Type of Content: Articles and Essays

Antiwar Talk at the Boston Commons

By Howard Zinn. Article. ZCommunications. March 27, 2007.
If somebody invaded your home, and smashed things up, and terrorized your children, would we give them a timetable? When I look at this latest Democratic proposal for a timetable, you know, maybe 18 months from now, at the same time funding the war for another 140 billion dollars, you know, it’s as if you gave an intruder in your house a timetable for withdraw, and meanwhile, made a nice dinner for him. No, we can’t do that, we have to get out.
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Impeachment by the People

Article by Howard Zinn. The Progressive. February 2007.
"Courage is in short supply in Washington, D.C. The realities of the Iraq War cry out for the overthrow of a government that is criminally responsible for death, mutilation, torture, humiliation, chaos. But all we hear in the nation’s capital, which is the source of those catastrophes, is a whimper from the Democratic Party, muttering and nattering about 'unity' and 'bipartisanship,' in a situation that calls for bold action to immediately reverse the present course."
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War Is Not a Solution for Terrorism

By Howard Zinn. Article. Boston Globe and Common Dreams. September 2, 2006.
There is something important to be learned from the recent experience of the United States and Israel in the Middle East: that massive military attacks, inevitably indiscriminate, are not only morally reprehensible, but useless in achieving the stated aims of those who carry them out.
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Put Away the Flags

Article by Howard Zinn. The Progressive. July 2006.
"On this July 4, we would do well to renounce nationalism and all its symbols: its flags, its pledges of allegiance, its anthems, its insistence in song that God must single out America to be blessed. Is not nationalism – that devotion to a flag, an anthem, a boundary so fierce it engenders mass murder – one of the great evils of our time, along with racism, along with religious hatred?"
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America’s Blinders

Article by Howard Zinn. The Progressive. April 2006.
"Now that most Americans no longer believe in the war, now that they no longer trust Bush and his Administration, now that the evidence of deception has become overwhelming (so overwhelming that even the major media, always late, have begun to register indignation), we might ask: How come so many people were so easily fooled?"
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Lessons of Iraq War Start with U.S. History

Article by Howard Zinn. The Progressive. March 2006.
"On the third anniversary of President Bush's Iraq debacle, it's important to consider why the administration so easily fooled so many people into supporting the war. I believe there are two reasons, which go deep into our national culture. One is an absence of historical perspective. The other is an inability to think outside the boundaries of nationalism. If we don't know history, then we are ready meat for carnivorous politicians and the intellectuals and journalists who supply the carving knives. But if we know some history, if we know how many times presidents have lied to us, we will not be fooled again."
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After the War

Article by Howard Zinn. The Progressive. January 2006.
"The war against Iraq, the assault on its people, the occupation of its cities, will come to an end, sooner or later. The process has already begun. The first signs of mutiny are appearing in Congress. The first editorials calling for withdrawal from Iraq are beginning to appear in the press. The anti-war movement has been growing, slowly but persistently, all over the country."
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Don’t Despair About the Supreme Court

Article by Howard Zinn. The Progressive. November 2005.
"John Roberts sailed through his confirmation hearings as the new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, with enthusiastic Republican support, and a few weak mutterings of opposition by the Democrats. Then, after the far right deemed Harriet Miers insufficiently doctrinaire, Bush nominated arch conservative Samuel Alito to replace Sandra Day O'Connor. This has caused a certain consternation among people we affectionately term 'the left.' I can understand that sinking feeling. Even listening to pieces of Roberts's confirmation hearings was enough to induce despair: the joking with the candidate, the obvious signs that, whether Democrats or Republicans, these are all members of the same exclusive club."
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The Scourge of Nationalism

Article by Howard Zinn. The Progressive. June 2005.
"I cannot get out of my mind the recent news photos of ordinary Americans sitting on chairs, guns on laps, standing unofficial guard on the Arizona border, to make sure no Mexicans cross over into the United States. There was something horrifying in the realization that, in this twenty-first century of what we call 'civilization,' we have carved up what we claim is one world into 200 artificially created entities we call 'nations' and armed to apprehend or kill anyone who crosses a boundary."
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Howard Zinn Spelman Commencement 2005 | HowardZinn.org

Against Discouragement

By Howard Zinn. Speech and article. Spelman College. May 15, 2005.
In 1963, Howard Zinn was fired from Spelman College because of his support for students' civil rights activism. In 2005, he was invited back by President Beverly Daniel Tatum to give the commencement address. Here is the text of that speech, given on May 15, 2005, and published in Original Zinn: Conversations on History and Politics.
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Read, Learn, & Make History
Check out the Howard Zinn Digital Collection to search Zinn’s bibliography by books, articles, audio, video, and more.
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