Urbanization- Canned Goods

Urbanization provided many things in the early 20^th century, leisure time and mass production being the main things. The presence of leisure time allowed people to go out. People went out tot eat at restaurants with family and friends. The innovation of canned food allowed food to be preserved better added more variety to what people in America ate. The social aspect of urbanization allowed people to talk and share recipes which also altered what, and how people cooked their food.  Mass production changed the way of buying food. The creation of tin cans, changed the way people stored food, and the creation of the lithograph machine, changed the way companies advertised their products.

The can was invented a lot earlier than what I thought. The first idea of the can was made by Appert, who was a chef for the French nobility. He was interested in the study of food preservation and had done many experiments. His first experiment was with a champagne bottle sealed with a mixture of cheese and lime. He improved on this experiment and later his factory had packed meat in tin cans, and observed which ones would stay fresh the longest. He was later awarded with the Directory Prize for his genius idea. Later he published his method in a book named The Art of Preserving for Several Years. All Animal and Vegetable Substances”.

            Advances in technology created a faster way of transporting goods, canned food for example. Not only was the food going to stores a lot quicker, there was more food going to stores because of mass production. Based on a newspaper article written in 1910 by Ruby Bashford, canned goods were the most dependable source of food. Canned goods were revolutionary to this time period. These days we consider canned goods are for those who do not  have access to fresh food but for some people in the Victorian Era, they were considered to be an extravagance. People depended on canned goods very heavily. In the same newspaper article, Bashford discussed what would happen if you were to take away canned goods from a woman. Bashford says “What would she do without canned goods? The only alternative is to live in a boarding house which she can  never, under any circumstances, seem like home And there she would be served with the same canned goods anyways.” This expert from the article shows that there really isn’t an escape from canned goods in this time period, even if you were to get rid of them in your home you would be given them somewhere else. That’s how big canned goods were. However there was a downfall to these canned goods. The presence not knowing what was truly inside the can was frightening to some, and this changed the way many food companies packaged their goods.

Upton Sinclair published an eye opening book named The Jungle in 1906. Critics say that this book was a “grim indictment that led to government regulations of the food industry”. It was because of Sinclair’s book that the government made changes to the way food was packaged, shipped, and sold, and because of this, The Jungle  is known as “one of the most impactful book on American history”. According to an article called “Purity as Life”, Sinclair’s book focuses on the “anxiety” and “distrust” consumers had with unknown places of food production. This sparked the attention of the US government, and thus the change in food regulations. The biggest change was the Meat Inspection Act of 1906. This act was the commencement of federal regulation on the nations meat, egg and poultry supply. This law requires inspection on all ‘meat-processing plants’. And any article of food that had been adultured or misbranded was considered unlawful. If someone was found guilty of doing so they were to be fined al least $200 on their first offense and any offence after that would be $300, and there was a chance of one year in prison. Food companies had to change many things in order to meet the requirements of the law, including packaging and advertising.

H.J Heinz also helped with creating a healthier way of producing canned goods. His religion of Christianity is what motivated him to find a way to purify these goods. According to “Purity as Life”, Heinz says the following: “the people in the United States are willing to pay for the quality [sic] and, it is not necessary for us to lose money because we are giving the best. When we simply advance the price on an article we don’t tell you we are giving it away, we tell you we are giving you quality, the best money can buy”. Heinz is referring to the improvements made to the production of canned goods; they were now being made with double seamed packaging, and there was now a proper label on cans. It was important the food companies included what was in their cans, because if not they would now be following the proper regulations. Branding the cans also showed the quality of the food. Cans were made of tin-plate containers and covered with paper which had information about the products. Due to urbanization and advancement in technology, a machine was built to trim and stamp tins. Later a lithograph machine was invented to directly transfer images to the can. These innovations created a trust between food companies and their consumers.

The innovation of canned goods was only successful because of urbanization. All of the machines, realization, advances, and innovations were all key factors. Food preservation and health issues were brought to the attention of the public. By doing so the government was able to improve the way of packaging with effective regulations. Without urbanization, these changes would not have been made. And without urbanization we would not be where we are in the food industry today.                                                           

                             

                                           Can Labeling

Salmon Tin Can 

Tin Cans Displayed in Alaska State Museum

Armour and Company 

Lithograph Machine

                                                                                                                                                       Sources:                                                                                                                                                    

Britannica; food processing

• I used this source to find information on the methods of food processing.

school.eb; George Wells Beadle

• I used this source to find information, on bacterial discoveries.

