Remember the Alamo, Bias, and the Mayflower -- Wednesday, September 10

Today we discussed the article dealing with bias in the presentation at the Alamo memorial site. Although the article highlights the biases in favor of the Texians who fought there, we found that the article itself was laden with its own brand of bias diminishing the work of the Daughters of the Republic and the bravery of the men who gave their lives in what was unquestionably a no win situation.

This example highlights the importance of critical evaluation on the part of you as a student of history. In each and every case, regardless of the source, it is your responsibility to consider and analyse the bias evident. As demonstrated by the article, bias can be subtle.

"The Battle of the Alamo was a pivotal moment in the Texas Revolution. Fewer than 200 soldiers, including knife fighter extraordinaire James Bowie and former Tennessee Congressman David Crockett, made their stand against a much larger army led by Mexican dictator Antonio López de Santa Anna. A 13-day siege ended badly for the Texians."

Many accounts place the number of Texas soldiers at 140 and the "much larger" Mexican army was said to be roughly 4000. By excluding these details the writer diminishes the enormity of the challenge these men faced and ultimately the voracity of the fight they put up, to say nothing of the incredible understatement found in the final line.

And such is the nature of bias -- sometimes what is not said is more important that what is said.

The natural question that comes out of this is, "What is the truth?"

And the answer is that certainty in history is as elusive as Barry Sanders -- when you think you have it, it escapes you. This is a constant in a discipline which is based on the documented recollections of others and their analysis over time. Subjectivity can be relied on to be a certainty. Ultimately, this is what makes the real study of history more interesting and engaging-- everything is measured and tested against new evidence ... and as such, everything is still subject to reevaluation and reinterpretation.

That said, it is also important to remember that we must consider the different realities and circumstances of the times which we are studying as opposed to simply applying the realities and circumstances of the post-modern times in which we live to the past.


We will soon begin taking a closer look at bias and its various forms in a longitudinal study that you will be working on with respect to the upcoming presidential election in November.

The last quarter of the class was spent considering the background the Mayflower Compact (1620) and the circumstances of the Pilgrims who came to America to settle the Plymouth Colony. Tuesday's class activity was aimed at putting you in a similar situation and getting you to consider some of the questions that would have faced the Pilgrims at the time. It was both a sobering experience in that they had to get along to survive, but it was also a great opportunity to shape a new world of their making through a majoritarian model. Actually, the Mayflower Compact represents the opening act in the American tradition of a government based on the consent of the governed. In a speech in 1802, John Quincy Adams, a descendant of Mayflower passenger John Alden, referred to the Mayflower Compact as the foundation of the U.S. Constitution.

Read the short article on the compact.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayflower_Compact

On Thursday, September 11 we will briefly discuss the basic questions that are confronted when one considers the creation of government.

As scheduled, we will also begin presentations for the Presidential Primer of last Thursday/Friday.