Sunday, August 19, 2012
War- Wood
Short and Sweet. This is what comes to mind after I read this book. Chapter 5 is nice and to the point. We learned a brief overview of The State Constitutions, The Articles of Confederation, and the most detailed of the three, The War for Independence. I like how Wood kept his reflections brief and unbiased. He persuades us that the most important thing about the Revolution is the road to Democracy. In this chapter we see the progression from the State's need for independence away from England, to the need for centralized government without tyranny, to the events leading up to the war. I like how the details were kept to a minimum so that I found it easier to follow and not get bogged down with too much information. As far as his work as a historian, I like how he used a lot of primary resources. Overall, reading the book I didn't think I would read as much as unidentified sources as I did. There is so much information out there on the Revolutionary War that I would expect more direct quotes.
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I think you need to go back to think about Wood's purpose in writing the book - he is writing a short history of the American Revolution. Others are writing in-depth about specific aspects of the war, so can dive into details and use documentary evidence, like quotes, to support their interpretations.
ReplyDeleteLikewise, in response to your previous post, Hakim is writing for elementary/middle school students. She's going to use a much livelier, story-based, format to reach that audience.
One of the important parts of evaluating a source is thinking about who the author is writing for and why. A personal letter will be different from an editorial. An overview book for adults will be different from an overview book for students.