Stockton Bermingham

HIST 1700
Fall 2016

Discussion 1

Take a few minutes to introduce yourself by answering the following questions:

• Introduce yourself and tell me and your classmates something about yourself (Who are
you? What do you want others to know about you? What do you consider to be the core
aspects of your identity?).
• What are your expectations about this course?
• Why do you think it is important to study history (or if you do not, why not)?
• Take a minute to take the cultural literacy quizzes found here:
• Record your reactions. Why do you think that a person should know these things in
order to be considered culturally literate?
• Report your experiences here (for example, how did you do on the test? Which
questions did you miss? Why are these things important to know? Why do we expect
prospective citizens to know them? Which questions do you think should not be on the
exam? What sorts of things that are not on the exam do you think should be? Etc.).

Hello, my name is Stockton Bermingham. I grew up and went to school here in Salt Lake and
started at SLCC right after high school. After several years of classes, I then decided to take a
break from school and began performing and traveling in a few different bands as a drummer.
As a kid, it was always a dream of mine to be a musician, but after giving it a real shot and
experiencing what life is like in that field, I realized it’s not necessarily meant for me. But with
that being said, music is still a passion of mine and I still play and learn new things every day. I
wouldn’t be surprised if I end up in a career that is somehow related to music and possibly even
helping out some of the many talented friends and musicians I’ve met along the way.
Nowadays, I’m just trying to finish up school and get a career going for myself. I’m also a huge
fan of movies, basketball, food, traveling, art, photography, philosophy, science, design, and
everything that comes with owning a home. I live just up the street in Sugarhouse with my
girlfriend, Sarah, who is also a student. I just try and fill my life with things I love and spend my
time doing things I’m passionate about. Sarah and I have a long bucket list for ourselves and
school is the first item to knock off.

By the end this course I’d just like to be confident in my knowledge of the subject matter that we
are focusing on. That’s what I believe to be important about studying history, getting your facts
straight. I also think it’s important to know what happened and let it influence future decisions.

I didn’t do too well on the two Cultural Literacy quizzes, scoring in the 40s for each. I was
honestly surprised how poorly I did on these quizzes. I think that in order to understand a
countries culture, you have to know it’s history. Looks like I need to start studying!

The Full Citizenship quiz was a lot easier for me. I got a 76% and found most of the questions
to be fairly simple, some were even a little silly. I realized my biggest problem is just
remembering names.

I look forward to meeting all of you and sharing this class together!

Stockton Bermingham
HIST 1700
Fall 2016

Discussion 15

The first week of class I asked you to introduce yourselves on the course discussion
board, and, among other things, to describe your expectations for the class. Reflect on
your post for that topic.

Write a final post summarizing what you learned in this class and what important
lessons, if any, you will take away from it. Things to consider include (but are not limited
to) what the historical perspective entails, how that perspective might inform your
everyday life, how you might apply the things you learned in this class to your chosen
profession, how this class will influence the way you view politics and the role of citizens
in a democracy, etc. Were your expectations met? Why or why not?

Because of this class, I feel like I have a much better understanding of the timeline of the United
States. Before we started, I always felt I was a little naive when it came to our history but now
I’m much more confident. I was aware of the importance of studying history but never really did
anything about it. Now, I know I’ll take plenty away from this class and plan on continuing to
study history whenever and wherever I can. Another thing I quickly learned in this class that I
will always carry with me is how crucial perspective is while studying history. My expectations
were definitely met with this class and then some. I do wish we got a little closer to present day
America, but I realize we just ran out of time. This class had the perfect structure; just readings,
assignments and quizzes. Hope to see everyone around campus in the future

Stockton Bermingham
HIST 1700
Fall 2016

Assignment 1

Read "Davisdon and Lytle (2010) - After the Fact (prologue)" and answer the following:

1. Why do Davidson and Lytle believe that “history is what happened in the past” is an
inadequate definition of history? Do you agree? Why or why not?
I completely agree with Davidson and Lytle. Davidson and Lytle perfectly sum up why the
explanation of history as “what happened in the past,” as insufficient with the sentence, “The
past is not history, only the raw materials.” Silas Deane died on a ship that was to take him back
to America, many suspect suicide. That’s what happened in the past. Being the “courier” or the
messenger of the past would give you that same result when asked what happened to Deane,
why he took his life on a ship. What happened in the past is a snapshot, the raw materials, not
history. History, through the active participation of historians, calls into question those materials.
Much like a detective, active historians have to call into question seemingly meaningless details
and ask, “is there more here? There could be, let’s check it out.” Raw materials can be the
beginning but they’re certainly not the end-all and be-all. Those acted upon details, even if they
don’t offer any “extraordinary” information, create a story. Facts make a clearer story, they paint
a clearer picture. That clearer picture, “how those raw materials come to be fashioned and
shaped,” is history.

2. How do Davidson and Lytle define history?

In the last paragraph of the reading, as quoted above in question 1, how the raw materials of a
story or event are fashioned and shaped creates history.

3. “The Strange Death of Silas Deane” is a secondary source. What makes it a secondary
source?
“The Strange Death of Silas Deane” is a secondary source because it’s an account of an event,
not a product of the event.

4. What is a primary source? Give an example of a primary source that Davidson and
Lytle used to write “The Strange Death of Silas Deane”?
In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called original source or
evidence) is an artifact, a document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, a recording, or other
source of information that was created at the time under study. It serves as an original source of
information about the topic." Referring to my answer for question 3, put simply, Davidson and
Lytle weren’t there at the time of Deane’s death, they weren’t even alive. An obituary of Deane’s
death or a note from the ship doctor who oversaw Deane’s illness and demise are both
examples of primary sources. From the reading, the account of John Adams and Adams’s
opinion on Edward Bancroft and Bancroft’s conduct is also a primary source.

5. How might a person’s unique perspective influence his or her approach to studying
the past?
I think a person’s perspective can very heavily influence how they might study the past.
Religion, experience, age, education, all of these things could form bias’s, opinions or views
which could cause facts to possibly be overlooked, forgotten or left out, exaggerated, etc.