The Sources I Am Using For My Paper

For my senior seminar paper I am using a wide variety of sources, both primary and secondary. Some of the primary sources I am using are: Supreme Court cases dealing with the New Deal, newspaper clippings from 1935-1938, press conferences, speeches, fireside chats by FDR, and letters. Some of the secondary sources I am using include: political and economic journals, scholarly peer-review books dealing with the subject, and some information gathered from online sources. I still have more research to do but I feel I am well on my well to completing an excellent paper.

The Importance of Primary Sources

Primary sources are incredibly important in the writing of any legitimate history paper. Primary sources are sources from the time period and historic event took place and offer insight into what the culture, political system, economy, or government was like. It is important when writing a history paper or book to get as many primary sources as possible to gain a better understanding of the time period that is being written about. When analyzing an event the primary sources will be useful evidence in the point the historian is trying to make. For example, I am writing about FDR and his court-packing scheme (although I will not refer to it by that name in my paper to maintain a level of objectivity) so I have been looking through court cases from the Supreme Court (in order to understand why FDR instigated the scheme in the first place), newspaper clippings (in order to understand the public’s reaction to FDR’s plan), speeches and radio addresses (in order to understand FDR’s reasons for the plan), and letters (in order to understand the private thoughts of the major players in the event). Primary sources are a vital component of any successful historical piece.

The Historical Importance of Rashomon

The 1950 Japanese film Rashomon is rightfully held as one of the classics of Japanese cinema. However, few people do not look at the potential use of the film as an aid for historians. Rashomon tells the story of the rape of a samurai’s wife by a bandit and the subsequent death of the samurai. The bandit, the wife of the samurai, the samurai speaking through a medium, and a woodcutter who supposedly witnessed the crime all have radically differing accounts on what truly happened. The film is useful to historians in that it teaches that there is no one single historical truth. There are always differing interpretations of events and it is the job of a historian to chronicle and analyze these interpretations. Looking at the film in the historical context in which it is made is also important. The film helps to reveal some of the attitudes in Japan following its defeat during World War II. The film can be viewed as an allegory for the defeat of Japan in World War II. This is due to the destruction and dark themes found throughout the film. It can also be interpreted as an allegory due to the repeated phrase of the woodcutter and the priest “How did this happen?” This phrase can be viewed as asking how Japan could have been defeated when it was one of the strongest empires on Earth. The film Rashomon is an excellent example of the differing interpretations of events and the importance of understanding all sides of an event. 

 

Brainstorming

1937 Supreme Court

In order to come up with my topic for my senior seminar paper I had to go through a rigorous amount of brainstorming. The way I narrowed down the ideas for my paper was to go over the periods of history I liked or historical figures I enjoy studying. It is important when writing a paper to find something you are passionate about in order to make the writing more passionate. Some of the topics that I considered were: Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, World War II, the Civil War, Constitutional history, and the Great Depression. After going over the multiple topics I decided that I wanted to do my paper on FDR. I eventually decided that I wanted to do my paper on FDR and the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937. I picked this topic since I am interested in the balance of power within the Federal government and because I am interested in FDR. My next step was to pick a question to ask on my topic. I ended up choosing, “Why did FDR’s Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937.” Brainstorming played a vital part in finding a topic for my senior seminar paper.

The Dangers of Presentism

Presentism is an extremely dangerous and uninformed way of looking at the past through the lenses of modern society. By judging and analyzing societies in the past and applying modern morals and ethics to them, historians fail to gain a real understanding of the events that happened and why they happened. It is important when analyzing historical events to try to study the culture of the time period and to remove one from inputting present day morals and values. I will need to be mindful of the dangers of presentism when writing my paper for senior seminar paper in order to make the best paper possible.