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EIGHTH GRADE
Introduction: Whose History is it, anyway?

Let's talk about what history is, and what it isn't.
A lot of people believe that history means "what happened."
How much about the past can you learn from this photo?
PHOTO: TN State Library and Archives
Not true. History is the study of what we remember. It is the study of what was published in newspapers (as opposed to what the newspapers chose not to publish). It is the study of letters and photographs that people kept (who knows about the letters and photographs that were thrown away?). It is based on artifacts that we have discovered (but new artifacts are being discovered all the time). It is determined by the oral history of people who were interviewed before they died (but only a tiny percentage of people are interviewed for historical purposes, and even they probably remembered some things incorrectly).
  
For instance: when people study or talk about a battle that took place during the American Civil War, they have a tendency to talk about it in absolutes -- as if they are certain that this brigade did this and that general ordered this because he thought this. Well, think about it! What we know about a Civil War battle is based on what the newspaper reporters wrote at the time (but the reporters could only be in one place, and during the battle they were staying low to keep from getting killed). It is based on what the soldiers who survived said years later that they remembered seeing (no one could interview those who died). And it is based on what the generals wrote to their superiors (but generals generally defended what they did, because they knew that their chances of promotion largely depended on their performance).
 
You can take any event in history and ask yourself the same types of questions.
Crump -- Good guy, or bad guy?
PHOTO: TN State Library and Archives
Bias and Point of View

History is not an absolute, like mathematics or science. It is subjective. The way a certain historical event is viewed and reported might change wildly as the years go by because of a new discovery or because of a change in public opinion. For example: in the 1930s, Tennessee history, as taught in the public schools, lacked the contributions of women, African Americans, and Native Americans. Ida Wells, the talented and courageous female black journalist from Memphis, was not considered a great person then. Meanwhile, in the 1930s, Nathan Bedford Forrest was considered one of the greatest Tennesseans to have ever lived. Today his legacy is considered to be very controversial -- so much so that people are almost afraid to mention his name.

Then there are differences of opinion because of perspective. In the 1930s and 1940s, "Boss" Ed Crump was considered a hero by most African-Americans in Memphis. But to most whites in Nashville, he was considered a villian.

So keep this in mind as we go along. History is NOT a series of dates and events. It is the study of what we choose to remember. And we are constantly changing what we remember.
Primary and Secondary Sources

Along these same lines, whenever you hear anything about history from now on, you need to start asking yourself who is saying it. If the person speaking or writing was actually there when the event that they are talking about took place, they are a primary source. If the person speaking or writing was not actually there when the event that they are talking about took place, they are a secondary source.

Let's start with this very text that you are reading. Who is writing this, why did they write this, and who edited it? Click here to find out.
You can find primary and secondary sources at your school library, such as this one in Oak Ridge
Here are some examples: If you happen to meet someone one day who was present when a major Civil Rights event took place, you are in the presence of a primary source. If on the other hand you run into a person who is too young to remember the Civil Rights Movement but has become an expert on the subject, you are in the presence of a secondary source.

A book about Dickson County's Ruskin Cooperative is a secondary source, although it might cite many primary sources in it. A stack of letters written by people who lived in the Ruskin Commune is a primary source.

Now this isn't to say that primary sources are necessarily better than secondary sources. You might interview 100 people who took part in the Civil Rights Movement and be told many things that aren't true. After all, people forget exactly what happened. And some people might be embarassed or ashamed about what actually happened, and they'll tell you a bit of a fib.

But you should know the difference between a primary and a secondary source. And from now on, when you read or hear something, you need to start asking yourself, "WHO WROTE OR SAID THIS?"
QUIZ

Say whether this person is a primary source or a secondary source
     
1) A person who knows all about the history of Knoxville because they've read all the books about Knoxville history.
2) Someone who witnessed a bank robbery.
3) Someone who wrote a book about Hurricane Katrina based on interviews that they did of people who were there.
4) Someone who wrote a book about Hurricane Katrina based on what they experienced during Hurricane Katrina.
For quiz answers, click here.
And now we are going to start telling the story of the place called Tennessee. Click here for more.

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