Voices of a People’s History of the United States

Table of Contents

Contents

• Acknowledgements • p. 19
• Introduction • p. 23

CHAPTER 1: COLUMBUS AND LAS CASAS • p. 29

• The Diario of Christopher Columbus (October 11-15, 1492) • p. 30
• Bartolome de Las Casas, Two Readings on the Legacy of Columbus (1542 and 1550)
  • Bartolome de Las Casas, The Devastation of the Indies: A Brief Account (1542) • p. 33
  • Bartolome de Las Casas, In Defense of the Indians (1550) • p. 42
• Eduardo Galeano, Memory of Fire (1982) • p. 45

CHAPTER 2: THE FIRST SLAVES • p. 51

• Three Documents on Slave Revolts (1720 to 1793)
  • Anonymous Letter to Mr. Boone in London (June 24, 1720) • p. 52
  • Letter from Petersburg, Virginia (May 17, 1792) • p. 52
  • Secret Keeper Richmond (Unknown) to Secret Keeper Norfolk (Unknown) (1793) • p. 53
• Four Petitions Against Slavery (1773 to 1777)
  • “Felix” (Unknown)….Slave Petition for Freedom (January 6, 1773) • p. 54
  • Peter Bestes and Other Slaves Petition for Freedom (April 20, 1773) • p. 55
  • “Petition of a Grate Number of Blackes” to Thomas Gage (May 25, 1774) • p. 56
  • “Petition of a Great Number of Negroes” to the Massachusetts House of Representatives (January 13, 1777) • p. 57
• Benjamin Banneker, Letter to Thomas Jefferson (August 19, 1791) • p. 58

CHAPTER 3: SERVITUDE AND REBELLION • p. 63

• Richard Frethorne on Indentured Servitude (March 20-April 3, 1623) • p. 64
• A True Narrative of the Rise , Progresse y and Cessation of the Late Rebellion in Virginia, Most Humbly and Impartially Reported by His Majesty es Commissioners Appointed to Enquire into the Affaires of the Said Colony (1677) • p. 66
• Proclamation of the New Hampshire Legislature on the Mast Tree Riot (1734) • p. 69
• Letter Written by William Shirley to the Lords of Trade about the Knowles Riot (December 1, 1747) • p. 69
• Gottlieb Mittelberger, Gottlieb Mittelbergers Journey to Pennsylvania in the Year 1750 and Return to Germany in the Year 1754 (1734) • p. 72
• Account of the New York Tenant Riots (July 14, 1766) • p. 76

CHAPTER 4: PREPARING THE REVOLUTION • p. 79

• Thomas Hutchinson Recounts the Reaction to the Stamp Act in Boston (1765) • p. 80
• Samuel Drowne’s Testimony on the Boston Massacre (March 16, 1770) • p. 82
• George Hewes Recalls the Boston Tea Party (1834) • p. 83
• New York Mechanics Declaration of Independence (May 29, 1776) • p. 86
• Thomas Paine, Common Sense (1776) • p. 87

CHAPTER 5: HALF A REVOLUTION • p. 93

• Joseph Clarke s Letter about the Rebellion in Springfield (August 30, 1774) • p. 94
• Joseph Plumb Martin, A Narrative of Some of the Adventures, Dangers and Sufferings of a Revolutionary Soldier (1830) • p. 96
• Samuel Dewees Recounts the Suppression of Insubordination in the Continental Army after the Mutinies of 1781 (1844) • p. 100
• Henry Knox, Letter to George Washington (October 23, 1786) • p. 103
• “Publius” (James Madison), Federalist No. 10 (November 23, 1787) • p. 107

