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history of the United States

vr.tr.history-of-the-united-states · thing-q131110

Let an agent describe United States history by period and theme with attribution, present contested interpretations neutrally, support research with primary sources, and include the histories of all peoples of the country.

Thing Registry Information and virtual systems INF.KNW
Bundle → Layer → Finding → QuestionsClassifiersWhat it isWhy it existsDistinguishing featuresWhat robots and AI may and may not doMoral aspectsOwnersLinks to other meta-modelsIdentity and identifiersDirect propertiesRecognitionCapabilities and actionsHazards and failure modesStandards and interfacesContext of useSources

Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled

4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions

Periods By period.

Overview

Period overview.

Overview

Overview.

  1. What happened in this period of United States history, according to standard scholarship? provenance
  2. Which events and people are central? provenance

Debates

Historiographical debates.

Debates

Debates.

  1. How do historians differ in interpreting this period or event, with positions attributed? provenance
  2. Is the presentation neutral? boundary
Peoples Histories of peoples.

Communities

Community histories.

Communities

Community histories.

  1. What is the history of this community in the United States, such as Jewish, African American, Indigenous or immigrant histories, according to historians and the community? provenance
  2. Which sources are authoritative? provenance

Regional

State and regional histories.

Regional

Regional.

  1. What is the history of this state or region, and how does it relate to the national story? provenance
  2. Which entry fits a specific state? action
Research Sources.

Primary

Primary sources.

Primary

Primary sources.

  1. Which archives and digital collections hold primary sources for this topic? provenance
  2. How should they be cited? action

Evaluate

Evaluating sources.

Evaluate

Evaluation.

  1. How can historical sources and popular claims about United States history be evaluated? action
  2. Which myths are widespread? provenance
Teach Teaching and memory.

Teaching

Teaching history.

Teaching

Teaching.

  1. How can United States history be taught inclusively and accurately? action
  2. What are the attributed positions in debates over curricula? boundary

Memory

Public memory.

Memory

Memory.

  1. How is United States history commemorated in monuments, museums and holidays, and what debates exist? provenance
  2. Which entry fits a specific event? action

Classifiers Filled

Family
Thing Registry
Category
Information and virtual systems
Entry kind
thing
Plane
INF
Domain
INF.KNW
Other names and narrower kinds
cultural history of the United States, history of the Jews in the United States, history of the hamburger in the United States, History of the Jews in Oregon, history of the Jews in Ohio, history of the Jews in Pennsylvania, history of the Jews in Texas, history of gay men in the United States, history of Japan–United States relations, history of Puerto Ricans, history of the Jews in Pittsburgh, Maritime history of the United States

What it is Filled

The history of the territory and peoples of the United States, from Indigenous nations and European colonisation through independence, expansion, slavery and civil war, industrialisation, immigration, world wars, civil rights movements and recent decades, including thematic histories such as cultural, economic, religious and community histories of groups such as Jewish Americans; it is studied through primary sources and contested interpretations.

Why it exists Filled

Let an agent describe United States history by period and theme with attribution, present contested interpretations neutrally, support research with primary sources, and include the histories of all peoples of the country.

Distinguishing features Filled

  • National history
  • Contested interpretations
  • Rich primary sources
  • Diverse communities

What robots and AI may and may not do Filled

Must not

  • Present one interpretation of contested events as settled.
  • Deny or minimize slavery, Indigenous dispossession or other documented atrocities.
  • Invent quotes, events or documents.
  • Repeat national myths as fact without evidence.

Only with a human decision

  • Publishing curriculum or official educational material.

May

  • Explain the history of the United States with sources and multiple perspectives.
  • Include Indigenous, enslaved, immigrant and other community histories.

Moral aspects Filled

  • Who is included in history shapes who belongs in the present.
  • Descendants live with the consequences of slavery and dispossession.

Who is affected

  • Indigenous nations
  • Descendants of enslaved people
  • Students and the public

Owners Filled

Steward

Nobody: a history held in common, studied by historians and archives.

Master systems

  • National and state archives

Links to other meta-models Filled

parent

  • Q149527 - registry parent class

related

  • history of North America - category
  • United States of America - subject
  • U.S. state - state histories
  • Black people - African American history

What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled

Identity and identifiers required Filled

  • Vercy registry: vr.tr.history-of-the-united-states
  • Wikidata: Q131110 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q131110)

Direct properties not applicable Not applicable

Not applicable

Plane INF: no invented physical properties.

Recognition optional Filled

  • History of the United States and its peoples
  • Periodised and thematic
  • Histories of other American countries are separate
  • Not physical; a body of scholarship and sources.

Capabilities and actions required Filled

  • describe periods and themes with sources
  • present contested interpretations neutrally
  • support research with primary sources
  • include diverse community histories

Hazards and failure modes required Filled

  • Presenting one interpretation as settled
  • Erasing Indigenous, enslaved and immigrant histories
  • Anachronism and myth

Standards and interfaces required Filled

  • Archival and citation standards
  • Education standards for history teaching
  • No regulation of interpretation

Context of use required Filled

  • The past of the United States and its peoples.
  • pre-colonial and colonial history
  • revolutionary and early republic history
  • nineteenth century including slavery and civil war
  • twentieth century history
  • thematic and community histories such as Jewish American history

Sources Filled

  1. Wikidata item Q131110: history of the United States - identity and sense of the item
  2. Wikipedia: History of the United States - general description of the item

Open questions

  • Should each period be a separate entry?
  • How should archives be linked?
  • How should historiographical debates be attributed?

Machine files

Card as JSON Specification Card backlog vercy.card/1

Provenance

thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed

Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q131110/spec.json