ABSTRACT
History involves both telling a story and explaining how, or why, events occurred as they did. Historians narrate and explain the past in ordinary language of their own day-language that changes over time. They normally follow a sequence of events in chronological order. But they may also start with the end, rather than the beginning, of the story to achieve dramatic effect. (I began my recent biography of editor Horace Greeley with the story of his funeral.) After all, historians already know the outcome of the story they intend to tell, unlike the actual historical participants in the events being narrated. Historians must try to explain what caused the events in their story-the reasons why events happened the way that they did-without ignoring the free choices made by historical actors at the time.
