Good Day,
As we begin our study of American History, I think that it would be good to begin with a simple exercise. On pages 6-7 of Chapter 1, you will find a box at the top titled "Where Historians Disagree". Please read this material and answer the following items in the comments section of the blog: "What is history? Why do we study history? Can there actually be a true history of any event in the past?" The responses do not have to be long, but please try to answer them thoughtfully.
Have a good week and look for the next assignment on 6/16/2014.
This week in American History:
Congress adopts the design for the flag of the United States on June 14, 1777
Sorry for a late response. I've been in Michigan since June 5th.
ReplyDeleteHistory is the study of the past in order to understand the mindset of people, the events that happened, the reasons for the events, and to see the changes that are represented through time. There can be no true history of an event because there are opinions to all sides of an event, but there can be a true fact as in the article, Japan did bomb Pearl Harbor.
~Robert Howard
Hope that you have had a good summer Robert. I think that you are beginning to see that history is a story that we create about the past from the evidence that is available to us. Everyone will create a slightly different story; even though, they use the same set of facts and data. History in that sense is not a science; although, we use scientific methods for gathering and analyzing facts and data. It is in the strictest sense a humanity. Here I would say we study the past because it is a good story. It has drama, intrigue, action, horror, romance, joy, sadness, and of course silliness. It is human. I believe that we study the past to better understand ourselves, not the future. History can not repeat itself, but we are still human beings and many of the same basic psychological and emotional drives that people in the past have, we have. Enjoy the rest of your summer; Oh don't forget the assignments due day one.
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