Why was Booth admitted into the presidential box?

[STS Lincolnite]

(04-25-2015 12:28 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  Re: "You say history is 'what happened'...It is not 'what happened'; it is a RECORD of what happened'", etc. (either side) - this reminds me of this question:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_a_tree...n_a_forest
So, is history the falling/fallen tree, or the recorded sound? Is history the fact - if it is the record, what if the record is a fake? (I'd go for the fact.)

Interesting to think about "what is history?". A few thoughts/ideas that jumped to mind for me.

1) History is motivated/driven the urge to know (with reasonable certainty) the answer to a question (or perhaps questions) related to the past.

2) History is the presence and accumulation of evidence.

3) History is the evaluation, qualification, and contextualization of the evidence. This helps to better understand which is and then use, the best evidence available.

4) History is the interpretation of the best available evidence. This gives meaning and depth to the "cold" nature of evidence.

5) History is sharing, discussing, and re-examining ideas/interpretations/evidence (new or old).

This is not necessarily a complete list, just what popped into my head immediately. To try to totally define history as only one or two of the points above (or more that others may add) leaves an incomplete/inadequate picture.

As an historian, I realize that my thoughts/ideas/interpretations may not be shared by others but I hope I can inform as I am informed by the thoughts/ideas/interpretations of others. I find that in history, as in life, there are very few if any absolutes. If the only thing we will accept in the study of history are absolutes we will be sorely disappointed.

History is a dish with many ingredients and though that dish may be palatable, it is not wholly satisfying when one or more ingredients are left out.