18 The Presbyterian Magazine, ed. C. Van Rensselaer, Philadelphia, Pa. February, 1851, vol. 1, p. 71.
19 Andrew M. Sherman, Historic Morristown, New Jersey, 1905, p. 237.
20 M’Guire, Religious Opinions, p. 412.
21 Ibid., pp. 413-14.
22 Presbyterian Magazine, vol. I, p. 569.
23 Ibid., vol. I, p. 569.
24 Boller, George Washington & Religion, p. 14.
25 See www.answers.com/topic/oral-history. Columbia University Press
Oral history, compilation of historical data through interviews, usually tape-recorded and sometimes videotaped, with participants in, or observers of, significant events or times. Primitive societies have long relied on oral tradition to preserve a record of the past in the absence of written histories. In Western society, the use of oral material goes back to the early Greek historians Herodotus (in his history of the Persian Wars) and Thucydides (in his History of the Peloponnesian War), both of whom made extensive use of oral reports from witnesses. The modern concept of oral history was developed in the 1940s by Allan Nevins and his associates at Columbia Univ. In creating oral histories, interviews are conducted to obtain information from different perspectives, many of which are often unavailable from written sources. Such materials provide data on individuals, families, important events, or day-to-day life.
The discipline came into its own in the 1960s and early 70s when inexpensive tape recorders were available to document such rising social movements as civil rights, feminism, and anti–Vietnam War protest. ...By the end of the 20th cent. oral history had become a respected discipline in many colleges and universities. At that time the Italian historian Alessandro Portelli and his associates began to study the role that memory itself, whether accurate or faulty, plays in the themes and structures of oral history. Their published work has since become standard material in the field, and many oral historians now include in their research the study of the subjective memory of the persons they interview.
Bibliography. See S. Caunce, Oral History (1994); V. R. Yow, Recording Oral History (1994), R. Perks and A. Thomson, The Oral History Reader (repr. 1998).
Wikipedia oral history
Oral history is an account of something passed down by word of mouth from one generation to another. Oral history is considered by some historians to be an unreliable source for the study of history. However, oral history is a valid means for preserving and transmitting history. Experience within literate cultures indicates that each time anyone reconstructs a memory, there are changes in the memory, but the core of the story is usually retained. Over time, however, minor changes can accumulate until the story becomes unrecognizable.
A person within a literate culture thus has presuppositions that may falsely affect her judgement of the validity of oral history within preliterate cultures. In these cultures children are usually selected and specially trained for the role of historian, and develop extraordinary memory skills known as eidetic or photographic memory.
Before the development of written language in a given society, oral history is the primary means of conveying information from one generation to the next.
The most common form of this transmission is through storytelling and the recitation of epic poetry, with the stories and poems collectively known as the oral tradition of a people. The combination of this oral tradition with morals and rituals passed down by word of mouth is known as the folklore of a society. Although not as prevalent now as in the past, oral history is still very much alive among many North American native groups....
The most popular examples of oral history are the works of several authors that have, over the span of many hundred years BC, collected folklore which ultimately resulted in these works being included in a collective book known as the Old Testament, The New Testament was created by four different original authors whose slightly differing versions of many biblical events were combined. The Bible was therefore ‘nearly’ entirely created using oral history.
Contemporary oral history is much different. It involves recording or transcribing eyewitness accounts of historical events. ...
One of the most important rules for those collecting oral history is to avoid asking leading questions, for many people will tend to say what they think the historian wants them to say.
Oral historians attempt to record the memories of many different people when researching a given event. Since any given individual may misremember events or distort their account for personal reasons, the historical documentation is considered to reside in the points of agreement of many different sources, rather than the account of any one person.
26 Interestingly, these words at the taking of an oath were required and written for those taking oaths in Virginia during the colonial era as can be seen in Bishop William Meade, Old Churches and Families of Virginia, (Philadelphia: J.B.Lippincott & Co. 1857), vol. II, pp. 41-2. Washington took these vows for the first time when he became a public surveyor:
Oath of Allegiance
“I, A.B., do sincerely promise and swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to his Majesty King George the Second, so help me God.
“Oath of Abjuration.
“I, A.B., do swear that I do from my heart abhor, detest and abjure, as impious and heretical, that damnable doctrine and position that Princes excommunicate or deprived by the Pope, or any authority of the See of Rome, may be deposed or murdered by their subjects or any other whatsoever. And I do declared that no foreign Prince, Prelate, Person, State, or Potentate, hath, or ought to have, any jurisdiction, power superiority, pre-eminence, or authority, ecclesiastical or spiritual, within this realm. So help me God. The test oath, however, did not conclude with “So help me God.” Apparently the very act of denying transubstantiation was a matter of witness before God:
“Test Oath
“I do declare that I do believe that there is not any transubstantiation in the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, or in the Elements of bread and wine at or after the consecration thereof by any person whatsoever.”
