Conflicting Records of History

The most important conclusion that the individual can come to, with respect to Jane Tompkins' essay "'Indians': Textualism, Morality, and the Problem of History," is that it is up to the individual to decide what is true or not true in history. This may seem a daunting task, but that is the major conclusion which Tompkins' herself comes to as a historian. The non-historian individual can say that he or she does not have the time or the resources to study history, or any other area of concern which is "explained" to him or her by others, but if he or she does not take the time and make the effort, it is likely that he is seeing truth and facts where there is primarily individual bias.

On one hand, there is nothing particularly astounding about Tompkins' conclusion with respect to what her study of European-Indian relations has revealed to her:

What this means . . . is that I must piece together the story . . . as best I can, believing this version up to a point, that version not at all, another almost entirely, according to what seems reasonable and plausible. . . . And this . . . is what I was already doing. . . . One encounters contradictory facts and divergent points of view in practically every phase of life. . . . (600).

All Tompkins is saying is that she will have to think for herself as she sifts through the conflicting records and histories on the subject at hand. The amazing thing about this conclusion is that it apparently was never considered before the 1960s, ac

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make our own decisions about what to believe or not to believe, and to, above all, not trust the so-called "experts" simply because they have college degrees or because they have published a number of books. In fact, it might be the best idea to save our strongest doubts for those "experts" who are the most acclaimed. These "experts" are precisely the ones who have the most to lose by changing their historical views and the theories on which they are based, even if they discover evidence which suggests the wisdom of such change. Such experts have entire careers and reputations invested in particular conclusions and theories, and to change those views would put those careers and reputations in jeopardy. It would not be shocking, in fact, to discover that many experts in the field of history and every other field continue to support conclusions and theories in which they simply no longer believe. Their biases are instrumental in the formation of their original views, but when they discover flaws in their views, their fear of losing all they have prevents them from being honest. Tompkins' essay is useful in ways that extend beyond historical study. For example, her analyses of specific instances of cultural bias show how truly ign

Category: History - C