CHAPTER 6: THE EARLY WOMEN’S MOVEMENT • p. 113

• Maria Stewart, “An Address Delivered at the African Masonic Hall, Boston” (February 27, 1833) • p. 116
• Angelina Grimke Welds Speech at Pennsylvania Hall (May 17, 1838) • p. 117
• Harriet Hanson Robinson, “Characteristics of the Early Factory Girls” (1898) • p. 121
• S. Margaret Fuller Ossoli, Woman in the Nineteenth Century (1845) • p. 124
• Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions,” Seneca Falls Convention (July 19, 1848) • p. 126
• Sojourner Truth, “Ain’t I a Woman?” (1851) • p. 128
• Marriage Protest of Lucy Stone and Henry B. Blackwell (May 1, 1855) • p. 129
• Susan B. Anthony Addresses Judge Ward Hunt in The United States of America v. Susan B. Anthony (June 19, 1873) • p. 130

CHAPTER 7: INDIAN REMOVAL • p. 133

• Tecumseh’s Speech to the Osages (Winter 1811-12) • p. 134
• Two Documents on the Cherokee Removal (1829 and 1830)
  • Cherokee Nation, “Memorial of the Cherokee Indians” (December 1829) • p. 136
  • Lewis Ross et al., Address of the Committee and Council of the Cherokee Nation, in General Council Convened, to the People of the United States (July 17, 1830) • p. 139
• Black Hawk’s Surrender Speech (1832) • p. 140
• John G. Burnett, “The Cherokee Removal Through the Eyes of a Private Soldier” (December 11, 1890) • p. 142
• Two Statements by Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce (1877 and 1879)
  • Chief Joseph’s Surrender (October 5, 1877) • p. 146
  • Chief Joseph Recounts His Trip to Washington, D.C. (1879) • p. 147
• Black Elk, “The End of the Dream” (1932) • p. 149

CHAPTER 8: THE WAR ON MEXICO • p. 133

• The Diary of Colonel Ethan Allen Hitchcock (June 30, 1845-March 26, 1846) • p. 154
• Miguel Barragan, Dispatch on Texas Colonists (October 31, 1835) • p. 156
• Juan Soto, Desertion Handbill (June 6, 1847) • p. 158
• Frederick Douglass, Address to the New England Convention (May 31, 1849) • p. 159
• North Star Editorial, “The War with Mexico” (January 21, 1848) • p. 160
• Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience (1849) • p. 164

CHAPTER 9: SLAVERY AND DEFIANCE • p. 167

• David Walker’s Appeal (1830) • p. 168
• Harriet A. Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl: Written by Herself (1861) • p. 171
• James Norcoms Runaway Slave Newspaper Advertisement for Harriet Jacobs (June 30, 1835) • p. 174
• James R. Bradley, Letter to Lydia Maria Child (June 3, 1834) • p. 174
• Reverend Theodore Parker, Speech of Theodore Parker at the Faneuil Hall Meeting (May 26, 1854) • p. 176
• Two Letters from Slaves to Their Former Masters (1844 to 1860)
  • Henry Bibb, Letter to William Gatewood (March 23, 1844) • p. 180
  • Jermain Wesley Loguen, Letter to Sarah Logue (March 28, 1860) • p. 181
• Frederick Douglass, “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” (July 5, 1852) • p. 183
• John Brown, “John Brown’s Last Speech” (November 2, 1859) • p. 187
• Osborne P. Anderson, A Voice from Harper’s Ferry (1861) • p. 188
• Martin Delany’s Advice to Former Slaves (July 23, 1865) • p. 191
• Henry McNeal Turner, “On the Eligibility of Colored Members to Seats in the Georgia Legislature” (September 3, 1868) • p. 194

CHAPTER 10: CIVIL WAR AND CLASS CONFLICT • p. 197

• An Eyewitness Account of the Flour Riot in New York (February 1837) • p. 198
• Hinton Rowan Helper, The Impending Crisis of the South (1857) • p. 200
• “Mechanic” (Unknown), “Voting by Classes” (October 13, 1863) • p. 202
• Joel Tyler Headley, The Great Riots of New York (1873) • p. 204
• Four Documents on Disaffection in the South During the Civil War (1864 to 1865)
  • Report on a Bread Riot in Savannah, Georgia (April 1864) • p. 208
  • “Exempt” (Unknown), “To Go, Or Not to Go” (June 28, 1864) • p. 209
  • O.G.G. (Unknown), Letter to the Editor (February 17, 1865) • p. 209
  • Columbus Sun, “The Class That Suffer” (February 17, 1865) • p. 210
• J. A. Dacus, Annals of the Great Strikes in the United States (1877) • p. 211

