2.12 Forming and Supporting Opinions
Historians do more than reconstruct facts about the past. They also FORM OPINIONS
about the information they encounter. Historians form opinions as they interpret the
past and judge the significance of historical events and people. They SUPPORT THEIR
OPINIONSwith logical thinking, facts, examples, quotes, and references to events.Understanding the Skill
STRATEGY: FIND ARGUMENTS TO SUPPORT YOUR OPINION.In the following
passage, journalist Paul Gray summarizes differing opinions about the significance and
impact of Columbus’s voyages. As you read, develop your own opinion about the issue.STRATEGY: MAKE A CHART.
Applying the Skill
MAKE YOUR OWN CHART.Look at the Different Perspectives on Economics and
the Environment in Chapter 36, page 1081. Read the selections and form your own
opinion about the concept of sustainable development. Summarize your supporting
data in a chart like the one shown above.Section 2: Higher-Order Critical Thinking
Decide what you think about
a subject after reading all the
information available to you.
After reading this passage, you
might decide that Columbus’s
legacy was primarily one of
genocide, cruelty, and slavery.
On the other hand, you might
believe that, despite the nega-
tives, his voyages produced
many long-term benefits.Consider the opinions and
interpretations of historians
and other experts. Weigh
their arguments as you form
your own opinion.Support your opinion with
facts, quotes, and examples,
including references to
similar events from other
historical eras.3
2
1
How Should History View the Legacy of Columbus?
In one version of the story, Columbus and the Europeans who followed him brought civiliza-
tion to two immense, sparsely populated continents, in the process fundamentally enriching and alter-
ing the Old World from which they had themselves come.
Among other things, Columbus’ journey was the first step in a long process that eventually
produced the United States of America, a daring experiment in democracy that in turn became a
symbol and a haven of individual liberty for people throughout the world. But the revolution that began
with his voyages was far greater than that. It altered science, geography, philosophy, agriculture, law,
religion, ethics, government—the sum, in other words, of what passed at the time as Western culture.
Increasingly, however, there is a counterchorus, an opposing rendition of the same events that
deems Columbus’ first footfall in the New World to be fatal to the world he invaded, and even to the
rest of the globe. The indigenous peoples and their cultures were doomed by European arrogance,
brutality, and infectious diseases. Columbus’ gift was slavery to those who greeted him;
his arrival set in motion the ruthless destruction, continuing at this very moment, of the natural
world he entered. Genocide, ecocide, exploitation... are deemed to be a form of Eurocentric theft of
history from [the Native Americans].2
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1
3
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R20SKILLBUILDERHANDBOOK
Summarize your opinion and
supporting information in a
chart. Write an opinion and then
list facts, examples, interpreta-
tions, or other information that
support it.Facts:- Europeans replaced existing cultures
with their own. - European diseases killed many Native
Americans. - Columbus enslaved Native Americans.
Historical interpretations:- Europeans were arrogant and brutal.
- Columbus’s arrival set in motion ruthless
destruction of environment. - Through conquest and exploitation,
Europeans “stole” Native Americans’
history and culture.
Opinion: Voyages of Columbus brought more bad than good to the Americas