READING QUIZ: WHAT IS HISTORY?
Directions: Answer the questions below based on the text here. Five (5) of these questions (instructor's choice) will then be selected for the in-class quiz.
Remember to bring along a blank quiz form and #2 pencil
1. The word history
may be used in several different ways, and therefore it has several
acceptable definitions. Which of the following is not an acceptable
definition?
(A) History is the
record of the past
(B) History is the
study of change over time
(C) History is the
systematic study of the record of the past
(D) History is the
scientifically accurate reconstruction of the past.
2. In which of the
following subfields would you normally find historical research on such
subjects as marriage, family, education, and gender?
(A) social history
(B) political history
(C) economic history
(D) diplomatic history
3. The study of family
or clan descent is known as:
(A) heraldry
(B) genetics
(C) genealogy
(D) antiquarianism
4. The study of the
changing philosophies, interpretations, and methods of history is known as:
(A) histology
(B) philology
(C) psycho-history
(D) historiography
5. Philosophy is
classified as one of:
(A) the humanities
(B) the social sciences
(C) the natural sciences
(D) the behavioral sciences
6. Until it emerged as
an independent discipline, history was considered a branch of:
(A) sociology
(B) literature
(C) anthropology
(D) natural science
7. The study of the
pre-historical period is usually left to archaeologists and other
specialists trained in the study of the material remains of human societies.
Historians are primarily concerned with the historical period, which began
when human beings:
(A) discovered
agriculture
(B) developed a
written language
(C) started walking on two legs
(D) learned how to
make stone tools
8. Which of the
following is normally considered a primary source?
(A) A diary
(B) A biography
(C) A history textbook
(D) An encyclopedia
article
9. Which of the
following is normally considered a secondary source?
(A) An autobiography
(B) A televised speech
by the president
(C) An article in a
journal about history
(D) The private
records of a business corporation
10. When historians
authenticate a historical source, they are trying to determine if it is:
(A) real or fake
(B) biased or
objective
(C) published or
private
(D) primary or
secondary
11. A list of events
arranged by dates is called:
(A) an annual
(B) a chronology
(C) a synchronism
(D) an anachronism
12. Secondhand
perceptions, feelings, and understandings derived by reading about the direct
experience of others is known as experience.
(A) virtual
(B) virtuous
(C) vestigial
(D) vicarious
13. The word empirical
denotes:
(A) a government
headed by an emperor
(B) a policy that
advocates the acquisition of colonies
(C) problem solving that uses the inductive method
(D) problem solving that uses the deductive method
14. The word rhetoric
may be most simply defined as the art of:
(A) persuasion
(B) prevarication
(C) making quick,
witty, or biting replies
(D) restoring
something to its original historic form
The answers to these can be found by reading this text:
[Adapted from the source, "History: A Definition," Edward M. Anson, A Civilization Primer 5th edition. (San Diego: Harcourt Publishers, 2002)]
The word HISTORY has several different levels of meaning. In the broadest sense it means "everything that has ever happened in the past." But in a more practical sense, history is "the surviving record of the past." As an academic discipline, history means "the systematic study of the record of the past." This last definition is what you mean when you say that you are taking History 101.
Each of these definitions may be acceptable, depending on the context in which the word is used. But, to promote a new way of thinking about the subject, the definition we will use is that "history is the study of change over time." This definition lends itself well to expression as a simple mathematical equation: History = Change over Time
Everything that undergoes change has a history and can be studied historically. This is true even for changes in the physical world that are not generally regarded as being within the domain of the historian. Thus, historical geology studies changes in the geological configuration of the earth over time, and paleo-climatology studies the prevailing patterns of weather in earlier geologic epochs and records the changes in climate over time. The brilliant British cosmologist Stephen W. Hawking, in A Brief History of Time (1988), describes changes in the entire cosmos since its creation at the moment of the Big Bang.
The study of changes
in the physical world is in the domain of specialists in the various
PHYSICAL SCIENCES. Historians are more directly and personally concerned
with changes involving human beings, as individuals and as groups, and the
interactions of these humans with one another and with the physical
environment. Historians are, of course, interested in the findings of the
physical sciences whenever they describe environmental changes that may have
social consequences. But in their own research historians generally confine
themselves to studies of change in the various areas of human activity.
