History's Lessons
History teaches us many things. We learn valuable lessons from the pages of those who passed before us. Lessons to help us avoid repeating missteps and misjudgments that confront us in contemporary times. Sometimes those historical lessons mislead us. Over the next several weeks we’ll examine the importance of the records on which those lessons are founded. There is a lesson in simply examining the record. A lesson particularly important today for us and for those who follow us.
They say history is written by the winners. In truth it’s written by whoever holds the pen. Nowhere is that more true than in the nineteenth century. The power of the printed word may have reached its zenith in that century. Print was the first and only mass media of that time. Today, words printed in the eighteen hundreds come down to us with the cachet fact; but are they? Close examination sometimes reveals:
A prismatic lens through which we view the past as seen by those who record it.
Nineteenth century history is filled with examples.
Libbie Custer’s idyllic biographical portrayals of her husband secured his heroic legend in the annals of history. Was he a hero; or a recklessly ambitious ego maniac who exposed his men to needless risk?
The historical legacy of the Grant administration is portrayed as scandal ridden and hopelessly corrupt. Was it; or might that record be overly harsh? You have to look a little deeper to answer the question. You have to examine the record, that pesky printed word.
Imagine my suspicions when I read John Poe’s memoir on the death of Billy the Kid and discovered it didn’t agree with the historical record as established by Pat Garrett’s 1882 book, The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid.
It may be wise to critically examine the records that make for historical controversies. Over the next several weeks we’ll take a deeper look through all three of these prismatic histories to see if we can make some sense of that elusive grail, truth. In some cases the record becomes pretty clear. In others, judgement becomes subjective or subject to controversy. We’ll leave all those subtleties for you to decide. I’m minded of the classic line from the John Ford film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”
https://www.amazon.com/author/paulcolt
Ride easy,
Paul
They say history is written by the winners. In truth it’s written by whoever holds the pen. Nowhere is that more true than in the nineteenth century. The power of the printed word may have reached its zenith in that century. Print was the first and only mass media of that time. Today, words printed in the eighteen hundreds come down to us with the cachet fact; but are they? Close examination sometimes reveals:
A prismatic lens through which we view the past as seen by those who record it.
Nineteenth century history is filled with examples.
Libbie Custer’s idyllic biographical portrayals of her husband secured his heroic legend in the annals of history. Was he a hero; or a recklessly ambitious ego maniac who exposed his men to needless risk?
The historical legacy of the Grant administration is portrayed as scandal ridden and hopelessly corrupt. Was it; or might that record be overly harsh? You have to look a little deeper to answer the question. You have to examine the record, that pesky printed word.
Imagine my suspicions when I read John Poe’s memoir on the death of Billy the Kid and discovered it didn’t agree with the historical record as established by Pat Garrett’s 1882 book, The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid.
It may be wise to critically examine the records that make for historical controversies. Over the next several weeks we’ll take a deeper look through all three of these prismatic histories to see if we can make some sense of that elusive grail, truth. In some cases the record becomes pretty clear. In others, judgement becomes subjective or subject to controversy. We’ll leave all those subtleties for you to decide. I’m minded of the classic line from the John Ford film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”
https://www.amazon.com/author/paulcolt
Ride easy,
Paul
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