CHAPTER 11: STRIKERS AND POPULISTS IN THE GILDED AGE • p. 215

• Henry George, “The Crime of Poverty” (April 1, 1885) • p. 216
• August Spies, “Address of August Spies” (October 7, 1886) • p. 219
• Anonymous, “Red-Handed Murder: Negroes Wantonly Killed at Thibodaux, La.” (November 26, 1887) • p. 221
• Reverend Ernest Lyon et al., Open Letter from the New Orleans Mass Meeting (August 22, 1888) • p. 223
• Two Speeches by Mary Elizabeth Lease (circa 1890)
  • “Wall Street Owns the Country” (circa 1890) • p. 226
  • Speech to the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (1890) • p. 226
• The Omaha Platform of the People’s Party of America (1 892) • p. 229
• Reverend J. L. Moore on the Colored Farmers’ Alliance (March 7, 1891) • p. 230
• Ida B. Wells-Barnett, “Lynch Law” (1893) • p. 232
• Statement from the Pullman Strikers (June 15, 1894) • p. 234
• Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward: 2000—1887 (1888) • p. 237

CHAPTER 12: THE EXPANSION OF THE EMPIRE • p. 239

• Calixto Garcias Letter to General William R. Shafter (July 17, 1898) • p. 241
• Three Documents on African-American Opposition to Empire (1898 to 1899)
  • Lewis H. Douglass on Black Opposition to McKinley (November 17, 1899) • p. 243
  • Missionary Department of the Atlanta, Georgia, A.M.E. Church, “The Negro Should Not Enter the Army” (May 1, 1899) • p. 244
  • I. D. Barnett et al., Open Letter to President McKinley by Colored People of Massachusetts (October 3, 1899) • p. 245
• Samuel Clemens, “Comments on the Moro Massacre” (March 12, 1906) • p. 248
• Smedley D. Butler, War Is a Racket (1933) • p. 252

CHAPTER 13: SOCIALISTS AND WOBBLIES • p. 257

• Mother Jones, “Agitation: The Greatest Factor for Progress” (March 24, 1903) • p. 258
• Upton Sinclair, The Jungle (1906) • p. 261
• W. E. B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk (1903) • p. 264
• Emma Goldman, “Patriotism: A Menace to Liberty” (1908) • p. 270
• “Proclamation of the Striking Textile Workers of Lawrence” (1912) • p. 272
• Arturo Giovannitti’s Address to the Jury (November 23, 1912) • p. 275
• Woody Guthrie, “Ludlow Massacre” (1946) • p. 278
• Julia May Courtney, “Remember Ludlow!” (May 1914) • p. 280
• Joe Hill, “My Last Will” (November 18, 1915) • p. 282

CHAPTER 14: PROTESTING THE FIRST WORLD WAR • p. 283

• Helen Keller, “Strike Against War” (January 5, 1916) • p. 284
• John Reed, “Whose War?” (April 1917) • p. 288
• “Why the IWW Is Not Patriotic to the United States” (1918) • p. 291
• Emma Goldman, Address to the Jury in U.S. v. Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman (July 9, 1917) • p. 292
• Two Antiwar Speeches by Eugene Debs (1918)
  • “The Canton, Ohio, Speech” (June 16, 1918) • p. 295
  • Statement to the Court (September 18, 1918) • p. 297
• Randolph Bourne, “The State” (1918) • p. 298
• e. e. cummings, “i sing of Olaf glad and big” (1931) • p. 302
• John Dos Passos, “The Body of an American” (1932) • p. 304
• Dalton Trumbo, Johnny Got His Gun (1939) • p. 306

