The Authentic History Center is comprised
of artifacts and sounds from American popular culture. It
was created to teach that the everyday objects in society
have authentic historical value and reflect the social consciousness
of the era that produced them. Authentic also means
conforming to fact, and therefore worthy of trust, reliance,
or belief. To meet this definition by presenting an authentic
interpretation of American history is our ultimate
goal. When a collection is whole enough to be considered an
authentic representation of the sources produced about an
historical event, they are presented via interpretive essay.
Until then, incomplete collections are presented as digital
archives without comment for individual study. Additionally,
a large audio archive of speeches and news broadcasts are
presented for students to experience a level of historical
authenticity distinct from written sources. The Authentic
History Center is an ambitious
work-in-progress and always will be.
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