General Historiography

in

U.S. History

James L. Smith

• History is a conversation between the past and the present.

• Historians ask questions about the past.

• Historical questions reflect the time and circumstances of the historian.

• Our understanding of the past is often nothing more than a product of our own moment in history.

• Something from the past that has little to do with the world in which we live may not even make it into our history books.

• History is a dynamic, ever changing, and often contentious

subject.• Two historians looking at the same information may arrive at different

interpretations of the past.• Each generation rewrites history. History is in a constant state of revision.

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HistoriographyA study of changing historical interpretations,

shifting emphasis, and different methodologies.

Domestic Affairs in U.S. HistoryFour Schools of Historical Thought

Progressive HistoryConsensus HistoryNew Left History

Social History

Foreign Affairs in U.S. HistoryThree Schools of Historical Thought

Nationalist HistoryRealist HistoryRadical History

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DOMESTIC AFFAIRS

Progressive History

Time Period: Early twentieth century through the end of World War II

Examples• Charles Beard, An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United

States• Arthur Schlesinger, Sr., The Age of Jackson

Characteristics1. U.S. history is characterized by a struggle between the “power elite” and the

“people.”

2. Liberals and progressives have been moving the nation closer to a liberal democratic state. The development of a liberal democratic state is inevitable.

3. Private property and free enterprise are the best way to provide opportunities for common Americans. Private property should be protected.

4. Conflict has shaped U.S. history. The following conflicts represent Americaʼs polarized history:

a. rich vs. poorb. aristocracy vs. democracyc. debtors vs. creditorsd. North vs. Southe. East vs. Westf. labor vs. big businessg. Jefferson vs. Hamiltonh. liberals vs. conservativesi. agrarianism vs. capitalism

5. Note: Progressive historians generally ignored issues of race, gender, and ethnicity.

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DOMESTIC AFFAIRS

Consensus History

Time Period: The late 1940's through the 1980's

Examples• Richard Hofstadter, The Age of Reform• Louis Hartz, The Liberal Tradition in America• Daniel Boorstin, The Americans

Characteristics1. The shared ideas of Americans are more important than the conflicts. U.S.

history is generally lacking in conflict, particularly class conflict. Conflicts may be present in U.S. history, but they never approach the same level of intensity as the conflicts that characterize European history.

2. U.S. history is characterized by an ideological narrowness and a general agreement on fundamental principles. Values such as freedom of religion and freedom of speech are shared by most Americans. Americans have exhibited a much narrower range of divisive issues and conflicts than people in other parts of the world. Political struggles in the United States usually take place close to the center of the political spectrum rather than between left and right wing extremists.

3. Historians should focus on ideas that cross over time periods. Historians should work to uncover and describe the common beliefs and shared experiences of Americans.

4. The accomplishments and achievements of American democratic capitalism should be celebrated. Americans have always been held together by a general prosperity.

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DOMESTIC AFFAIRS

New Left History

Time Period: The 1960's through the 1980's.

Examples• Michael Harrington, The Other America• Howard Zinn, A Peopleʼs History of the United States

Characteristics1. Historians should include stories of the violence, racism, and oppression in

American society.

2. The United States is a stew of race, class, gender, and ethnicity. The image of an American “consensus” is inaccurate.

3. United States history should celebrate the individualists, radicals, and anarchists of the past. People such as William Lloyd Garrison, Eugene Debs, and W.E.B. DuBois were ahead of their times in describing injustices in the United States.

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DOMESTIC AFFAIRS

Social History

Time Period: 1980's to the present.

Examples• Eric Foner, Reconstruction: Americaʼs Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877• Patricia Limerick, Legacy of Conquest

Characteristics1. Historians should focus on common people rather than individuals in a perceived

position of power or influence. Historians should study diaries, letters, and other documents from common people. History should be studied from the bottom up.

2. U.S. history is characterized by conflict that, in general, is neither political nor economic. The conflict shaping United States history is primarily cultural conflict.a. Americans struggle against each other with opposing views of how to live.b. Americans struggle against each other with opposing views of modernism vs.

traditionalism or change vs. continuity.

3. Historians should use comparative history to understand the United States better. Historians should compare American society to societies in other nations and put U.S. history in a global perspective.

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DIPLOMATIC HISTORY

The Nationalists

Examples• Samuel Flagg Bemis, A Diplomatic History of the United States • Thomas Bailey, A Diplomatic History of the American People• Bradford Perkins, Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations• Larry Schweikart and Michael Patrick Allen, A Patriotʼs History of the United

States

Characteristics1. United States foreign policy is characterized by a commitment to high ideals.

U.S. foreign policy combines a realistic concept of self-interest with a generous support of the goals of democracy, self-determination, and economic prosperity within other nations.

2. The Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution have inspired people throughout the world. American foreign policy is characterized by an unselfish idealism that is unequaled in the history of the world.

3. The United States may have been an imperialist power, but it has been a good imperialist power, prepared from the beginning of any imperialist action for the eventual abandonment of American control.

4. The United States has made a few mistakes in foreign policy, such as taking the Philippines and keeping it as a colony. However, the U.S. made amends by generously preparing the Philippines for independence and economic stability by building roads, bridges, schools, etc.

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DIPLOMATIC HISTORY

The Realists

Examples• George Kennan, American Diplomacy• Hans Morganthau, Vietnam and the United States

Characteristics1. Foreign policy should not be a matter of public debate. It should be carried out by

professional diplomats who assess the immediate and long-term consequences of the actions of the U.S. government. Foreign policy should be based on national self-interest.

2. United States foreign policy has been characterized by too many changes and wide swings in policy. U.S. foreign policy has too often been characterized by moral crusades and intense isolation. For example, the United States wanted to “make the world safe for democracy” during World War I, only to find itself quickly rejecting world leadership and retreating into isolationism.

3. The United States too often regards itself as a special nation that is not restricted by the same rules other nations should follow.

4. The American people too often believe their nation goes to war because of evil people, nations, or some “ism.” Americans too often go to war trying to cleanse the world of evil.

5. Americans too often treat war as a sporting event, going to war to win, and forgetting objectives consistent with their own self-interest. Nations do go to war, but wars are usually limited to a nationʼs foreign policy objectives that stem from self-interest. Nations go to war to gain territory, protect markets, etc., not just to win.

6. The United States too often tries to right every wrong and correct every injustice. The United States should simply do what is best for its own self-interest. The United States should avoid trying to speak for all humanity in its foreign policy.

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_________• This outline of historiography was taken, in part, from “Historiography and the Essay” by John Crum (found in

Master the AP U.S. History Test, 8th Edition by John Crum and published by Thompson/Arco)

• For a listing of topics in U.S. history that includes a detailed historiography for each topic, see The Readerʼs Guide to American History by Perter J. Parish (Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers)

DIPLOMATIC HISTORY

The Radicals

Examples• William Appleman Williams, The Tragedy of American Diplomacy• Gabriel Kolko, Century of War: Politics, Conflicts, and Society Since 1914• Felix Greene, The Enemy

Characteristics1. United States foreign policy is controlled by an economic elite who guide foreign

policy to gain new economic markets and resources.

2. The economic elite manipulate and mislead the American people into believing that foreign policy objectives are matters of national rather than corporate or elite concern. The masses fight and die while the elite profits.

3. The United States is an imperialist nation that prevents small nations from controlling their own resources.

4. The United States has too often ignored the disadvantaged while pursuing an aggressive foreign policy. A more peaceful, understanding, and cooperative foreign policy must replace the policies the United States has traditionally pursued.