Change is inevitable,
if for no other reason than because one generation passes on and is replaced
by the next. But history also shows that people will resist too much change
if it comes too quickly. Radical and revolutionary change threatens our
ability to cope with our environment and thus, ultimately, our very
survival. We are much more comfortable in familiar surroundings, in an
environment that we know and understand, even if it has certain undesirable
features. Jefferson commented on this characteristic when he wrote in the
Declaration of Independence that "all experience hath shown, that mankind
are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right
themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed." So,
history is also the study of resistance to change, or phrased positively, of
continuity. Between any two consecutive ages in history, more things stay
the same than change. Evolution is more pervasive than revolution. Profound
changes take place very slowly, in part because we would not have it any
other way.
HOW IS HISTORY SUBDIVIDED?
History is typically
subdivided into smaller segments on the basis of (1) topic, (2) geographical
area, and (3) time period. The usual topical divisions include:
POLITICAL HISTORY, DIPLOMATIC HISTORY, MILITARY HISTORY, ECONOMIC HISTORY, SOCIAL HISTORY, and CULTURAL HISTORY.
They may be represented by modifying the equation given earlier (History = Change over Time) to (What kind of?) History = Change (in what?)
Political history studies change in government: its various branches (legislative, executive, and judicial), its various levels (national, state, local), and the interactions among these branches and levels. Political history is interested in politicians, politics, policies, power, parties, platforms, and polls.
Diplomatic history studies change in the relations between nations. It is interested in negotiations, conferences, agreements, treaties, foreign policies, boundary lines, trade agreements, and, ultimately, peace and war.
Military history studies change in the use of armed force (land, sea, and air). It is interested in weapons, strategies and tactics, logistics, engineering, battles, campaigns, wars, occupation forces, prisoners, mutinies, martial law, and military government.
Economic history studies change in the production, distribution, and consumption of the world’s resources. Economic history is interested in agriculture, manufacturing, services, transportation, markets, labor, and the role of government in the economy.
Social history studies change in lifestyle, customs, conventions, and social INSTITUTIONS (other than government). It is interested in marriage, family, education, churches, other voluntary social organizations, DEMOGRAPHY, RACE, CLASS, and GENDER.
Cultural history studies change in thought, arts, and entertainment. It is interested in language, literature, fine arts, performing arts, cinema, sports, and other popular entertainment, recreation, and leisure.
There are no sharp lines of demarcation between these subfields, nor are they mutually exclusive or exhaustive. The boundaries are blurred and overlap considerably, just as these various areas of human concern overlap in our everyday lives. (For example, military historians are often interested in the social and cultural impact of military change.) Furthermore, the classification of the subfields themselves have changed over time. For instance, in the early years of the twentieth century, INTELLECTUAL HISTORY certainly would have been considered an independent subfield, rather than an aspect of cultural history as it is usually considered today.
Several other subdivisions of history need to be mentioned. Until relatively recently, history was considered to be merely "past politics." It consisted of narratives of political and military conflict and change. Kings and queens, presidents and prime ministers, generals and admirals were the principal, if not only, actors on the stage of history. The major dynamics of change were seen as the actions of the great heroes. Thus, BIOGRAPHY became an important branch of history. It still is, but good biographers today are careful not to fall into the trap of the GREAT PERSON THEORY of causation by attributing too much significance to the role of the single individual. And biographers today no longer focus on politicians and generals alone. Important individuals in all fields of human endeavor-male and female, black and white, strong and weak, noble and despicable-are the subjects of modern biographies. Biographies written by persons about themselves are known as AUTOBIOGRAPHIES, sometimes called MEMOIRS.
GENEALOGY is a very
specialized subdivision of history that traces and records family or clan
descent and kinship relations.
In addition to topic, history is also subdivided into smaller units on the basis of geography. In this age of nationalism, the most common geographical subdivision is the nation-state. You are probably reading this Primer in a course titled "Survey of United States History." But history can encompass smaller units (a state, a city, or county) and also larger units like continents (European history, Asian history). World history covers the globe.
Finally, history is
subdivided on the basis of time. American history has usually been divided,
for academic purposes, into two semesters or quarters demarked by the year
1865 (the end of the Civil War) or the year 1877 (the end of
Reconstruction). The practice of breaking up history into smaller time
segments is known as PERIODIZATION.
So now we can present
a more complete equation: (What kind, where when?) History = Change (in
what, where, when?)
Look at the following titles and see how the authors have focused their works by topic, place and time. Notice that many works overlap two or more topical subdivisions, and that place and time are not always explicitly stated in the titles but usually can be inferred.
