People's History of the US by Howard Zinn - Book Report/Review Example

Zinn also talks about the inhuman ways in which masters disregarded the family ties of slaves to make a profit. He is particularly irritated at the way they handled families. He talks about one case in 1958 where a slave, Abram Scriven was sold and sent far away from his family. He wrote his parents a letter and sent it through his wife, saying goodbye to them; he hoped that they would meet again, if not on earth, then in heaven (156).

Slave revolts were not as common in the US as they were in the south Americas. However, the author notes that casualties from such uprisings were alarming. Eighty-two slaves were killed in 1811, thirty-five in 1822, and eighteen in 1831 (Zinn 157). The author is upset by the fact that it had to take a bigger uprising, championed by President Lincoln, to end slavery, not because it was inhuman, but because the government felt that the uprisings would not stop at ending slavery, but also challenge the capitalist system. The government’s intervention was, therefore, an attempt to safeguard the interests of imperialist masters who controlled the economy.

The author was not impressed by the turn of events before, during, and after the American Civil War, which marked the end of slavery in the US.