Rationale:
This artifact is a paper that I wrote while in
history 401 (the American Revolution) at Ball State University my
senior year. This paper was an analysis of the book Daniel Boone
by John Mack Faragher. This book covers the life of Daniel Boone
and also bits of information about the exploration and settlement west
of the Appalachian Mountains, as well as the struggle for independence
in the frontier form British control.
From both this class and writing this paper in
particular I expanded my knowledge of the American Revolutionary War
and the events pre and post war. This paper helped five insight
into a great American legend, and an often forgotten part of the war,
that in the frontier. I also learned about the use of primary and
secondary sources in studying history. The importance of primary
and secondary sources in the study of history is often
overlooked. Primary sources are vital to the study of history
because they are the eyewitness accounts of the events that took
place. Secondary sources are also important because they offer an
in depth look at an event through the compilation of primary sources,
allowing someone to learn about a topic from one book that is made up
from many different sources. Knowing this information as a
teacher provides them with the necessary tools to judge the credibility
of the sources of information they are using to teach their students,
as well as making them a better historian. The ability to teach
their students about the importance of analyzing a books sources will
help teachers make their students better historians and researchers
because they will be able to judge a source of information as accurate
and reliable or not.
All high school and middle school students must take
United States History class. It is important that the teachers
teaching these students have a deep understanding of the topics that
they teach. A United States History teacher had better have a
good base of knowledge about one of the most, if not the most,
important even in United States history. The above paper shows a
deep understanding of this topic and even shows knowledge gained about
the often forgotten frontier. Also it shows an understanding of
both primary and secondary sources. This provides several
teaching opportunities as well. The teacher is able to stress the
importance of analyzing primary and secondary sources to their students
which makes them better historians, Also, knowing the often
overlooked information and events, like those occurring in the frontier
during the Revolutionary War, will provide the teacher with an
opportunity to provide their students with information that they didn’t
know. This will lead to a deeper respect for their teacher
because they will appreciate the knowledge they are receiving from
their teacher. Through providing the students with this
information, the teacher is making the subject and topics that they are
teaching more meaningful to their students.
History 401:
There are many books written about people and times
long since past. Some of these books and writings are done years
afterwards and with specific intentions like persuasion or to
inform. It is important as modern day historians that we realize,
and take into account many factors when analyzing books about ancient
times and people. Four such things to keep in mind whenever
reading a historical book of any kind is who wrote it, when, to or for
whom, and for what purpose. In reviewing a book it is important
to understand what the author’s thesis and supporting arguments are,
what the books subject and contents include, analyze the books sources,
and finally your own personal opinion of the book and its merit.
For the book Daniel Boone: The Life and Legend of an
American Pioneer written by John Mack Faragher, the thesis can be found
in the introduction. Faragher’s thesis is that he wishes to tell
the story of Daniel Boone in a different way by including all of the
stories and happenings recorded and passed down through the telling of
stories to paint a picture of an American pioneer hero, and to help
shed some light on how the people in this area and time looked upon him
and life in general through their telling of real and folk
accounts. For example, on page 71 the author tells of a reunion
of Boone and Findley, an old friend. He gives both perspectives
on the story, that Findley sought Boone out, and that what was more
likely is that it was somewhat of a chance encounter. Either way,
this is just a small example of how over time things get distorted and
remember differently as they transition from fact into folk lore.
Examples like this and may others can be found throughout the book
supporting the thesis, and giving different accounts to a story due to
some suspicion of it be folk lore.
The subject of this book is the life and times of
Daniel Boone, who is an American legend, and helped tame the
frontier. The book is presented in a chronological tail of
accounts that start out when Daniel is a boy and continue through his
death. The book goes through him as a family man, an adventurer,
and a soldier. My favorite tail in the book is also one that was
surrounded by controversy. It is where Daniel uses his cunning to
arrange that capture of his men so that none would be harmed, and later
escaping his Indian captors and returning to his fort to defend it
against their attack. This book offers insight into two other
major areas of American history that are often overlooked. First,
it allows the readers to take a look at the revolutionary war and its
battles through the perspective of a frontiersman. With studying
the revolutionary war it is easy to overlook the contributions of these
freedom fighters in the frontier, and focus on places like
Massachusetts and Virginia. Another thing that this book has to
offer is a glimpse into the American frontier and the exploration of
the west. Daniel Boone was a pioneer, and often times was among
the first to settle a new area. For example, when Daniel and his
family move to Kentucky they were among the first to settle there and
live there, and paved the way for many others to come.
Another important thing to consider when reading a
historical book is what sources the author used in writing the book,
secondary vs. primary, and the different types of records used like
maps, manuscripts, and many other sources. Faragher uses a large number
of interviews and manuscripts in his telling of the story, often times
taken from first hand accounts or from second hand like Daniel telling
his children stories, and then they rely those stories on. He
relies fairly heavily on LCD (Lyman Copeland Draper), and interviews
and manuscripts provided by him. He also includes maps throughout
the book like those on pages 12 or 41. Although a variety and
great amount of primary sources were used, I do think that Faragher
relied too heavily on LCD and his work.
In my opinion, this is a very well written and
organized book. It offers insight into a very interesting part of
American history (the frontier) and an interesting folk lore legend
Daniel Boone. I like the order of the book, how it followed
through Daniel’s life in a chronology, this made it easy to
follow. Another thing that I liked about the book were the
authors warnings about stories and topics that might have been altered
from the original happenings through the passage of time. The
author’s many quotations throughout the book, although they add a
personal feel and gives personal insight into Daniel from those closest
to him, is still subject the question. Quotations are supposed to
be the exact thing that was said by a person, however with the passage
of time quotes are often altered and changed, and for this reason it is
important to understand the message that is being sent by them but
question their exactness. I would recommend this book to others
who want to learn about several different subjects. The subjects
included in this book include frontier life, the Indian wars, the
Revolutionary War in the frontier, Daniel Boone’s life, and several
others. I think that there is a great deal that can be learned
from this book about all of these topics and more. Personally I
learned about all of these subjects, because I unfortunately have been
up till now one of the unfortunate many to focus on New England
(Massachusetts and Virginia) during this time. I also had heard
of Daniel Boone, however really didn’t know much about his
accomplishments and life.
In conclusion, I think that this book offers a great
deal to its readers. I think that although there are several
negative aspects to the book, the over all positives far out way these
few negatives. I would advise any reader to look for the many
different historical topics covered in this book, and to judge for
themselves what is altered and what is not. Always keeping in
mind when reading any historical book the four questions of who wrote
it, when, to or for whom, and for what purpose.