About
Who am I? And why history?
Welcome! Thanks for checking out History How It Happened!
My name is Jacob Grandstaff. I created this site to share research, discuss historiography, and recommend resources to other history lovers.
The site’s title comes from a quote by 19th century Prussian historian Lepold von Ranke. He believed history should be presented free of contemporary prejudices and tell wie es eigentlich gewesen ist—or how it actually happened.
Von Ranke focused on political history and avoided social history, which in the latter half of the 20th century exploded into dozens of subtopics to promote inclusivity. In my opinion, this made history boring and irrelevant to most people.
History is an amoral discipline. The historian’s calling is only to inform those in the present of life in the past. Many view it as a tool to teach what we should avoid. I view it as a source of inspiration. Learning from accomplishments of successful people, rather than dwelling on past mistakes, makes it exciting to learn and relevant to human progress.
I reject all forms of utopianism. I believe humans are as inherently flawed today as they have always been. I view historical human experiences as inseparable from the times in which people lived and believe modern biases should play no role in analyzing them.
Like everyone else, I have points of view, and this will come out. I do hope, though, to always separate my subjective opinions from objective historical facts. This includes praising individuals whom I consider villains when they accomplished praiseworthy acts.
As an American, the history I present will come from an Americentric perspective. I will mostly focus on history of the New World from the 16th century until the end of the Cold War. I will often include European history during the same periods and occasional articles on pre-Columbian Native American history and culture.
Thanks again for stopping by, and I hope you find the material here informative and entertaining.
Also, please do connect with me via any of the following social media links.