LC History key terms

A document, object, or record created at the time of the events being studied, by someone with direct connection to them. Historians use such sources as raw evidence, while judging their purpose, bias, and reliability.

A later account that interprets or analyses past events, such as a textbook, biography, or journal article. It relies on primary evidence but reflects the author's selection, argument, and historiographical context.

The documented history of who created, owned, and transmitted a source, and where it has been kept. Establishing provenance helps historians test authenticity, detect forgery, and understand how a document was used.

The systematic evaluation of a source's origin, purpose, audience, date, and reliability before using it as evidence. It distinguishes what a source says from what it can safely prove.

Checking one source's claims against independent evidence from other sources. Agreement across unrelated witnesses or documents strengthens a conclusion; conflict prompts further investigation.

A slant or selective emphasis in a source arising from the creator's interests, beliefs, or situation. Bias does not make a source useless; it must be identified and allowed for in interpretation.

The study of how history has been written, including changing interpretations, methods, and debates among historians. It examines why accounts of the same events differ across generations and schools of thought.

The re-examination of established historical accounts in light of new evidence, methods, or questions. Revisionist work challenges accepted narratives, though the label is sometimes misused to imply distortion.

An institution or collection that preserves original records and makes them available to researchers. Archives organise material by creator and function, and access rules shape what historians can study.

A first-hand spoken or written account given by a participant or witness, including memoirs, interviews, and oral history. Its value depends on memory, timing, and the purpose behind the telling.

The recorded interviewing of people about their memories of past events, often used to recover experiences missing from written records. Historians weigh memory's fallibility and the interview's shaping influence.

Deliberately persuasive material that presents selected or distorted information to shape opinion and action. Historians treat it as evidence of the producer's intentions and techniques rather than of the facts asserted.

The suppression or control of information, speech, or publication by an authority. It distorts the surviving record, so historians must ask what is missing and why from the sources available.

An explanation of past events that connects evidence to an argument about causes, significance, or meaning. Interpretations are judged by how well they account for the available evidence.

Sustained disagreement among historians over the causes, scale, or significance of events. Debates usually turn on differing evidence, questions, or assumptions, and are examined in the case study.

The nineteenth- and early twentieth-century demand for a devolved Irish parliament in Dublin handling domestic affairs while Westminster retained control of imperial matters. Its repeated introduction and defeat dominated Irish politics before 1914.

The political position that Ireland, or at least Ulster, should remain part of the United Kingdom. Rooted in Protestant and industrial interests, it organised mass resistance to Home Rule and later opposed Irish independence.

The nationalist party led by Charles Stewart Parnell and later John Redmond, which pursued Home Rule through Westminster. Its influence collapsed after the 1918 election in the face of Sinn Féin's advance.

A nationalist movement founded in 1905 and radicalised after 1916, demanding full Irish independence. Its 1918 election victory led to the declaration of the First Dáil and the War of Independence.

The April 1916 insurrection in Dublin by republican forces who seized key buildings and proclaimed an Irish Republic. Its suppression and the execution of leaders shifted nationalist opinion towards radicalism.

The parliament established by Sinn Féin members elected in 1918, which declared independence and sought international recognition. It provided the political authority behind the republican campaign of 1919 to 1921.

The December 1921 agreement ending the War of Independence, creating the Irish Free State as a dominion while excluding Northern Ireland. Its oath and partition terms split the republican movement and caused civil war.

The self-governing dominion established in 1922 covering the twenty-six southern counties. It evolved into a republic, formally declared in 1949, after constitutional changes dismantled treaty-era constraints.

The division of Ireland under the Government of Ireland Act 1920 and the treaty, creating Northern Ireland and the southern state. It entrenched a unionist majority in the north and remains a contested political fact.

The period of sectarian and political violence in Northern Ireland from the late 1960s to the 1998 agreement, involving republican and loyalist paramilitaries and British security forces. It reshaped politics on both islands.

The 1998 settlement creating a power-sharing Northern Ireland Assembly and cross-border institutions, based on consent for constitutional change. It ended most large-scale violence and reframed the dispute's terms.

A form of twentieth-century dictatorship seeking total control over society through a single party, ideology, terror, and mass mobilisation. Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia are the standard cases studied and compared.

A radical nationalist and authoritarian movement exalting the nation and leader above individual rights, using violence and mass politics. It gained power in Italy after 1922 and influenced imitators across Europe.

The 1930s British and French policy of conceding to aggressive demands, notably at Munich in 1938, to avoid war. Historians debate whether it was a reasonable response to weakness or a failure of deterrence.

The post-1919 international organisation intended to settle disputes and prevent war through collective security. Its inability to restrain major powers, partly because the United States stayed out, is a key topic of debate.

The prolonged rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union and their allies after 1945, fought through ideology, arms races, alliances, and proxy conflicts. It shaped European division and global decolonisation.

The American strategy, articulated by George Kennan, of limiting Soviet expansion through political, economic, and military pressure rather than direct war. It underpinned policies such as the Marshall Plan and NATO.

The American programme of economic aid to western Europe from 1948, intended to rebuild prosperity and resist communist influence. It symbolised the economic division of Europe in the early Cold War.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, founded in 1949 as a collective defence alliance binding the United States to western Europe. It became a central institution of Cold War and post-Cold War security.

The deliberate glorification of a leader through propaganda, imagery, and ritual to secure loyalty and legitimacy. It is a common feature of dictatorships and a useful focus for comparing regimes.

A policy of avoiding foreign political and military commitments, prominent in American opinion between the world wars. It was challenged by Pearl Harbor and the postwar creation of alliances and international institutions.

The domestic reform programme of President Franklin Roosevelt from 1933, creating relief, recovery, and regulatory agencies in response to the Depression. It expanded federal power and reshaped American politics.

The mid-twentieth-century campaign by African Americans and allies against segregation and disenfranchisement, using litigation, protest, and legislation. Its victories influenced global human rights debates.

The international organisation founded in 1945 to maintain peace and promote cooperation, with a Security Council holding enforcement powers. Its structure and veto rules reflect great-power interests and limit its authority.

A direct vote by the electorate on a specific constitutional or policy question. Referendums have decided major issues in Irish and European history, and their campaigns are rich sources for study.

The close investigation of a single event, person, or episode to illuminate broader historical questions. It demands careful source selection and explicit reasoning about how far findings can be generalised.

A focused, answerable question that directs historical enquiry and determines which sources are relevant. A good question is specific enough to investigate yet significant beyond one narrow detail.

The arrangement of events in time order and the reasoning used to date them. Accurate chronology underpins claims about cause and consequence, and errors here undermine an entire argument.

The analysis of why events happened, distinguishing long-term conditions, short-term triggers, and contributing factors. Historians weigh the relative importance of causes rather than listing them without judgement.

The outcomes and significance of an event over the short and long term, including intended and unintended effects. Assessing consequence requires evidence of change and of how different groups were affected.