Gary M. Fink, Labor's Search for Political Order: The Political Behavior of the Missouri Labor Movement, 1890-1940 (1974)
Stuart Galishoff, Newark: The Nation's Unhealthiest City, 1832-1895 (1988)
Merl E. Reed, Seedtime for the Modern Civil Rights Movement: The President's Committee on Fair Employment Practice, 1941-1946 (1991)
Jacqueline A. Rouse, Lugenia Burns Hope: Black Southern Reformer (1989)
Robert W. Sellen, Myths and Misundertanding: American Images of China and Japan (1974)
Charles G. Steffen, From Gentlemen to Townsmen: The Gentry of Baltimore County, Maryland, 1660-1776 (1993)
Ronald J. Zboray, A Fictive People: Antebellum Economic Development and the American Reading Public (1993)
Textbooks in survey history courses are usually general histories. They attempt to summarize the major historical developments in all of the major topical subfields. Usually, however, these topics are not evenly balanced. Traditionally, most attention was devoted to political, diplomatic, and military history. In recent years there has been a trend toward including more economic, social, and cultural history. Nevertheless, the greatest amount of text in most American history textbooks is still devoted to politics-and national politics at that.
Everything that undergoes change has a history. Even the writing of history itself undergoes change, so there can be a "history of the writing of history." Historians have a term for this: HISTORIOGRAPHY.
Historiography includes changes in the philosophy of history, the methodology of history, and especially the interpretations of history. Thus this equation is: Historiography = Change in the writing of history time.
IS HISTORY A SOCIAL SCIENCE OR ONE OF THE HUMANITIES?
History belongs in the categories of both social sciences and the humanities. The liberal arts curriculum in American education is typically divided into three broad categories: NATURAL SCIENCES (including mathematics), SOCIAL SCIENCES, and HUMANITIES. The following table shows these three categories and some of the basic courses usually included in each.
|
NATURAL SCIENCES & MATHEMATICS |
SOCIAL SCIENCES | HUMANITIES |
|
Biology Chemistry Geology Mathematics Geography (physical) |
History Political Science Sociology Anthropology Economics Geography (cultural) |
History Art Literature Music Philosophy Speech and Drama Physics |
This chart is much simplified. Many other academic disciplines do not fit precisely into any of these categories. Some disciplines overlap two (in a few cases, all three) of the categories. Notice that geography is split between the sciences and the social sciences. History, also, has a dual membership. History began as a branch of literature. Only in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries did it begin to emerge as a distinct discipline. Since the mid-twentieth century, some historians have adopted the methodology of the social sciences and advocated that history move completely into the social-science camp. Yet history still retains important aspects of its humanistic tradition, and a significant body of historians diligently defends that tradition. The Pulitzer Prize committee, which gives annual prizes to the best writers in America, still regards history as a branch of literature and awards a prize for the best history published each year. For administrative purposes, slightly more American colleges group history within the humanities division than treat it as part of the social sciences division.
What are the differences between the social sciences and the humanities? Actually the differences are less significant in the content than in the approaches to the content. The social sciences, like the natural sciences, claim a high degree of objectivity. They seek, as far as possible, to quantify their findings. They strive, ideally, to remove all imposed emotion, value judgments, and subjectivity from their work. Not so in the humanities. The valuation and interpretation given to works in the humanities depend very much on informed, subjective judgment, conditioned by the culture and values of a particular civilization. Whereas the social sciences are primarily concerned with discovering universal truths about the interrelationships of human beings in groups, the humanities have a profound appreciation for the accomplishments, thought, values, and literary, artistic, and musical expression of the unique, individual human being.
Historians may strive to be scientific in their methodology, but history can never be an exact science because there is no way to experiment. History cannot even be an exact descriptive science, because, as all historians well know, it is impossible to reconstruct the past exactly. Too many things happened for which there are no surviving records. Even when there are bits and pieces of evidence, our interpretation of that evidence is colored by our own point of view, however much we may strive to be objective.
WHAT DO HISTORIANS DO?
Historians must wear several different hats in the course of their work: They must first be detectives, then judges, then philosophers, and, finally, storytellers.