Ebscohost; H.J Heinz

• I used this source to find information about H.J Heinz, and how he created a way to purify food, and his reasoning behind it.

Library of Congress; newspaper 'Canned Goods' article primary source

• I used this source to find a newspaper about canned goods in the time frame of 1910-1920. This source also was a reliable source for a primary source.

Alaska Historical Society; Labeling Cans

• I used this source to collect information about how the workers would label cans, and what the cans were made of.

History.com; History of Cans

• I used this source to find information on when and by whom the first can was created.

FDA; Food Regulations

• I used this source to look up early food regulations, and used this source as a "key terms" source so that I could further my research.

armour-star; Armour and Company

• I used this source to get information on the Armour and Company. I learned from this source that this company was the first to produce canned meat.

nolo.com; Meat Inspection Act of 1906 (condemned meat industry)

• I used this source to further my knowledge on the meat inspection act, which I found on the FDA website.

collectorsweekly; Advertising Tin Cans

• I used this source to find out how food companies labeled cans, process wise, and what was on the labels.

online-literature.com; Upton Sinclair- “The Jungle” 1906

• I used this source because the website where I found information about H.J Heinz referenced "The Jungle". I wanted to know what effect this book had on the government and changes in food regulations

Latin American Immigration

           Today we researched about migration, and at first I thought about researching about the migration of Muslims from India to Pakistan,  but decided against it. I thought I should learn about something other than my own culture. So I looked at this interactive graph, and looked at the immigration patterns from 2005-2010. The immigration path from Latin America to Europe stood out to me the most. Why were the Latin Americans traveling so far? What were the conditions of Latin America? What opportunities were in Europe? I did some research and according to this snippet of an article Spain has a "permissive" immigration policy which allowed immigration associations to cooperate with employer organizations and service providers. Which makes it easier for immigrants to get jobs. My question about why Latin Americans were leaving still remains. However, I can infer that there probably weren't many job opportunities in Latin America.

Latin Americans Migrating 

The Bradley Martin Ball

1. The New York Times article is all about The Bradley Martin Ball. The editor of this paper may have made the assumptions that its readers were interested in the costumes and decorations. The newspaper's perspective on this issue focuses on the preparations for the ball and how big the event is going to be. 
2. This article focuses on the ball, and how amazing it was. There's a lot of positive details that help show that the ball was great. We can learn from the article how extravagant the ball was and how beautiful it was. 
3. This article is about Reverend Dr. Rainsford, and why he criticized the ball. He didn't like the ball because it was not a good idea to have it during that time, because they were showing off all the money they had which lead to the "discontent" of others. The newspaper most likely published an article featuring his views, because he's a minister, and people respect him and his opinions a lot. 
4. I could not read this article  (it wouldn't let me zoom in to read) 
5. This article is a primary source, because it's kind of like Bradley's brother, Frederick Martin Townsend's diary. He wrote about how the ball appealed to his imagination, and he did not think that the ball should be condemned. However his opinion may be biased due to the fact that it was his brother's ball.  

Thinking About Success

Definitions from Dictionary Reference /Google

• Luck- the force that seems to operate for good or ill in  a person's life, as in shaping circumstances, events, or opportunities.
• Opportunity- an appropriate or favorable time or occasion 
• Skill- the ability, coming from one's knowledge, practice, aptitude, etc., to do something well 
• Hard work- a great deal of effort or endurance

Ranking

1. Hard work 
• You need hard work to get somewhere. You can not just wake up one day with an amazing skill at something like playing the guitar. It takes many hours of painfully figuring out the chords and rhythms. So hard work comes before everything else. 
2. Skill
• After working hard at something you develop a skill, and you can't get opportunities without having skills, which comes next in the list. 
3. Opportunity 
• Once you have developed a skill, you can receive opportunities. I'll use the guitar as an example again. after developing the skill to play the guitar, you can get offers to play in bands, or do solo gigs. If you have no skill or experience, no one will want to offer you the opportunity to play for/with them.
4. Luck 
•  Luck is a very unbound "force". It doesn't really have a definite outcome. The outcome could be negative or positive. Therefore, luck doesn't really have anything to do with success, which is why it is at the bottom of this list. Luck just sort of happens, there's no way of making it happen. Whereas with hard work, skills and opportunities, you can make those things happen with just the right amount of effort. 

