The economic transformation of America

We are about to begin the study of American history from an unac<br > customed perspective--the perspective of the economic transforma<br > tion of American lifeAnd we are going to open our examination<br > of this perspective by asking an unaccustomed questionWhat is<br > history?<br > What Is History?<br > This may seem a roundabout and pointless way to broach our<br > subjectWhy not proceed directly to the matter at hand?What is to<br > be gained by asking SO simple a question?Is history not the record of<br > what has happenedthe chronicle of what we know about the past?<br > The question iS not SO simplehoweverFor which among many<br > pasts iS our history?Is it the past that we learn when we memorize<br > lists of presidents?Is it the past memorialized by the dates of wars?Is<br > it the past reflected in the notebooks of explorers?Or is it all these<br >