Unreliable Sources: A Historical Analysis

This historical investigation allowed me to experience both how historians use methods available to them to gain information, and the challenges that the historian faces as a result of their investigation. Primarily, I analyzed and gathered newspaper articles, books, and statistical studies surrounding the event, in question. The challenge with this method was in the uniformity of opinions surrounding Nader; no single article I looked at other than the scientific study thought otherwise of Nader’s effect on the election, and in the context of the information age, historians, including myself in this study, have to determine whether or not provided information is reliable or not. This was especially prevalent in Nader’s novel, where he writes

in a persuasive and smug tone, acting as if he was the “famous” politician that took down Gore, making it more difficult to trust and analyze his opinions.. Had I not found the Herron and Lewis study, I may have made a different conclusion about Nader. This moves us primarily to the next method I used, where I also primarily used critical analysis to draw a conclusion based off the evidence given to me. This step in particular was difficult, as I came to realize that there is no right or wrong answer to history; rather, historians must choose an explanation that fits most pieces of the puzzle. This was more apparent when I took into consideration the Herron and Lewis study, which suggested that other third parties would have given Gore the win, and that Democrats primarily chose the Green Party over its similarities. Here, I had to lessen my answer; rather than Nader being the primary cause, he made more of an impact over anything else. Primarily, from my experience with this investigation, I believe the role of the historian is to make sense of historical events, rather than define them entirely. The historian doesn’t answer a investigatory question with wholeness and confidence in their answer. Rather, they gather existing pieces, and attempt to arrange them in a sensible manner, which was what I experience by attempting to “put together” the sources I had.