Taylor Swift as a young teen working towards becoming successful

 Taylor Swift in 2015, winning many different awards 

including 19 Billboard awards and 7 Grammy's 

Industrial Supremacy

         Today in class, we read a few articles about major fashion retailers in the world such as Zara's, Uniqlo, and H&M. I learned that these retailers send their stores new clothing very frequently. The reason behind this is because they have many production offices around the world that quicken the shipment process. For example, H&M has 20-30 production offices that work with other production companies and they sample clothes, check their quality, and choose suppliers. This process allows them to be "responsive with trends". Also Zara uses underground trains to ship clothes from factories to the main "cube" in Spain, which also quickens the process of shipping items to their retail stores. 

Questions:

1.  How many people does it take for the whole shipment process, and how much money?
2. How much are they paid?

 Google 

Savage

     Today in class we read a few pages from an old history textbook. In the few pages we read, I learned about traditions, lifestyles, and appearance of Indians. We were also told to look up the definition of the words savage and savages, and according to Google  save means "(of an animal or force of nature) fierce, violent, and uncontrolled". The word savagery means "the quality of being fierce or cruel" (Google). We then searched the word 'savages' and 'savagery' in the archived textbook and read some excerpts from other parts of the textbook that used those words. These words are mostly used when describing/ talking about Indians. For example "the whites were against the savages" (p.192). If I was an american student reading this text as part of my schoolwork, I would think that Native Americans were vicious people, and that were barely human. 

Battle with the Reds Rumors

Today, July 29, the papers say that in Utah there was a battle between the Indians and the settlers. I can't imagine what the women and children are going through right now, I hope that they are safe. It says that the settlers are starting to organize companies, that I think will prevent the Indians from passing the boarder. It's becoming difficult for anyone to leave Jacksons Hole. Governor Richards says he's going to try to control the settlers and try to prevent them from attacking the Indians. I hope this all ends very soon. There are Bannocks in the area, and they steal and won't think twice before killing a white man. I am very scared for both The Whites and Indians down by Jacksons Hole.  

Newspapers

What is a newspaper?

"[A] set of large sheets of paper that have news stories, information about local events, advertisements, etc., and that are folded together and sold every day or every week" Merriam Webster 

When and where did newspapers come into existence?

According to LocalHistories the newspaper first came into existence in 1641 in England  

What were some old newspapers in the US?

Library of Congress says some old news papers include: Golden Valley Chronicle, Evening Star, South Bend News-Times, The Omaha Daily Bee and many more.

Newspapers today:

The Los Angeles Times has stories about education, sports, entertainment, politics, etc. The leading stories now are of a teacher being fired for being inappropriate with minors, El Nino, and Lamar Odom's story about his unexpected drug abuse that left him fighting for his life. 

What does is "newspaper of record" mean? 

According to Wiki being a newspaper record means the newspaper "is a major newspaper that has a large circulation and whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered professional and typically authoritative". The New York Times was the first newspaper of record in 1913. The Los Angeles Times is another example of a newspaper of record. 

How is looking at a newspaper different from our use of social media to stay connected?

Staying connected with what is going on in the world is much easier through social media than it is through newspapers. This is because with social media, everything is quicker, as soon as something happens it is on Twitter, or CNN. Newspapers take much longer. There's an entire process of getting the newspaper edited, published, and printed.