Detectives investigate, look for clues, and discover or uncover the facts. Historical detectives find their clues in what are called sources, classified as primary and secondary. PRIMARY SOURCES include ARTIFACTS and sites, but they are mostly written documents, firsthand accounts produced by participants or eyewitnesses of the events under investigation. Artifacts and sites are usually left to those trained in ARCHAEOLOGY, who have the specialized skills to uncover, examine, preserve, and interpret the physical leavings of human societies. The time before human beings learned to write is usually referred to as the PREHISTORIC period. Historians are normally interested in the historic period-that is, from the beginning of writing. Different societies developed writing at different times, but the earliest was about five thousand years ago.
SECONDARY SOURCES are articles and books written by historians who have studied and interpreted a body of primary sources on a particular topic. When historians research, they use both kinds of sources.
In the course of their investigation, the historical detectives may discover new primary sources that no one has studied before. They must then authenticate these sources to determine if they are real. There is always the possibility of mistaken authorship or dating of historical documents. Occasionally, deliberate forgeries are uncovered.
Once satisfied that the sources are authentic, historical detectives become judges to evaluate their newfound sources. Just because a new source is authentic does not mean it is valuable. Does it tell us something important about the subject that scholars did not know before? Here is where secondary sources come into the picture. To evaluate new sources, historians must know what has already been written about a particular subject. They must read the most important existing articles and books on this subject to determine if the new sources tell them something new, confirm existing knowledge, or refute current facts or interpretations. On the basis of this evaluation and judgment, historians then select those sources that are most valuable and discard those that are of little or no value.
Then historians must become philosophers, deciding how to organize and synthesize the material in the most meaningful way. Historians usually organize chronologically (one reason why dates are important). But sometimes they also organize by geographical area or by topic. Often they employ a combination of these methods.
The next step in the historical process is a most important one: Historians interpret the meaning of the raw data derived from their sources. Interpretation differentiates history from CHRONOLOGY. A chronology is a list of events arranged in proper order by dates. Though essential, this is not history yet. There must be interpretation of the meaning of those events. Here is where history becomes exciting, where historians debate, argue, criticize each other's work, and sometimes call one another names. This is the stuff of historiography. This is how historians advance knowledge and understanding of the past.
The final function of historians is to narrate accounts of their findings and to publish these findings as articles or books. These works become the secondary sources for the next group of historians who investigate the same or a similar topic. The functions and specific duties of historians may be summarized as follows:
Functions of Historians: Their Specific Duties
1. Detective Investigation and authentication
2. Judge Evaluation and selection
3. Philosopher Organization and interpretation
4. Storyteller Narration and publication
WHY DO HISTORIANS DO WHAT THEY DO, AND WHY SHOULD ANYBODY CARE? OR, WHAT ARE THE VALUES OF HISTORY FOR THE NON-HISTORY MAJOR?
Except for those who want to become teachers or writers of history, most college students probably study history only because it is required for graduation, not because they expect to learn anything practical or useful. So why do state legislatures and boards of regents and curriculum committees always include a history requirement? Fifty years ago, when history occupied a prominent and secure place in the liberal arts curriculum, no one questioned the value of history. Today, however, when there is an increasing emphasis on vocational education, students should spend some time thinking about and discussing with their teachers the values of history, especially for the non-history major.
Some American history textbooks include a discussion of the values of history in their prefaces or introductions. Look to see if your textbook does. If so, read what your author has to say. Then read the following suggested list of values and compare it with the discussion in your textbook. These ideas and those in your textbook may serve as a starting point for independent study and reflection or class discussion.
Values of History for the Non-History Major
1. Appreciation of Change. History is first and foremost the study of change. Without change there would be no history. In contrast to many other researchers who investigate relatively fixed subjects, historians must deal with constantly and inevitably changing conditions. Thus, historians describe their subject in such terms as growth and development, decline and fall. They seek to trace and explain the patterns, processes, and, above all, the causes of change. No other discipline concerns itself so exclusively with this phenomenon. Other disciplines may answer the question "Where are we now?" but the historian is best able to answer the question "How did we get here?" or rather, "What were the patterns, processes, and causes of change that brought us to this present condition?"
2. Appreciation of Continuity. Change is inevitable, and yet continuity is more pervasive. Too much change too quickly threatens our ability to cope with our environment and hence our ability to survive. We crave continuity. Those who seek to bring about radical social change overnight find that their efforts produce vast social disruption and most probably are doomed to failure.
3. Appreciation of
Historiography. A careful study of history demonstrates that not only is
the human condition subject to constant and inevitable change, but our
perceptions and interpretations of the past are also constantly changing.
