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The Method of Historical Inquiry

The Method of Historical Inquiry. Why Do We Study History?. The Hall of Remembrance, USHMM. Recall. History is what we choose to remember about the past. Our common experience binds us together. Interpretation. History involves explaining people and events.

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The Method of Historical Inquiry

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  1. The Method of Historical Inquiry Why Do We Study History?

  2. The Hall of Remembrance, USHMM Recall • History is what we choose to remember about the past. • Our common experience binds us together.

  3. Interpretation • History involves explaining people and events. • Historians read between the lines. • History can illustrate ideas. • Speculation means guessing about the past.

  4. Interpretation and Illustration • What is happening in the image? • Which side created the image? Why?

  5. Application • Use the past to understand the present. • The past must engage in dialogue with the present. • Use personal experiences to make sense of the past. • Examine situations in the past.

  6. Analysis • History involves figuring out complicated situations. • Break the event down into its parts: Which parts can you identify? Which battle was the turning point of the Civil War? • Examine each part. How are the battles related? • Try to create a time line of events: Which are causes? effects?

  7. Illustration: Analysis

  8. Synthesis • History involves making sense out of a jumble of facts. • You can search for patterns. • You can speculate: Guessing at reasons for outcomes. • You can predict: Could World War II have been avoided? • You can make generalizations: broad statements that summarize.

  9. Hiroshima, Japan after the A-bomb Synthesis: Creating A New Idea • Draw your own conclusions: Dropping the atomic bomb - justified or unjustified?

  10. Evaluation • History involves making judgments about people in events. • Example: You can examine all sides of the Civil Rights issue. • You can debate the pros and cons of integrating the schools. • You can describe the strengths and weaknesses of the President's policy.

  11. Evaluation • You can examine the advantages and disadvantages of the strategy of non-violence. • You can judge whether a person, policy, or event measured up to a high standard. • Example: To what extent did Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. measure up to the standard of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Golden Rule?

  12. Why Study History? • “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, it expects what never was and never will be.” — Thomas Jefferson

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