CHAPTER 15: FROM THE JAZZ AGE TO THE UPRISINGS OF THE 1930s • p. 311

• F. Scott Fitzgerald, “Echoes of the Jazz Age” (1931) • p. 312
• Yip Harburg, “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” (1932) • p. 314
• Paul Y. Anderson, “Tear-Gas, Bayonets, and Votes” (August 17, 1932) • p. 315
• Mary Licht, “I Remember the Scottsboro Defense” (February 15, 1997) • p. 320
• Ned Cobb (“Nate Shaw”), All God’s Dangers (1969) • p. 323
• Billie Holiday, “Strange Fruit” (1937) • p. 327
• Two Poems by Langston Hughes (1934 and 1940)
  • “Ballad of Roosevelt” (1934) • p. 327
  • “Ballad of the Landlord” (1940) • p. 329
• Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Speech to the Court (April 9, 1927) • p. 331
• Vicky Starr (“Stella Nowicki”), “Back of the Yards” (1973) • p. 332
• Sylvia Woods, “You Have to Fight for Freedom” (1973) • p. 336
• Rose Chernin on Organizing the Unemployed in the Bronx in the 1930s (1949) • p. 340
• Genora (Johnson) Dollinger, Striking Flint: Genora (Johnson) Dollinger Remembers the 1936-37 GM Sit-Down Strike (February 1995) • p. 345
• John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath (1939) • p. 350
• Woody Guthrie, “This Land Is Your Land” (February 1940) • p. 353

CHAPTER 16: WORLD WAR II AND MCCARTHYISM • p. 355

• Paul Fussell, ‘“Precision Bombing Will Win the War”’ (1989) • p. 356
• Yuri Kochiyama, “Then Came the War” (1991) • p. 359
• Yamaoka Michiko, “Eight Hundred Meters from the Hypocenter” (1992) • p. 363
• United States Strategic Bombing Survey, Summary Report (Pacific War) (July 1, 1946) • p. 367
• Admiral Gene Larocque Speaks to Studs Terkel About “The Good War” (1985) • p. 373
• Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) • p. 376
• Paul Robeson’s Unread Statement before the House Committee on Un-American Activities (June 12, 1956) • p. 378
• Peter Seeger, “Thou Shall Not Sing” (1989) • p. 382
• I. F. Stone, “But It’s Not Just Joe McCarthy” (March 15, 1954) • p. 384
• The Final Letter from Ethel and Julius Rosenberg to Their Children (June 19, 1953) • p. 388

CHAPTER 17: THE BLACK UPSURGE AGAINST RACIAL SEGREGATION • p. 389

• Richard Wright, 12 Million Black Voices (1941) • p. 391
• Langston Hughes, “Montage of a Dream Deferred” (1951) • p. 393
• Anne Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi (1968) • p. 394
• John Lewis, Original Text of Speech to Be Delivered at the Lincoln Memorial (August 28, 1963) • p. 398
• Malcolm X, “Message to the Grass Roots” (November 10, 1963) • p. 400
• Martha Honey, Letter from Mississippi Freedom Summer (August 9, 1964) • p. 402
• Testimony of Fannie Lou Hamer (August 22, 1964) • p. 404
• Testimony of Rita L. Schwerner (1964) • p. 406
• Alice Walker, “Once” (1968) • p. 410
• Sandra A. West, “Riot ! — A Negro Residents Story” (July 24, 1967) • p. 415
• Martin Luther King, Jr., “Where Do We Go from Here?” (August 16, 1967) • p. 417

CHAPTER 18: VIETNAM AND BEYOND: THE HISTORIC RESISTANCE • p. 421

• Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, McComb, Mississippi, Petition Against the War in Vietnam (July 28, 1965) • p. 422
• Martin Luther King, Jr., “Beyond Vietnam” (April 4, 1967) • p. 423
• Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Position Paper on Vietnam (January 6, 1966) • p. 427
• Bob Dylan, “Masters of War” (1963) • p. 429
• Muhammad Ali Speaks Out Against the Vietnam War (1966) • p. 431
• Jonathan Schell, The Village of Ben Suc (1967) • p. 431
• Larry Colburn, “They Were Butchering People” (2003) • p. 437
• Haywood T. “The Kid” Kirkland, from Bloods: An Oral History of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans (1984) • p. 440
• Loung Ung, “People Just Disappeared and You Didn’t Say Anything” (2003) • p. 442
• Tim O’Brien, “The Man I Killed” (1990) • p. 444
• Maria Herrera-Sobek, Two Poems on Vietnam (1999) • p. 448
• Daniel ElIsberg, Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers (2003) • p. 450