You learned earlier in this chapter that the study of these changing
interpretations is called historiography. An appreciation of historiography
should lead us to a healthy skepticism of absolutist, DETERMINIST THEORIES
of history. It should also cause us to examine carefully glib historical
generalizations that political leaders across the spectrum of beliefs, as
well as other would-be molders of public opinion, constantly invoke to
support their arguments.
4. Vicarious
Experience. History provides us with a vicarious extension in time and space
of our own limited personal experience. In VICARIOUS EXPERIENCE, we
participate at secondhand, through the eyes and actions of someone else.
While we may enjoy a brief seventy or eighty years of direct, personal
experience in a lifetime, history allows us the benefits of five thousand
years of recorded human experience for us to share in vicariously. If we
learn from experience, then the more of it we have, both direct and
vicarious, the more we should learn. Yet the precise "lessons" of history
are never as clear-cut or as easily understood as some would have us
believe. What may seem like an absolute lesson of history today may be
regarded as erroneous interpretation tomorrow.
5. Perspective. History provides perspective by permitting us to observe the relationship of our lives and surroundings to those of previous times and places. History puts us on a mountaintop from which we can scan the surrounding countryside and discern our position and relationship to everything else. Perspective allows us to judge the relative size or importance of things. Something that at the moment seems vitally important to us may pale to insignificance in the perspective of history.
6. Historical Insight. Although history does not enable us to predict the
future precisely, we can make intelligent estimates of the probable broad
trends of the future by carefully plotting the trends of the past. The study
of history provides us with what Arthur M. Schlesinger, _Jr., has called
"HISTORICAL INSIGHT," which he defined as "a sense of what is possible and
probable in human affairs, derived from a feeling for the continuities and
discontinuities of existence." (The Bitter Heritage [1967], p. 84)
7. Pluralism. History provides an overview of the variety of human attempts to solve the perennial problems of existence, such as acquisition of the necessities of life, development of viable social, economic, and political institutions, and maintenance of social control and cohesion. Especially, history demonstrates that the solutions developed by a particular people at a particular time are conditioned by their unique historical experience and hence may not be appropriate for any other people at any other time or place. If we develop an appreciation for this great variety of human experience, we will likely be led to a pluralist cultural view that is, the view that there is no one perfect way of doing things suitable for all people at all times but rather a great range of workable possibilities. We will become tolerant of, appreciative of, and prepared to coexist with people who think and live differently. And we will certainly develop a profound humility about our own ideas and institutions.
8. Skepticism. A careful study of history promotes a healthy skepticism of those who seek to influence public opinion in favor of this or that simplistic or erroneous ideology or plan of action and teaches us to subject all ideas and systems of thought to cautious testing and analysis. It thus protects us from uncritical acceptance of flashy panaceas and fads. History teaches us to beware of DOGMATISTS, who claim to possess absolute truth, and DEMAGOGUES, who appeal to the worst human emotions rather than to reason. By demonstrating the inevitability of change, history promotes a skeptical attitude to those unthinking CONSERVATIVES who oppose all change, and naive REACTIONARIES who wish to return to some mythical Golden Age of the past. By demonstrating that all great change takes place very slowly, history promotes a skeptical attitude to emptyheaded LIBERALS who devalue continuity and the wisdom of their ancestors, advocating change for its own sake, and to naive RADICALS who seek to demolish and reconstruct society overnight into some mythical Golden Age of the future.
9. Empiricism. History is the ultimate EMPIRICAL discipline in the social sciences and humanities. That is, it relies almost exclusively on the INDUCTIVE rather than the DEDUCTIVE METHOD. Therefore, it is the essential complement to theorists and system-builders. It provides the testing grounds for hypotheses in other social sciences. History asks the simple questions: What in fact happened, and what caused it to happen? While such questions are simple, their answers are generally complex. And we can never be certain that the answers are correct.
10. Humanism. As discussed earlier, history has strong roots in the
humanities but also claims membership in the social sciences. Thus history
can provide the essential complement to those disciplines. The study of
group behavior is important, but it sometimes tends to depersonalize the
individual, to treat him or her as a case study or an entry in a statistical
table. History is like a social science in that it carries on an objective
study of group dynamics, but history also retains its humanistic emphasis on
the significance, the dignity, and the intellectual and artistic expression
of the unique human being.
11. Rhetoric. An
incidental side benefit of the study of history is proficiency in RHETORIC.
