What is History? Studying history and being a historian is a largely academic profession. Many historians spend hours sifting through archives and finding access to newly digitized sources, only to spend even more time writing and editing a research paper. It is time consuming, but the constant re-evaluation of historical narratives is important for the field. With the ability to use newer forms of historical research in the late 20th and now 21st centuries, the field has grown considerably as people have begun to uncover previously unseen sides of the past.
For most of humanity’s existence, history was given verbally from one generation to another. When paper and written languages were invented, physically recording history was done only by those who could read and write. Hieroglyphs in Egypt are believed to be the earliest form of written history, though the Greek historian Herodotus is often considered the “father of history.” Many of the works done by historians in the Ancient World were written with anecdotal evidence and rarely ever explained their society beyond what elite members were engaged in. As we entered the Modern era, limited focus and a lack of different sources continued to define history, impacting how we understand the past today.
With the invention of the printing press, reading became accessible to most of the world’s population and the field of history began to grow. It is often said that “history is written by the victors,” and while there can be cases where this isn’t always true, it has largely been true for American history. From Columbus’ entrance into the “New World” through most of the United States’ existence, recording American history has long been dominated by white European and American born men who were the “victors” of their given era. With minimal access and use of multiple or conflicting sources, American history has long been romanticized with many parts overlooked or forgotten with time.
Our goal with this upcoming blog series, called Uncovering Folsom, is to uncover aspects of Folsom’s history that weren’t common knowledge to many of us. To explore newly discovered materials, such as digitized primary sources, and explain what has been overlooked or forgotten. These topics aren’t always comfortable or align with what many have long believed to be true, but they are important to understand. Gaining a complete understanding of Folsom’s history allows us to see just how far our community has come, and the numerous ways we have changed for the better. Uncovering these parts of Folsom’s history builds a complete and honest understanding of the city we all call home.
This article was written by Folsom History staff member Zachary Vaccarezza. He recently graduated from Sonoma State University with a Bachelor of Arts in history, where he studied persecution stories and the American West. As a lifelong resident of Folsom, he has always been intrigued by the city's unique past and the numerous groups that have come to call this area home.
Comentários