CHAPTER 19: WOMEN, GAYS, AND OTHER VOICES OF RESISTANCE • p. 453

• Allen Ginsberg, “America” (January 17, 1956) • p. 454
• Martin Duberman, Stonewall (1993) • p. 457
• Wamsutta (Frank B.) James, Suppressed Speech on the 350th Anniversary of the Pilgrims Landing at Plymouth Rock (September 10, 1970) • p. 461
• Adrienne Rich, Of Woman Born (1977) • p. 464
• Abbey Lincoln, “Who Will Revere the Black Woman?” (September 1966) • p. 466
• Susan Brownmiller, “Abortion Is a Womans Right” (1999) • p. 469
• Assata Shakur (Joanne Chesimard), “Women in Prison: How We Are” (April 1978) • p. 471
• Kathleen Neal Cleaver, “Women, Power, and Revolution” (October 16, 1998) • p. 476

CHAPTER 20: LOSING CONTROL IN THE 1970s • p. 481

• Howard Zinn, “The Problem Is Civil Obedience” (November 1970) • p. 483
• George Jackson, Soledad Brother (1970) • p. 489
• Bob Dylan, “George Jackson” (1971) • p. 492
• Angela Davis, “Political Prisoners, Prisons, and Black Liberation” (1970) • p. 494
• Two Voices of the Attica Uprising (1971 and 2000)
  • Elliott James (“L. D.”) Barkley (September 9, 1971) • p. 498
  • Interview with Frank “Big Black” Smith (2000) • p. 499
• Leonard Peltier on the Trail of Broken Treaties Protest (1999) • p. 500
• Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, Covert Action in Chile 1963-1973 (December 18, 1975) • p. 504
• Noam Chomsky, “COINTELPRO: What the (Deleted) Was It?” (March 12, 1978) • p. 507

CHAPTER 21: THE CARTER-REAGAN-BUSH CONSENSUS • p. 511

• Marian Wright Edelman, Commencement Address at Milton Academy (June 10, 1983) • p. 512
• César Chávez, Address to the Commonwealth Club of California (November 9, 1984) • p. 515
• Testimony of Ismael Guadalupe Ortiz on Vieques, Puerto Rico (October 2, 1979) • p. 521
• Local P-9 Strikers and Supporters on the 1985-1986 Meatpacking Strike against the Hormel Company in Austin, Minnesota (1991) • p. 524
• Douglas A. Fraser, Resignation Letter to the Labor-Management Group (July 19, 1978) • p. 530
• Vito Russo, “Why We Fight” (1988) • p. 534
• Abbie Hoffman, “Closing Argument” (April 15, 1987) • p. 537
• Public Enemy, “Fight the Power” (1990) • p. 540

CHAPTER 22: PANAMA, THE 1991 GULF WAR, AND THE WAR AT HOME • p. 543

• Alex Molnar, “If My Marine Son Is Killed . . (August 23, 1990) • p. 544
• Eqbal Ahmad, “Roots of the Gulf Crisis” (November 17, 1990) • p. 546
• June Jordan Speaks Out Against the 1991 Gulf War (February 21, 1991) • p. 553
• Yolanda Huet- Vaughn, Statement Refusing to Serve in the 1991 Gulf War (January 9, 1991) • p. 555
• Interview with Civilian Worker at the Rio Hato Military Base in Panama City (February 23, 1990) • p. 557
• Mike Davis, “In L.A., Burning All Illusions” (June 1, 1992) • p. 561
• Mumia Abu-Jamal, All Things Censored (2001) • p. 565

