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| The Presence of the Past, Columbia U. Press, 1998 |
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| Click on the photo to go to the Columbia University Press |
Although much of our motivation for participating
in Civil War reenacting and living history is the enjoyment we gain, we cannot escape the fact that whether we intend to or
not, we are teaching the public about the Civil War. In The Presence of the Past: Popular Uses of History in
American Life, Roy Rosenzweig and David Thelen revealed that the general public trusts the history they learn at
historical sites, living history, and reenactments more than they trust what is taught in schools, what they read in textbooks,
or what they hear from their teachers.
This is of particular importance in the case of school children. They
do not have the benefit of prior knowledge and experience that adults have with which to judge the accuracy of a
representation of the past. Many of us portray persons from the Civil War era at school events, in classrooms, at museums,
and for school field trips at reenactments. It is imperitive that we determine, as well as is possible, that what we teach
is accurate history and not our own opinion of how it must have been. We must not let our own 21st century biases affect our
19th century impressions.
| Photographer Mathew Brady, July, 1861 |
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| Click on the photo to go to the Mathew Brady Collection, American Memory, Library of Congress |
This section contains information and links to other sites to help
us, and you, in research. Historical research does not have to be dry, boring, and tedious. It can be fun and entertaining.
Stories from diaries, journals, letters, and periodicals often include knee-slapping humor as well as heart-wrenching grief.
Photographs and drawings reveal valuable details about clothing, furniture, transportation, food, and even personal relationships.
Historians call this information primary source material.
To read more about historical sources, click on "Understanding Sources"
below.
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