Fall 2026      Volume 54, Number 4

The “Bates Shop”: Fishing for Primary Source Documents: Periodizing the Past, Part 2
By David Bates

Document: Column  

Introductory Paragraph:   In my last column, I examined the phenomenon of periodization—the ways that historians divide the past to make sense of it. Much like literacy educators “chunk” long or complex texts to make them more legible for students, historians use periodization to make connections, develop context, and draw conclusions about history. And, much like chunking, literacy educators can use periodization to build critical thinking skills in the classroom. In this column, I will share another historical event—the sectional crisis of the 1850s—to show how primary source analysis can lead to fruitful and rigorous questions around historical periodization, context, and significance.

DOI:   https://doi.org/10.33600/IRCJ.54.4.2026.65

Page Numbers:   65-68