CHAPTER 23: CHALLENGING BILL CLINTON • p. 569

• Bruce Springsteen, The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995) • p. 570
• Lorell Patterson on the “War Zone” Strikes in Decatur, Illinois (June 1995) • p. 573
• Winona LaDuke, Acceptance Speech for the Green Party’s Nomination for Vice President of the United States of America (August 29, 1996) • p. 576
• Two Open Letters of Protest to the Clinton Administration
  • Alice Walker, Letter to President Bill Clinton (March 13, 1996) • p. 578
  • Adrienne Rich, Letter to Jane Alexander Refusing the National Medal for the Arts (July 3, 1997) • p. 580
• Rania Masri, “How Many More Must Die?” (September 17, 2000) • p. 581
• Roni Krouzman, “WTO: The Battle in Seattle: An Eyewitness Account” (December 6, 1999) • p. 583
• Anita Cameron, “And the Steps Came Tumbling Down — AD APT’s Battle with the HBA” (2000) • p. 587
• Elizabeth (“Betita”) • p. Martinez, “‘Be Down with the Brown!’” (1998) • p. 589
• Walter Mosley, Workin’ on the Chain Gang (2000) • p. 592
• Julia Butterfly Hill, “Surviving the Storm: Lessons from Nature” (2001) • p. 595

CHAPTER 24: BUSH II AND THE “WAR ON TERROR” • p. 599

• Michael Moore, “The Presidency — Just Another Perk” (November 14, 2000) • p. 601
• Orlando Rodriguez and Phyllis Rodriguez, “Not In Our Sons Name” (September 15, 2001) • p. 603
• Rita Lasar, “To Avoid Another September 11, U.S. Must Join the World” (September 5, 2002) • p. 604
• Monami Maulik, “Organizing in Our Communities Post-September 11th” (2001) • p. 606
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 705, “Resolution Against the War” (October 18, 2002) • p. 608
• Rachel Corrie, Letter from Palestine (February 7, 2003) • p. 608
• Danny Glover, Speech During the World Day of Protest Against the War (February 15, 2003) • p. 610
• Amy Goodman, “Independent Media in a Time of War” (2003) • p. 611
• Tim Predmore, “How Many More Must Die?” (August 24, 2003) • p. • p. 614
• Maritza Castillo et ah, Open Letter to Colonel, U.S. Army (Ret.) Michael G. Jones (September 12, 2003) • p. 616
• Kurt Vonnegut, “Cold Turkey” (May 31, 2004) • p. 617
• Glenn Greenwald, Speech to the Socialism 2013 Conference (June 27, 2013) • p. 622
• Chelsea Manning, “‘Sometimes You Have to Pay a Heavy Price to Live in a Free Society'” (August 21, 2013) • p. 625

CHAPTER 25: RISING RESISTANCE IN THE 21ST CENTURY • p. 627

• Camilo Mejia, “I Pledge My Allegiance to the Poor and Oppressed” (July 3, 2005) • p. 629
• Cindy Sheehan, “‘It’s Time the Antiwar Choir Started Singing ” (August 5, 2005) • p. 630
• Kevin Tillman, “After Pat’s Birthday” (October 19, 2006) • p. 632
• Evann Orleck-Jetter, Statement on Marriage Equality (March 18, 2009) • p. 633
• Gustavo Madrigal-Pina, “Undocumented and Unafraid” (August 22, 2011) • p. 635
• Roberto Meneses Marquez, “A Day Laborer” (April 30, 2013) • p. 636
• Naomi Klein, “Occupy Wall Street: The Most Important Thing in the World Now” (October 6, 2011) • p. 638
• Phillip Agnew, “#OurMarch” (August 28, 2013) • p. 641
• Kirstin Roberts, “We Stood Up to the Bullies” (October 9, 2012) • p. 643
• Amber Kudla, “518-455-4767” (June 23, 2013) • p. 647
• Jesse Hagopian, “After We Scrapped the MAP” (January 30, 2014) • p. 650
• Michelle Farber, “We All Have to Be Brave” (May 14, 2014) • p. 652

EPILOGUE:

• Patti Smith, “People Have the Power” (1988) • p. 657