Articles: The Zinnification of America

He was somewhat wispy and vulnerable looking in spite of being tall. He could not debate well and he spoke slowly, as if he was in a mildly drugged high. He had a following of female students that was obvious, with lots of student rumors swirling around about his character. He was liked by the majority of his students, who like myself, wanted to take his classes. He was edgy and cool.

He was one of the fathers of the new left back in the late sixties and seventies. He inspired the SDS, coupling with them, making up many of the stories of why America was such a horrible place. The stories became his famous book A People’s History of the United States. In hindsight, it was obvious he made them up (being kind, let’s just say he slanted things), because he was a Marxist. During those years he spoke of the importance of “revolutionary thinking” in his classrooms. It’s hard to believe his influence grew so much.