Historiography

“He spoke to me about you; and said you were more like a gentleman than a servant; now, I am plain dressed, and I have got the place.” This excerpt from the account of Scottish valet, John MacDonald, represents the difficulties that faced the lower classes since their place within society was tenuous; based on appearances and their financial circumstances. His dress places him an image of one of above the position of a footman, thus causing him a job. MacDonald’s travel account and others show…

analyzes Lincoln’s thoughts and views toward slavery from his childhood to when he signed the Emancipation Proclamation and further. The book takes a real close look at Lincoln’s career, and his personal views as a politician and a person. The historiography of the topic is Eric Foner identifying influential people in Lincoln’s life. The author also takes into consideration Lincoln’s environment…

In the direct aftermath of Blackbeard’s blockade, the colonists were quick to request aid. In a letter to the Board of Trade and Plantations in June of 1718 the colonies’ representative wrote that, “the unspeakable calamity this poor province suffers from pyrats obliges me to inform your lordships of it in order that his Majestie know it and be induced to afford us the assistance of a frigate or two to cruise hereabouts upon them for we are continually alarmed and our ships taken to the utter…

Historians of the Black Death have long held that doctors and medical experts during the fourteenth century understood the pestilence through one of two opposing theories; aerist or contagionist. According to historiography, aerist theories (the spread of the plague through the corruption of the air) were the focus of university trained physicians who sought to explain the pestilence in terms of the ancient texts they were versed in, whilst contagionist theories (that the plague was spread…

Selecting primary source materials for a historiography is not straightforward as the selection process tends to prioritize one document over the other and it`s inevitable. But again it varies and we can always minimize the amount of selection bias when doing a research. One researcher collect lots…

theories are quite important as they represent a step system, in which the low theories lead to the middle and then to the high theories. These theories can be contrasted with Hatcher’s book as he has shown that there are many pre-existing types of historiography on the macro history of the Black Plague, and because of this, hatcher has created a microhistory to ask better questions. The analogy is evaluated when it is considered that hatcher’s book is a middle level theory, it is an…

Author Nicholas Robins in his book Of Love and Loathing looks at the Bourbon policies involving marriage and how this shaped, created, broke or reinforced partnerships and intimate relationships in the Colonial Andes. The author is looking at the role of marriage, from the years 1750-1825 in Charcas, encompassing modern-day Bolivia, Peru, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina. Within this look at Bourbon laws, the author emphasizes how these policies constructed patriarchy, the moral code, and…

Propaganda is a political tool that has been around for centuries. Heightened in times of war and turmoil, the propaganda efforts during the Second World War saw an unprecedented rise in perceived importance to the war effort. Part of this rise was through new technology, including multimedia outlets such as radios, movies, and news literature. While propaganda became a tool used by every nation, British propaganda specifically, utilized motifs of good and evil in attempts to continually…

Other historians believe that feminists conformed to a popular and dominant cultural trend in order to protect their own interests while others believe their eugenics involvement was due to personal based racism (Ziegler 213). These issues of historiography are also found in most key figures of the feminist movement, such as Margaret Sanger, where the degree to which eugenics was a part of her legal agenda differs greatly upon the interpretation (Ziegler…

When reviewing the evolution of my worldview, Howard Zinn’s The Politics of History comes to mind. His book is a collection of case studies and essays that argue for a radical approach to the past. Zinn’s work changed the way I saw my purpose in life. I had originally planned to enter a field in science, despite my passion for history and the Humanities. In an age where the college degree had lost its traditional value, STEM fields seemed to me like the only practical route to success. However,…