Silas Deae's Death by

1. Explain why the authors believe that the view “history is what happened in the past” is, in their words, a “profoundly misleading” view of history. Do you agree with their view? Why?

yvarga16 — 2024-08-27 17:03:07 UTC

Reading the article my thought of history changed as I saw it from the author's perspective. As I was reading I realized that the author had some good points. The author believes that "history is what happened in the past" is a "profoundly misleading" view of history because no one in our present truly knows what happened. That leads people to misleading information and people changing up the true story. I completely agree with the authors perspective because it makes sense how no historian would want to include all the facts.

2. How do the authors define the word history?

yvarga16 — 2024-08-27 17:05:09 UTC

The authors defines the word history as the act of selecting, analyzing and writing about the past.

3. Identify from the reading at least 6 general tasks the historian must face if he/she is to produce history. Explain how they will deal with each task.

yvarga16 — 2024-08-27 17:06:46 UTC

A. Determining which topic to write about.

Historians deal with this task by choosing to focus on Deane's personal life or his actions.

B. Locating materials on the topic.

Historians deal with this task by looking for primary sources such as letters from John Adams and Thomas Paine. Historians will also need to look at secondary sources for analysis.

C. Selecting materials from among available sources.

Historians will deal with this task by choosing which one makes more sense. In the article, the author uses the letters and Bancroft's point of view to see what best supports the death of Silas.

D. Analyzing available materials on the topic.

Historians deal with this task by carefully going through each evidence, analyzing and understanding all the evidence.

E. Determining relationships among selected data.

Historians deal with this task by determining how different evidence relate to each other. For example, how the rumors of Silas taking his own life connect to his relationships with others.

F. Presenting data and analyses in a coherent and intelligible manner.

Historians deal with this task by organizing the evidence, making sure everything connects and the story making sense about Silas.

4. “The Strange Death of Silas Deane” is a secondary historical source. What makes it a secondary source? What is a primary source? Did the authors use any primary sources to help them write the story? If so, please identify a primary source they use.

yvarga16 — 2024-08-27 17:07:25 UTC

"The Strange Death of Silas Deane" is a secondary historical source because it analyzes information from primary sources to explain Silas Deae's Death. A primary source is an original document or piece of evidence that was written during the time period. The author used many primary sources to help them write the story such as, letters from Silas, documents from the time period, and newspaper articles.

5. What do you think happened to Silas Deane?

yvarga16 — 2024-08-27 17:08:16 UTC

After reading the article, what I think happened to Silas Deane is death from illness or murder from Bancroft who studied poison.

6. How does this make history fluid?

yvarga16 — 2024-08-27 17:08:35 UTC

Discoveries of evidence and new perspectives make history fluid. Over time history changes due to new perspectives that others have, it spreads around and becomes new history. Many stick with the same historical events that have been told in their generation but throughout other new generations the historical events are changed to others' beliefs.