The Historians Craft

President John F. Kennedy once said, “History is a relentless master.  It has no present, only the past rushing into the future”—or maybe he didn’t.  It’s hard to be sure.

That quote appears in literally thousands of books, articles, web sites and even lesson plans.  It seems to be particularly popular among history teachers.  Unfortunately, none of them identify where it’s from.  It doesn’t appear in Kennedy’s inaugural address, his “new frontier” speech or any of the speeches or remarks he made during his presidential campaign.   The language and style are consistent with other things that Kennedy said, but most of his quotes are much easier to track down.  Usually a simple search will turn up the original source.  So it’s surprising that this one quote is so illusive.  Of course that’s not really the point.

The point is that thousands of historians were willing to use a quote without bothering to confirm its source. 

At its best, history opens a window on other worlds and other perspectives.  It challenges our assumptions by introducing us to people who held different beliefs, and it invites us to see ourselves reflected in people who lived very different lives under very different circumstances. 

The study of history shows us the series of events, the trials and errors, that shaped our world, and by understanding these causes and effects we can construct models with which to confront future challenges—but there lies the historian’s trap.  There will always be a temptation to reinterpret historical events in light of current issues to justify a course of action or support an argument.

Often these reinterpretations are not deliberate.  Rather, historians allow their expectations or their preconceptions shape their perceptions.  Unfortunately, these reinterpretations then become the popular version of past events because they seem to confirm modern biases.  That’s probably why so many historians didn’t question the quotation from the start of this post: because it says what they wanted to believe.

History is not just about knowing what happened and when; it’s about understanding how events happened and why.  To do this we must understand the past on its own terms.  We must look beyond the series of historical actions and events to understand their underlying motives and assumptions.  We must analyze and evaluate historical texts to understand both their contents and their contexts, and we must recognize that the same words did not always mean the same things to different people at different times and places.

The past will sometimes offend us.  Different perspectives can be unsettling, especially when they challenge our own perceptions.  It can be difficult to sympathize with others when we disagree with their actions, but we must recognize the difference between results and intentions.  Understanding past mistakes can force us to question our own motives, but that’s how we learn to avoid repeating the same errors. 

The past can be challenging and also rewarding, but only if we can put aside our preconceptions and approach it on its own terms.  As President Kennedy once said, “History is a relentless master” (or did he?)