Identifying historical terms, dates, and people is a common requirement of midterm and final exams in history courses. Always carefully follow the instructions of your professor, but the following components may be useful to produce a successful ID. First, think of the "wh" questions: what, who, where, how, when, and why. These questions can be divided into three groups, weighted equally in terms of their importance:
Group 1: What, who, where, how (The Basics)
- In this group, you write a few sentences describing the basics. This is the sort of information you might find on Wikipedia. For example:
- African American abolitionist Solomon Northup was born free in New York in 1807 or 1808. He remains most well-known for his kidnapping and escape from a twelve-year enslavement in Louisiana and a film posthumously titled after his autobiography, Twelve Years a Slave.
Warning! Many students stop here and go no further in their analysis. Make sure to address the historical context as well as the significance of this term, event, or person.
Group 2: When (Historical Context)
Historical context is important. Think about what was going on at the time to help ground the reader. Make your context as relevant to your discussion as possible. For example:
The British and American governments banned the international trade in enslaved human beings, coinciding with Northup's birth. This immediately caused a spike in the volume and cost of the domestic trade in enslaved human beings. A rise in cotton production also increased the desire for more, not fewer enslaved people. These events combined to make the condition of African Americans, both enslaved and free, that much more perilous.
Group 3: Why (Who Cares? Why is this Significant?)
This is your opportunity to show that you have thought through why this term, event, or person is important. Often the significance of the ID is clear. Sometimes, you can use your own interpretation.
Some questions to ask yourself based on the 5 C's of History: How does this demonstrate change over time? Alternatively, how does this demonstrate continuity over time? What did this thing cause? How does this thing complicate our understanding both then and now? Your professors will often have a specific idea they are looking for, but this is also an opportunity for you to exercise some creativity as this is your understanding of the term and your interpretation; there is space for both. Following is are a few ideas I have about how Northup complicates our understanding of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act. This probably needs some revision, but you get the idea:
Northup's account complicates our understanding of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act, passed nine years after Solomon's kidnapping. This means that by the time Northup regained his freedom, he inhabited a world in which his felon captors--who were known but never pursued by authorities--were in a position to return to work--legitimated by the state--of capturing African Americans from the North and bringing them to enslavers in the South. His history also highlights the fact that there were more than one Fugitive Slave Act (1793). This may have emboldened Northup’s captors as well and allowed them to act with impunity. Northup's kidnapping illuminates the highly tenuous state of freedom for all African Americans--especialy those who were not as well connected--in the North.