I well recall an opening college class on World History when the professor asked each of us to define history. As one might imagine when we were required to read our answers, they were varied and vague. The only one I remember, and it was offered by the professor, not one of the students: “History is Past Politics . . . and Politics Are Present History.”
I am sure that he gave the attribution to Edward Augustus Freeman who was the Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford in the latter third of the 19th century. That phrase appears in several different forms in Freeman’s voluminous writings and was adopted as the motto of Johns Hopkins University Studies in 1882.
The subtext of that thought is this: History is not static, but dynamic. It responds to the political events, among other cultural influences of the time but its interpretation should be viewed in the context of events that occur decades, centuries, or even millennia later.
In that sense history, although the facts at the time of occurrence may remain unchanged, the import of those events must be examined in the light of the present. If that were not so then that famous quote of George Santayana, “Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it,” would be meaningless.
The implication of history lies in a nether world that is subject to the foibles of interpretation; we tend to see the past through the lens of our personal perspective. One need not argue the case that such a view can hardly be considered objective.
The events of the past several weeks point this with startling clarity. Those who see the heritage of the Confederate battle flag have a diametrically opposed view to those who suffered under its oppression. Neither view can accept the other.
If one reads history carefully we find that events we now celebrate with great pride were subject to violent disagreement at the time of their debate; today we have a different view of the past.
Here’s a striking example. George Washington, the Father of our Country, was universally respected, loved, and even worshipped after his stunning victory of the Revolutionary War; never mind the ineptitude of the British army. Washington’s first term as President was widely praised; his second term a near disaster. Here’s the point: we remember him, we honor him for his successes, we have forgotten about his failures.
Poor John Adams, Washington’s Vice President, was roundly ignored during his term, and when he became President, was constantly sabotaged by Thomas Jefferson, his Vice President. He was one of the most able of the Founding Fathers, but because of Jefferson’s duplicity and lies, Adams stands on the periphery of the pantheon.
Jefferson, the father of the Declaration of Independence, had less to do with the document itself than the stylistic form in which it finally appeared, yet he claims most of the credit. Enough has been said about his hypocrisy in relation to his view of slavery. Abraham Lincoln, for all his greatness in saving the Union and issuing the Emancipation Proclamation was a vociferous supporter of white supremacy
History, viewed in retrospect, tends to fade into sharply contrasting contributions. We are seeing the same in the politics of present history. We will not know the legacy of the contentious issues facing us today until they are long past and we are no longer observers.
While taking this long view, it is helpful to remember that what we now look back on as “the good old days,” was referred to in the real moment as “these troubling times.” It will always be so. History is being written today, the good, the bad, and the truly ugly. To keep open minds, open hearts, and open hands are the best insurance that we will continue to preserve and protect the heritage our flawed Founding Fathers passed on to us.
In all the terrible things that are left unsaid about the past history of the world in general and the United States in particular, the world has survived and it has done so by not glorifying history but by understanding the past from the perspective of the present.
Hayden Hollingsworth
