Howard Zinn has long been known as the historian of the American everyman and woman. His groundbreaking work, THE PEOPLE'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, turned history on its head — concentrating on the power of the people to effect change, not just the deeds of great men and those in political power.
Now selections from his collection of voices from the American past are performed by actors, poets and writers in a new documentary directed by Matt Damon which is airing on The History Channel. Find out more about some of those voices below, and delve further into American history through the JOURNAL's coverage of American history on-air and online.
- "Ain't I a Woman?" Sojourner Truth (1851)
- The Rev. J. W. Loguen, as a Slave and as a Freeman. "A Narrative of Real Life"(1860)
- Mark Twain, "Comments on the Moro Massacre" (1906)
- Industrial Workers of the World, "Why the IWW is not Patriotic to the United States" (1918)
- Langston Hughes, "Ballad of Roosevelt" (1934)
- Dalton Trumbo, "Johnny Got His Gun" (1939)
- Daniel Ellsberg; "Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers" (2003)