Cuba until
the Platt Amendment was incorporated into the Cuban Constitution.
Platt
Amendment gave U.S the right to intervene for preservation of Cuban
Independence whenever it felt it was in danger.
At
this time, factories employed lots of skilled and unskilled labor, immigrants
and locals who worked at pitiful wages with no perks and benefits. The workers’
attempts to unionize were dealt with a strong hang – strikebreakers, force,
blacklisting the leaders and all the weapons System could put together
(newspapers, the courts, the police, the army, mob violence).
Women
and colored workers were at a double disadvantage as some sort of radical and
sexist under-currents were still present in the trade unions. (around 1908)
There
were strikes, new unions forming from time to time. These new unions resolved
to improve workers’ conditions and negotiate better workplace conditions.
Amidst
rising furor for reforms, Theodore Roosevelt (Progressives) realized it was
necessary to stem the tide of rising Socialism (Socialist Party had record
membership) and that could be done by blunting the main arguments of Socialists
(by doing some reforms).
U.S
under Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed out of the First World War. But it
supplied materials to the Allies during the War which revived its economy.
After the sinking of Lusitania – the U.S joined WW1.
Lots
of Socialists were against the War as they could see through the proclamation
of War by the Congress as a ploy to bridge the class resentment and divide.
Some
Socialists did side with the govt. after the proclamation. However, those who
opposed were hounded under the Espionage Act.
Draft
was made compulsory. The public gave a lukewarm response and the book claims
that a lot of effort was put in to excite a reluctant public towards the War.
1964-72
In
the Vietnam War, US put in a lot of resources – soldiers and money to win in
those improbable conditions. As the War stretched it stretched the patience of
the public with the public opinion plummeting. There were some desertions and
considering the anti-war sentiment – compulsory draft was abolished.
In
the judicial system lot of convictions were racially and economically biased.
For
example –
For
fraud worth $190,000 sentence was for 7 months.
For
fraud worth $1000, sentence was for 18 months.
It
is easy to imagine people belonging to which economic class were committing
what kind of crimes.
Dostavski
once said – “Degree of civilization in a society
can be judged by entering its prisons”.
At
this time questions about conditions of women started gaining prominence [pay,
wages, abortion etc]. Women who worked only in their homes – worked very hard
but this wasn’t looked on as work because in a capitalist society if work is
not paid for, not given a value it is considered valueless. So women doing
housework were people outside the modern economic system – like serfs or
peasants.
At
the time when Pres. Nixon was in office it was alleged that he was behind the
Nixon Gate. He eventually resigned amidst all evidence pointing at him.
Howard
Zinn says that the system agreed to sacrifice Nixon to appease and
pacify the outrage but kept the values and connections in place which had
allowed Watergate scandal to happen in the first place. Part of the problem is the corporate influence on the
White House which is a permanent fact of the American system.
Also,
mass media tends to co-operate with the govt. (it did in the 70s and does it
even today) by not reporting certain incidents on matters of national security.
The
Establishment, which the book describes as a caucus of “Law
firms, Media, Bureaucracy, Important Businesses, Banks, Foundations/Think
Tanks, Executive Branch, Parliament/Senate”, is
eager to
keep the masses attention away from the main problems.
1990s
The
inequality in the U.S rose sharply with the top 1% holding disproportionate
wealth. This leaded to a bitter battle for resources made scarce by elite
control as the remaining 99% fought for the leftovers.
The
Establishment wants to deflect the masses’ attention from the plunder done by
people in power on the pretext of national unity. It is shown that the threat
is abroad and not within (Soviet Union, after Soviet Union disintegration – in Iraq
and Gulf regions). The only unity Establishment cares about is the top 1%. The
remaining 99% fight bitterly over the scarce resources and are splintered into
various factions. Moreover, the society is so stratified by wealth and
education that suppresses to class anger and envy.
The
middle class is taxed to pay for the relief of the poor. It helps in building a
layer of resentment (middle class) on
top of humiliation (lower class).
As a result, middle class resents
paying for the poor. They start believing the poor are lazy and they are poor
in the first place because of their own doing.
The Establishment wants the masses
to forget the enormous capacity in them to bring change (hence many such
entertainment galas).
And it is an irony that -
People’s movements have so far been defeated. “Socialist” revolutions
have betrayed Socialism. Nationalist revolutions have led to dictatorships.
In times like these when
Establishment has such tight control over the masses - the hope rests on the
Guards of the System – soldiers and police, teachers and ministers, doctors,
lawyers, nurses, transport and communication workers, garbage men and firemen.
The prisoners of the System (the normal working masses) will continue to rebel
as before, but now there is a chance they will be joined by guards.
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