History is Part Myth, Part Hope, and Part Reality. Discuss

I think there is very little question that this is the case. On any historical topic given, there is probably one part wrong, that would be myth, something we can learn that would be applicable, or a message of today, wich is the hope, and the histor-ical significance, or the direct relationship to our present situation is the reality. This is a very concise and creative way to explain our historical sciences, and it does a good job of generalizing, to give us the concepts and goals of history. There are just two problems. First, this applies to nearly any story, and second, if these parts are to create the entire subject of history, then ironically the past is missing.

But before I begin proving or disproving the statement, I should establish what history is. This is actually a bigger question than might be thought. Would we be experiencing history if we invented a time machine and saw the events first-hand?

One arguement says you would. Setting a destination of 36 CE, Israel, one could see what is the most discussed death in history, viewing the situatiuon for yourself, and creating a new perspective, and creating a new story.

On the other hand, witnesses only solve the most minor of problems. If one sets the destination for 1617 CE, Roanoke, Virginia, then one of the greatest historical mystery could be solved, but we by no means would understand history any better, we just add to it. History, by this school of thought, is the interpretation of the evidence obtained.

Well, which one does history follow? A little of each, of course, but they both fall into definite sies of a spectrum. With no prehistoric stories, we have no stories of cavemen, although archeologists have literally given us volumes on them. Meanwhile, almost all we have on Ancient Greece, or the bible, are stories. It was archaeological evidence that proved the Iliad, and it was stories that proved the Shroud of Terrain a fraud. History then, is a group of intertwined stories, leading up to the past. The Israelites then have an incredibly complex history, while Pompeii, leaving behind tons of artifacts, but little stories, has barely a chapter in the history books.

Consequently, if history is the stories of an event, than the myth, hope, and reality are not difficult to find. The Civil War should be an easy place to find all three. The myth is the intentions, or even the respectability Lincoln. The hope of history is the influence of today's society on the retelling of the story. In this case, the issue of equality and slavery stands out, as we spin the occurence to our situation. The reality of the Civil War is what we have seen that came from it. Until very recently, the Solid South was still in comission. We still have racism, fights over state songs and state flags, along with deified figures such as an important leader, who was called "a slow dimwitted giant tyrant," and now his likeness is on the most circulated coin in history, to his honor.

Any interpretation of an historical event can be pulled through these three parts. The problem is that individual historical events cannot be put into one category. Back to the Civil War, there is some argument to the effect that Mary Todd Lincoln was a spy for the Confederacy. If it is found that this is true, nothing has changed. It is known she was mentally unbalanced, and this tells us nothing more of the story. However, this should come as little surprise, as I have already said that history is stories, artifacts fall in archaeology or anthropology.