Perspective

The main objective of "After the Fact" is to demonstrate how various widely-accepted methods are used by historians to interpret historical events. The authors are both historians and professors of History and they bring their professional perspective to the subject matter. They take an academic approach to the description of each method, explaining how it is used appropriately and outlining the advantages and disadvantages that each method presents.

"After the Fact" is both a textbook on historical methods and an actual history book that covers several topics in American history. As such, the authors mix a historical perspective with a modern one, using examples from the past to demonstrate to current historians how they can be interpreted using modern methods. At the same time, the book describes how some of the methods they describe gained importance among historians, adding another level of perspective to the book.

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