The New York Times 

Cultural Appropriation

      Many music festivals are banning Native American headdresses due to cultural appropriation. Including the Glastonbury Festival in England, and one in Canada. The reason Glastonbury is banning the headdresses is because of a petition created by David Round on change.org. Round states that wearing the headdresses is "an offensive and disrespectful form of cultural appropriation", and that it makes a diverse culture similar. He also says that by wearing the headdresses, people are creating "damaging and racist stereotypes".The Canadian music festival, Bass Coast, banned the headdresses to "respect the dignity of aboriginal people". Organizers of the festival tell The Guardian that since their festival 'takes place on indigenous land' they feel that they should listen to the aborigines and not allow the headdresses, they also say that they do not want to separate culture and aesthetics.  
     Music festivals are not the only place were headdresses are controversial. In the 2012 Victoria's Secret fashion show, model Karlie Kloss wore a magnificent headdress tribal jewelry and fringed details on her heels. After the fashion show Victoria's Secret apologized by saying "We are sorry that the Native American headdress replica used in our recent fashion show has upset individuals. We sincerely apologize as we absolutely had no intention to offend anyone. Out of respect, we will not be including the outfit in any broadcast, marketing materials nor in any other way." The band No Doubt shot a music video for one of their singles, and in the music video Gwen Stefani dressed as a Native American which caused many people to be angry. They too had too apologize. In their apology they said that since they are a "multi-racial" band they're built on diversity, and that they had no intention in offending anyone. They took the video down immediately because "being hurtful to people is simply not who they are". 

Gwen Stefani in No Doubt music video

    The reason I chose to research about cultural appropriation, is because I come from a culture where many things are copied as well. My friends and I often have discussions about how it annoys us when other people try to copy us and say that they're being "chic" or "trendy". I remember coming to school with henna on my hands as a kid and people always giving me weird looks and saying offensive things. Now of you go on twitter, you can see all these twitter accounts with pictures of henna with captions like "henna goals" or heat-eyed emojis. I chose to research this because I wanted to know what other cultures have traditions that they don't like being copied. 

Links:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/16/glastonbury-festival-headdress-ban_n_5991972.html

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jul/25/canadian-festival-bans-native-american-style-headdresses 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/08/karlie-kloss-victorias-secret-headdress-fashion-show_n_2091958.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/native-american-cultural-appropriation/ 

https://www.change.org/p/glastonbury-festival-ban-the-sale-of-native-american-style-headdresses-on-site-from-2015 

First Quarter Reflection

       In this past quarter, we have learned many things. We started off by discussing the differences between empathy and sympathy. Then we used what we learned about the two, and applied it to historical events. We watched Glory and 12 Years a Slave and after we were asked if we could sympathize/empathize with the slaves and soldiers in the movies. We then went on to learn about the Civil War and constitutional changes afterwards. Which included how slaves were no longer considered 3/5 of a person, and since that was abolished, southern states had more representation in Congress. Then I remember learning that a state could not secede from the union because the 13th amendment states that anyone born in the United States is a citizen of the union,. So by seceding, that state would be taking away American citizens and that is not allowed. Then we learned about the black codes in the south after slavery was abolished The Black codes were laws for the Negros, they basically left Negros with little freedom without calling it slavery. Then came the Reconstruction period, which was the period of time after the Civil War where the US was 'rebuilding' the constitution and creating equal rights. The Reconstruction time period would have been less violent if President Lincoln was not assassinated, this is because Lincoln was a moderate and most other people were radicals. So after his assassination, the radicals took over. After learning about the end of the Civil War, we moved on to learn about "The Wild West". We learned why and how westward expansion happened. We learned about all the people that lived/ migrated to the west, and what they did. Also how they were treated, and for some (like the Chinese) it was not very well.

      This history course is the first course that I have actually enjoyed, and I think it's because of my change in work ethic and also the material we've learned about. I feel very on top of things in this class. Paying attention in this class is much easier than in my other classes. That's because everything we've learned so far is interesting and relevant. I never would have thought that we could write essays on movies that we watched in class. However, I did struggle with the in-class essay. I didn't finish, but I had all my notes and research done. I need to work on being able to put my thoughts into actual words, and not have them be so jumbled up. I need to work on my comprehension skills as well. I remember when we read the article about peer pressure and I thought I had read it very thoroughly, but when it came to answering the questions in class I found myself struggling. By improving these skills I am sure that I will grow as a history student, and do well in this class.  

Learning History Through Film

       Movies may not seem like a great way to teach a group of students, because they’re correlated with ‘fun’. However, I have learned a lot from the two that we have seen in class. Movies can make us feel like we are a part of the story. Movies not only allow us to experience these events, but they allow us to develop great analytical skills, explore real events, and attitudes by watching them in a critical way, and doing some research.

