A thoughtful, detailed look at The Text Message Blog from Greg Bradsher of
the National Archives of how he has handled research in instances when
records give different accounts of events.
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__text-2Dmessage.blogs.archives.gov_2018_01_23_sometimes-2Dthe-2Drecords-2Dtell-2Ddifferent-2Dstories_&d=DwIBaQ&c=pZJPUDQ3SB9JplYbifm4nt2lEVG5pWx2KikqINpWlZM&r=b5NZPQUb9_r2rQ3Zd74ATT3aSs9yKyRnJLOhqJvd7fE&m=8NC1LRWzoK2wsZfaerG6Zok5x5WQJuLN5bTbX7firEk&s=1xdl_C5BXsiiOnAkV2XojvSkP4HmEbflCbKRr6bIPyk&e=

Dr. Bradsher notes of studying conflicting or differing evidence, "Needless
to say, there are tens of thousands of documents in our holdings that
record the same event differently and/or intentionally or unintentionally
misleading. Being aware of that is crucial to understanding the past and
being able to write accurately about what indeed happened, knowing that it
is almost impossible to be one hundred percent certain that the story you
think you know is indeed the true or most factual one."

Note from my own work:  Analyzing written and oral accounts of past events
is part of the work of Federal historians whose duties include supporting
program officials in writing internal and external products.  Historical
research supports statements in testimony at hearings, litigation-related
narratives, and history content for agency executives' speeches, among
other assignments. Most such work occurs behind the scenes. One of the most
interesting cases for which I did research in such a function was the Cobell
Individual Indian Money litigation. (My then employing agency was not a
defendant or plaintiff but was asked by the defendant Department to answer
some historical questions.  IIn one instance, the 2002 response to the
defendant's representatives stated they misunderstood a historical issue.)

You can see this 2002 response letter since the plaintiff posted it at
Indiantrust.com while the litigation was ongoing.  Note the narrative and
especially Figure (Enclosure) 1, chart summary chronology, which as
historian I helped research and put together, posted at link (Internet
Archive Wayback Machine):
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__web.archive.org_web_20060325153151_http-3A__www.indiantrust.com_-5Fpdfs&d=DwIBaQ&c=pZJPUDQ3SB9JplYbifm4nt2lEVG5pWx2KikqINpWlZM&r=b5NZPQUb9_r2rQ3Zd74ATT3aSs9yKyRnJLOhqJvd7fE&m=8NC1LRWzoK2wsZfaerG6Zok5x5WQJuLN5bTbX7firEk&s=wzBKnp7ugHXiM0RRFpNCwbZYEjt6KaD7Hcl7SKpAWBs&e=
/2002.04.23_GAO_Letter.pdf  Most of the section on Contracts reflects my
work as also some on account settlement and on claims. I'm also mentioned
in the text on another, easier, aspect of the case, in which the conclusion
was "no records, check NARA." I'm sharing the link to the chart and
narrative as an example of how officials working in three closely related
evidence-dependent functions--lawyer, auditor, historian--analyze available
records about past activities to see what is known and what is not, then
collaboratively craft findings.

Maarja
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@ArchivesMaarja
Blog:  Archival Explorations https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__archivalexplorations.wordpress.com_&d=DwIBaQ&c=pZJPUDQ3SB9JplYbifm4nt2lEVG5pWx2KikqINpWlZM&r=b5NZPQUb9_r2rQ3Zd74ATT3aSs9yKyRnJLOhqJvd7fE&m=8NC1LRWzoK2wsZfaerG6Zok5x5WQJuLN5bTbX7firEk&s=eESdgR52qKUPDRz6aFp3dzRuV1xz2YpagOLM8xRkOYc&e=

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