The great French historian Jules Michelet (1798-1874) sympathized with the French Middle Ages and with the Revolutionary epoch in France, yet he wrote his best work on the despotic French monarchy, which he despised.
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5) The statement above, if true, would most clearly support which of the following general claims about the writing of history?
A) Historians should keep personal opinions out of their historical writing.
B) The best history is not necessarily written by historians in sympathy with their subject.
C) Historians tend to write about historical subjects with which they sympathize.
D) It is difficult to write objectively about the French monarchy.
Please your powers of critical thinking, and tell us what you think. We'll be glad to check your answer.
b is the answer i chose.
Right! :-)
Thank you for your help, Ms. Sue
To answer this question, we need to analyze the given statement and determine which general claim about the writing of history it most strongly supports.
The statement states that Jules Michelet, a great French historian, sympathized with the French Middle Ages and the Revolutionary epoch in France. However, he wrote his best work on the despotic French monarchy, which he despised.
From this statement, we can conclude that Jules Michelet's personal opinions and sympathies did not prevent him from writing a brilliant work on a subject he despised. This indicates that the best history is not necessarily written by historians in sympathy with their subject.
Therefore, the correct answer to this question is B) The best history is not necessarily written by historians in sympathy with their subject.