A People's History of the United States

War is a fundamental component of Zinn’s narrative. Unlike in traditional histories, where wars like the Civil War and World War II are described in heroic, noble, and patriotic terms, Zinn describes war as a tool of social control. For him, war is a distraction. Money must be spent on arms but is badly needed for the disenfranchised. In addition, wars serve as an excuse for the establishment to suppress individual rights in the name of patriotism. Within the framework of class struggle, warfare becomes a way for the upper-class establishment to halt the march of activism. An example can be found with the IWW during World War I. Prior to America’s involvement, the IWW made considerable gains in organizing workers and training leaders about how to strike. They conducted several successful strikes and it seemed as if nothing could check the organization’s growing popularity—until the United States began to intervene directly in Europe’s war.

The war, and the surge in nationalist sentiment that went with it, provided a pretext for passing a series of laws that greatly curtailed free speech and made organizing against the war not just difficult but illegal. These tools were applied not primarily against pro-German saboteurs but socialists and peace activists. Figures such as Eugene Debs and Bill Hayward, leading prewar union organizers, never regained the stature they possessed prior to the war. Attempts on the local level to destroy “socialists,” which became a euphemism for any trade unionist organization, were successful. Stoked by fears of war, most Americans traded equality for security. Zinn highlights countless examples.

A similar phenomenon occurred during the Second World War. Activism was at a peak during the Depression, but the war provided an excuse for the government to tamp down on dissent. The postwar period provided a departure from this pattern in that the constant and pervasive fear of Communism and Soviet subversion legitimized attacks against left-wing organizing. Zinn does not, however, take the next step and suggest that these wars were started with the purpose of targeting activism. Rather, Zinn emphasizes how wars, once they happened, were used by elite groups to divert the energy of activists away from domestic issues. The one time when this pattern did not hold, the Vietnam War, is notable as an exception. Zinn argues that the Vietnam peace movement was exceptional in its influence and ability to alter the policy of the US government. Thanks to strong organizing and a generational commitment to societal change, the Vietnam War became the only war Zinn mentions that increased class consciousness.