27 Encyclopedia oral history, compilation of historical data through interviews, usually tape-recorded and sometimes videotaped, with participants in, or observers of, significant events or times. Primitive societies have long relied on oral tradition to preserve a record of the past in the absence of written histories. In Western society, the use of oral material goes back to the early Greek historians Herodotus (in his history of the Persian Wars) and Thucydides (in his History of the Peloponnesian War), both of whom made extensive use of oral reports from witnesses. The modern concept of oral history was developed in the 1940s by Allan Nevins and his associates at Columbia Univ. In creating oral histories, interviews are conducted to obtain information from different perspectives, many of which are often unavailable from written sources. Such materials provide data on individuals, families, important events, or day-to-day life.
The discipline came into its own in the 1960s and early 70s when inexpensive tape recorders were available to document such rising social movements as civil rights, feminism, and anti–Vietnam War protest. Authors such as Studs Terkel, Alex Haley, and Oscar Lewis have employed oral history in their books, many of which are largely based on interviews. In another important example of the genre, a massive archive covering the oral history of American music has been compiled at the Yale School of Music. By the end of the 20th cent. oral history had become a respected discipline in many colleges and universities. At that time the Italian historian Alessandro Portelli and his associates began to study the role that memory itself, whether accurate or faulty, plays in the themes and structures of oral history. Their published work has since become standard material in the field, and many oral historians now include in their research the study of the subjective memory of the persons they interview.
Bibliography
See S. Caunce, Oral History (1994); V. R. Yow, Recording Oral History (1994), R. Perks and A. Thomson, The Oral History Reader (repr. 1998).
Oral history is an account of something passed down by word of mouth from one generation to another. Oral history is considered by some historians to be an unreliable source for the study of history. However, oral history is a valid means for preserving and transmitting history. Experience within literate cultures indicates that each time anyone reconstructs a memory, there are changes in the memory, but the core of the story is usually retained. Over time, however, minor changes can accumulate until the story becomes unrecognizable.
The information passed on has occasionally shown a surprising accuracy over long periods of time. For example, the Iliad, an epic poem of Homer describing the conquest of Troy, was passed down as oral history from perhaps the 8th century BC, until being recorded in writing by Pisistratos. Nonetheless, factual elements of the Iliad were at least partially validated by the discovery of ruins discovered by Heinrich Schliemann in 1870, thought to be those of the city described in the poem.
The most popular examples of oral history are the works of several authors that have, over the span of many hundred years BC, collected folklore which ultimately resulted in these works being included in a collective book known as the Old Testament. The New Testament was created by four different original authors whose slightly differing versions of many biblical events were combined. The Bible was therefore ‘nearly’ entirely created using oral history.
Oral historians attempt to record the memories of many different people when researching a given event. Since any given individual may misremember events or distort their account for personal reasons, the historical documentation is considered to reside in the points of agreement of many different sources, rather than the account of any one person.
28 Soldier and Servant Series: “Mrs. Alexander Hamilton Witness that George Washington Was A Communicant of the Church” (Hartford: Church Missions Publishing Company, February, 1932), p. 2.
29 This whole account is preserved in “Mrs. Alexander Hamilton, Witness That Washington Was A Communicant Of The Church.”
30 Meade, Old Churches, II, p. 244.
31 Ibid.
32 Johnson, Washington the Christian, p. 58.
33 Meade, Old Churches, II. 495.
34 Sparks, The Writings of George Washington, XII, pp. 405ff.
35 Ibid., p. 409.
36 WGW, vol. 37, 9-14-1799.
37 Ibid., 12-10-1799.
38 Interview with Mary Thompson for Coral Ridge Ministries.
39 Ibid.
40 “Almighty God, whose kingdom is everlasting, and power infinite; Have mercy upon the whole Church, and so rule the heart of thy chosen servant GEORGE our King and Governor, that he (knowing whose Minister he is) may above all things seek thy honour and glory; and that we and all his subjects (duly considering whose authority he hath) may faithfully serve honour and humbly obey him, in thee, and for thee, according to thy blessed word and ordinance, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee, and the Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth ever one God, world without end. Amen.” [online] http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/1662/HC.pdf p. 3.
41 “We beseech thee also to save and defend all Christian Kings, Princes, and Governors; and especially thy servant GEORGE our King, that under him we may be godly and quietly governed: and grant unto his whole council, and to all that are put in authority under him, that they may truly and indifferently minister justice, to the punishment of wickedness and vice, and to the maintenance of thy true Religion and Virtue. Give grace, O heavenly Father, to all Bishops and Curates, that they may both by their life and doctrine set forth thy true and lively word, and rightly and duly administer thy holy Sacraments: And to all thy people give thy heavenly grace; and especially to this Congregation here present....” [online] http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/1662/HC.pdf p. 6.
42 “O Lord our heavenly Father, high and mighty, King of kings, Lord of Lords, the only ruler of princes, who dost from thy throne behold all the dwellers upon earth; Most heartily we beseech thee with thy favour to behold our most gracious Sovereign Lord King GEORGE, and so replenish him with the grace of thy Holy Spirit, that he may always incline to thy will, and walk in thy way: Endue him plenteously with heavenly gifts, grant him in health and wealth long to live, strengthen him that he may vanquish and overcome all his enemies; and finally after this life, he may attain everlasting joy and felicity, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” [online] http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/1662/mp.pdf p. 8.
