Historical Revisionism (negationism) - Reasons For Revisionism

Reasons For Revisionism

Historical revisionism is conducted to influence a target’s ideology and/or politics for a particular purpose. Revisionists understand Plato’s dictum that, “those who tell the stories also hold the power.” Sometimes the purpose is as innocent as wanting to sell more books or attract attention with a startling headline. Often, however, that purpose is to achieve a nation’s aims by transferring war guilt, demonizing an enemy, providing an illusion of victory, or preserving friendship. James McPherson, President of the American Historical Association in 2003, wrote that some would want revisionist history understood as, “a consciously falsified or distorted interpretation of the past to serve partisan or ideological purposes in the present.” Broadly understood, there are two motivations behind revisionist history: the ability to control ideological influence and to control political influence.