We do not use this word positively much anymore. To the ancient Greeks,
rhetoric meant the study of the principles of effective oratory. In time it
came to mean the art of persuasion in writing as well as speech. Rhetoric
involves more than just good communications skills. The art of persuasion
requires marshalling evidence to support an argument; authenticating,
evaluating, selecting, organizing, interpreting, and explaining that
evidence; and presenting it orally or in writing in a manner calculated to
convince the readers or listeners of the validity of the argument. The
skills needed in rhetoric are exactly the same as those needed by the
historian. (Look back at the “Function of Historians”) The study of
history, even at the introductory level, can provide students the
opportunity to develop and sharpen these skills whenever they write a
research paper or a book review, answer an essay question on a test, or
participate orally in class discussions or bull sessions. These research,
analytic, and communication skills will be vitally important to all those
who, after their formal education, make their living by selling their
services, ideas, or products. They will be as important to the used-car
salesman as to the lawyer or the politician.
12. Responsible Citizenship. History has been used by virtually every
government of modern times to promote patriotic loyalty. Unfortunately,
patriotism has frequently been construed (or denigrated) as unthinking
loyalty, an uncritical acceptance of past glories, and a blind adulation of
folk heroes. True patriots are not unthinking, uncritical, or blind. They
are responsible citizens who have a comprehensive understanding of the
origins, development, and workings of their social, economic, and
governmental institutions, who can evaluate and draw their own conclusions
about their nation's past and present policies, and whose conscientious
concern for the future well-being of the nation is manifested by a
willingness and capacity to participate effectively in democratic processes.
Responsible citizens cannot be taken in by dogmatists or demagogues. They
have a healthy skepticism towards simplistic solutions and pat answers. They
are flexible of mind, cosmopolitan and sophisticated in experience,
demanding and exacting in search of truth, and humble in spirit. The study
of history, along with the study of the other liberal arts, promotes these
qualities. In his Farewell Address, George Washington reminded the nation of
the importance of education in a democracy: "In proportion as the structure
of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public
opinion should be enlightened."
QUIZ QUESTIONS (same as above):
1. The word history
may be used in several different ways, and therefore it has several
acceptable definitions. Which of the following is not an acceptable
definition?
(A) History is the
record of the past
(B) History is the
study of change over time
(C) History is the
systematic study of the record of the past
(D) History is the
scientifically accurate reconstruction of the past.
2. In which of the
following subfields would you normally find historical research on such
subjects as marriage, family, education, and gender?
(A) social history
(B) political history
(C) economic history
(D) diplomatic history
3. The study of family
or clan descent is known as:
(A) heraldry
(B) genetics
(C) genealogy
(D) antiquarianism
4. The study of the
changing philosophies, interpretations, and methods of history is known as:
(A) histology
(B) philology
(C) psycho-history
(D) historiography
5. Philosophy is
classified as one of:
(A) the humanities
(B) the social sciences
(C) the natural sciences
(D) the behavioral sciences
6. Until it emerged as
an independent discipline, history was considered a branch of:
(A) sociology
(B) literature
(C) anthropology
(D) natural science
7. The study of the
pre-historical period is usually left to archaeologists and other
specialists trained in the study of the material remains of human societies.
Historians are primarily concerned with the historical period, which began
when human beings:
(A) discovered
agriculture
(B) developed a
written language
(C) started walking on two legs
(D) learned how to
make stone tools
8. Which of the
following is normally considered a primary source?
(A) A diary
(B) A biography
(C) A history textbook
(D) An encyclopedia
article
9. Which of the
following is normally considered a secondary source?
(A) An autobiography
(B) A televised speech
by the president
(C) An article in a
journal about history
(D) The private
records of a business corporation
10. When historians
authenticate a historical source, they are trying to determine if it is:
(A) real or fake
(B) biased or
objective
(C) published or
private
(D) primary or
secondary
11. A list of events
arranged by dates is called:
(A) an annual
(B) a chronology
(C) a synchronism
(D) an anachronism
12. Secondhand
perceptions, feelings, and understandings derived by reading about the direct
experience of others is known as experience.
(A) virtual
(B) virtuous
(C) vestigial
(D) vicarious
13. The word empirical
denotes:
(A) a government
headed by an emperor
(B) a policy that
advocates the acquisition of colonies
(C) problem solving that uses the inductive method
(D) problem solving that uses the deductive method
14. The word rhetoric
may be most simply defined as the art of:
(A) persuasion
(B) prevarication
(C) making quick,
witty, or biting replies
(D) restoring
something to its original historic form