Summary Of Social Responsibility And The American History Museum By Edward Chappell

Alessandra Gonzalez-Valdez
Professor Kincaid
HIST 1301
March 9, 2023
The Importance of Accurate Reconstruction of Historical Pieces
The paper, Social Responsibility and the American History Museum by Edward Chappell argues against the reconstruction of historical items in museums and how they impact the social implications they apply. The reconstruction of historical items may change the way people see history. Chappell believes that the builders of history films and museums should portray historical items and events accurately as the reliable books of history are. One point Chappell makes is the governor’s Palace, where it is hard to distinguish whether it is built for aesthetics or to portray the social class of the place of its time. Another point he makes is James Baldwin's thoughts on William Faulkner's representation of racism in the south. Chappells paper accurately touches on aspects of places and items that were reconstructed and now give off a different portrayal by dissecting a fictional biography of Abraham Lincoln written by William Safire. The paper covers multiple items in the American History museum and films that were reconstructed drastically. Chappell runs over films such as The Story of a Patriot and explains that many films portray historic events in a safe and inaccurate way in an effort to attract

He talks about how some films usually play it “safe” and tone down the actual story of what happened. This is shown when Chappell writes, “But the vast majority of museums continue to teach safe and reassuring history,...”. Not only that but he touches on many things like again the hospital and also brings up James Baldwin’s opinion of someone’s representation of racism in the southern states to further prove his point. He successfully defends his thesis by explaining the modifications done to some historical items and what they now