    The movie Glory won many awards for its excellence. Some included, the Academy Award for Best Performance and the Academy Award for Best Cinematography. These categories help with understanding the movie, and actually learning something from it. An article from the New York Times says, “Glory is the first serious American movie about the civil war to be made in years.” Meaning that all the other movies have been done poorly, and that they did not teach the audience what it really was like. In Glory, the actors do a great job in showing us what it was really like back then. For example, “[Denzel Washington]... brings an anguish to Trip that seems to go beyond the role itself.” (LA Times). Good acting helps us to be analytical when watching a movie because, the actors allow us to think about things like “why are they making that face?” or “why does he do that”. Asking questions like this allows us to understand and learn more about the events happening in the movie.

        There are many challenges in making a movie so that the audience can learn something from it. For instance, budget. Glory had a budget of $18 million, and they were able to make a ‘good, moving, complicated film’ (New York Times). 12 Years a Slave had a budget of $20 million, and they were able to make a movie that ‘may be the one that finally makes it impossible for American cinema to continue to sell the ugly lies it’s been hawking for more than a century.’ (New York Times). The more money a production company has the better that movie is in depicting accurate events.  Filmmakers also have to make sure that they convey a specific message, they have goals and intentions. Edward Zwick, director of Glory tells Michelle P. Perry from ‘The Tech’ ‘I think the choice was to try to focus on neither blacks nor whites, but on the regiment. One of the points of the story was to explore a time in which both blacks and whites found some commonality of purpose!’

    Movies allow us to make arguments too. After watching 12 Years a Slave, I concluded that slavery is terrible. I know this is a known fact, but I can use the movie to support my argument. Also Chiwetel Ejiofor won many awards for his acting, because he truly showed us what it was like to be a slave back then. Lupita Nyong'o does the same An article from The Guardian says, "Chiwetel Ejiofor gives a performance of incomparable heroism and presence as Northup; Lupita Nyong'o is passionate and defiant in the role of his fellow prisoner Patsey, and Michael Fassbende is the sadistic slaves master Epps, whose habitual sexual abuse and angry self-hate is revealed to be pathological and under-reported part of the system; a system which in the words of one character enables the abuser's violence to 'trample his guilt'". This review shows that since the actors gave such an excellent performance, the audience is able to see the true problems of slavery. By critically watching an actor's performance, a viewer can conclude many things, and if the director has done a well enough job, those things can teach the viewer many true things.     

    Historical accuracy is the only major thing that can effect what the viewer learns from a movie. Fortunately, both 12 Years a Slave and Glory  were fairly accurate. 12 Years a Slave was based on 'Sloman Northup's 1853 narrative 'Twelve Years a Slave' and according to hisorians.org two historians have verified that his narrative portrayed an accurate representation of slavery in some parts of Louisiana. The main historical issues that the New York Times found in 12 Years a Slave was that Mcqueen made slavery look 'unrelentingly hellish', when in fact some slaves would be allowed to get time off during the holiday season to rest. However for Glory, Mackubin T. Owens from Ashland University  says that 'Glory' has many historical inaccuracies. The fifty fourth regime in the movie was mostly made up of runaway slaves, it was actually a regiment of freedom, and they were recruited from Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania. Also Frederick Douglas had two sons that were one of the first people to volunteer for the regiment, and the eldest, Lewis, ended up serving as sergeant-major for the regiment. In the same article Owens says "by inaccurately depicting the 54th as a regiment of former slaves, 'Glory' reveals the deeper truth that blacks in general were not the natural slaves that Southerners believed to be and that abolitionists feared they might be." It is important for a movie to be historically accurate because if it is not, the audience leaves the movie with something that may or may not be true.

         Movies are in fact a great way of learning about the past. By doing some research and watching a movie in a critical way, movie viewers can develop analytical skills, broaden their knowledge on real events, and what the attitudes that actors use mean. I think that teachers should start watching movies in their history classes, because they really do teach us a lot.  

