A Young People's History of the United States

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Throughout A Young People’s History of the United States, Zinn presents historical figures and movements in ways that run counter to the traditional narrative, which usually presents them as heroic.

• Which historical figure or movement, as recast by Zinn, did you find most surprising? (topic sentence)
• What about Zinn’s characterization of this historical figure or movement surprised you? Give specific examples.
• Discuss how your previously held belief about the historical figure or movement may have been influenced by the dominant narrative of American Heroism, which, as uncovered by Zinn, is a Subjective and Problematic Concept.

2. The American colonies of the late 1700s differed fundamentally in many ways from the United States today—and yet, in many ways, society has not evolved.

• What do you take to be the primary difference between society then and now? (topic sentence)
• What do you think Zinn would say was the pivotal event that changed the course of American history, the moment when modern society began to take shape? Why?
• In your conclusion, explain how the Inequality that is Foundational to American Society is still woven into the social fabric of the United States.

3. Zinn’s perspective throughout A Young People’s History of the United States is decidedly anti-war.

• What are Zinn’s primary motivations for being anti-war? (topic sentence)
• What aspects of United States military history does Zinn find particularly troubling? Explain how, in Zinn’s opinion, war is directly connected to Capitalism.
• In your conclusion, describe to what extent you agree or disagree with Zinn’s anti-war beliefs and perspective.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Zinn doesn’t go into much detail about women’s history in the United States. What patterns or moments does he emphasize, and what could bear more explanation? In your response, explain how women’s history is important to gaining a holistic understanding of how Inequality is foundational to American society. If you were to author a book about women’s history in the United States, what information might you extract from Zinn’s book to include in it?

2. The last era that Zinn covers is the Iraq War. Think about American history since then, including the presidents elected, domestic and foreign policy initiatives, social movements, and trends in popular culture. If you were to add two or three more chapters on subsequent eras to fit the themes and tone of A Young People’s History, what would you cover in those chapters, and what would you name them? For example, consider the Occupy Wall Street movement of 2011, the 2017 Women’s March, and the March for Our Lives organization that developed after the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida—how do these movements reflect Capitalism’s current role in modern America?

3. Zinn published the first edition of the book that inspired this adaptation in 1980 and the most recent edition in 2007. He based what he covered on gaps he saw in public education about American history. In the years since Zinn took stock of public historical knowledge, what significant changes have occurred in history education? What claims (if any) does Zinn make that you suspect were once radical but are now more mainstream?