Historical Evidence and Argument

340 Pages·2005·6.1 MB·English

by  David Henige

Historical Evidence
and Argument

Historical Evidence
and Argument
DAVID HENIGE
THE UNIVERSITYOF WISCONSIN PRESS
This book was published with the support of the Anonymous Fund
for the Humanities of the University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin Press
1930 Monroe Street
Madison, Wisconsin 53711
www.wisc.edu/wisconsinpress/
3 Henrietta Street
London WC2E 8LU, England
Copyright © 2005
The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
All rights reserved
1 3 5 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Henige, David P.
Historical evidence and argument / David Henige.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-299-21410-9 (cloth: alk. paper)
1. History—Methodology. 2. History—Philosophy. I. Title.
D16.H45 2006
901—dc22 2005010203
To
JAN
and
JAN

Those who doubt most always err least.
Samuel Richardson, Pamela
What to believe, in the course of his reading, was Mr.Boffin’s
chief literary difficulty indeed; for some time he was divided
in his mind between half, all, or none; at length, when he
decided, as a moderate man, to compound with half, the
question still remained, which half? And that stumbling-block
he never got over.
Dickens,Our Mutual Friend
Wedonotdealin belief where evidence is available.
Janet Neel, OGentle Death
Iam contented and happy and therefore not a good historian.
Goethe,Sorrows of Young Werther

CONTENTS
Acknowledgmentsxi
Declaiming the Endtime 1
Traveling Hopefully 5
The Anxieties of Ambiguity 15
Unraveling Gordian Knots 29
When Too Much Is Not Enough 42
The Many Births of Frank Lloyd Wright 58
Destroying in Order to Save 65
Speaking of History 77
Sensing Incongruity 91
Poisoned Chalices 102
Scotching the Myth-Making Machine 117
Irreconcilable Differences 125
“We’re Changing Everything . . . Again” 134
Rule Life vs. Real Life 148
When Might Makes Wrong 161