Links:

Glory:

http://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Glory#tab=summary   (budget and box office)

http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/19993/Glory/awards  (awards)

http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=950DE4D8113FF937A25751C1A96F948260 (review; Vincent Canby)

http://ashbrook.org/publications/oped-owens-00-patriot/ (historical accuarcy)

http://articles.latimes.com/1989-12-14/entertainment/ca-186_1_civil-war-epic (Glory Critique)

http://tech.mit.edu/V109/N60/zwick.60a.html (intentions)

12 Years a Slave:

http://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Twelve-Years-a-Slave#tab=summary (budget and box office)

google for awards

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jan/09/12-years-a-slave-review (reviews, and intentions)

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/18/movies/12-years-a-slave-holds-nothing-back-in-show-of-suffering.html?_r=0 (Critique)

https://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/january-2014/12-years-a-slave-examines-the-old-souths-heart-of-darkness (historical accuracy)

Practice Incorporating a Quotation

"In the heat of the fight, men are color blind"

The movie "glory" illustrates how the white and black soldiers come together as one. As one critic says, "In the heat of the fight, men are color blind".

I learned that paraphrasing is used when I want to write about a writer's idea, and quotations are used when I want to use the exact words of an authors. 

This is what Mrs. Lawson wanted me to learn today:

• Only use a quote when it adds power and style to my writing.
• Always make it clear, from context, that I understand the full meaning of the quote.
• Whether I quote or paraphrase, always be transparent about the source and how I'm using it. 
• If I use another author's exact words or phrases, to any extent, I have to use quotation marks and give credit. 
• If I use another author's presentation of facts or ideas, but put their ideas in my own words, I better have a good reason for doing that, and I MUST give credit. 
• Hyperlinking is so easy, there is no excuse for not being transparent about my sources. 

I get it and I'm ready to move forward. 

Glory Paraphrase

“Glory could have easily become one-sided, but, instead of presenting just Shaw's perspective, Zwick successfully gives us five distinct points-of-view. We see events not only from Shaw's vantage point (his is the "dominant" voice, since much of the narration is taken directly from the real-life historical documents written by the Colonel), but from those of Trip, Jupiter, Thomas, and Rawlins. In the end, none of these men are shortchanged. The sense of balance presented between the characters is one of Glory's strengths.” This is from an article from reelviews.

An article from reelviews.net explains how Edward Zwick, could have created the movie, "Glory", from the perspective of just Colonel Shaw. He alternately created the film in 5 different perspectives, or "point-of views". It would have been easier to make the film in Colonel Shaw's perspective because there were actual historical documents that portrayed his life. Instead Zwick included the viewpoints of Trip, Jupiter, Thomas, and Rawlin. By the end of the movie, none of these men's stories outshines another's. 

Empathy Vs. Sympathy

    Empathy 

      Empathy and sympathy are often confused by many people, myself included. Empathy, based on what we learned in class, is the intellectual identification or vicarious experience of the feelings, thoughts, and attitudes of another.In other words, empathy is being able to understand what someone is going through because you have been in a similar situation, and can relate with them. While sympathy is feelings of pity and sorrow of someone else's misfortune.Empathy is being able to relate with someone, and sympathy is feeling pity for someone. Usually people empathize with other people when they have experienced something very similar, and they know how the other person is feeling, but there are also some situations where you have to empathize with an unknown event. Let's say that a friend of mine's dog dies, I have never had a pet so I have yet to experience that feeling. My immediate reaction would be "It's just a pet, why are you so upset?". However I know that that person had some kind of deep connection with that pet, so I would put myself in their shoes and try to empathize with them. Another difficult situation to empathize with, is when you completely disagree with something. For instance, if you were a young German man, and a Nazi solider came up to you and says that you have to kill one Jewish man, or he'll kill your family. Yes, it's morbid but it's just an example. So we all know that murdering the Jewish population during the Holocaust was terrible, and any sane person would disagree that the Holocaust was a great event. Yet, you are given this grim ultimatum, you are most definitely going to do whatever it takes to save your family, and you will most likely end up taking the life of that Jewish man. Now think of all those Nazis during the time of the Holocaust who were given a similar ultimatum. It's now easier to empathize with the Nazis, even though what they did is incredibly barbaric and cruel. When dealing with an unknown situation, you almost have to crawl into that other person's brain and view the situation from their perspective. It's vital that we learn to empathize with any kind of situation, no matter how appalling the situation is, because with this skill we can enhance our understanding of any historical event.