Time Mapper is a great visual tool to categorize different historical events and figures in chronological order. Chronology orients the viewer by significant events and time and provides the viewer with a better understanding of more global events. For example, in Linn’s diary, he does not discuss the historical events occurring around him; rather, he gives his own personal account of what is happening to him. Timelines can allow us to look at specific dates in history and compare those global events to the dates and events Linn writes in his diary.
In Grafton’s essay, he discusses different approaches to using timelines effectively. Priestley created a timeline called the Chart of Biography, which indicated dates of the birth and death of historical figures. As a result, he came to the conclusion that “historical narrative is not linear”. Priestley and other theorists believed that a linear timeline does not accurately represent the countless connections and intersections between events and historical figures. Renouvier created a nonlinear timeline showing the different possible events that could have taken place if a different choice was made. Thus, he shows the actual events and hypothetical routes that led to different series of events. Renouvier’s timeline shows great contrast to Priestley’s, as Priestley only depicts factual dates and events in history. Another example of a nonlinear timeline would be Stapledon’s time scales. Stapledon looks at the larger picture by making the timeline across billions of years. This allows Stapledon to make overarching connections between the most significant events. A disadvantage to his time scale would be that he omits events that could have had a large effect on the specific events he chose to include.
TimeMapper is a useful resource for putting major events in chronological order.
However, it does not give any representation of ideas or correlations between events except for time.For example, if we wanted to see if there was a connection between skiing in 1862 and Mendeleev’s Periodic Table in 1869,
TimeMapper would only show us that those two events are within the same decade. Timelines are helpful to give ourselves an idea of the time period Linn writes his diary, but it does not show relationships and connections between events.
Linn’s diary entries in winter 1862 discuss the struggles he must face, the daily procedures, encounters with other men, and places he travels to during the Civil War. TimeMapper in the 1860s can give us a better sense of what is happening around Linn while he is writing in his diary.
For example, on April 12, 1861,
the Fall of Fort Sumter occurred was the beginning of the Civil War. Three days later, James Merrill Linn enlisted in the war. TimeMapper gives us an accurate representation of where Linn’s diary entries fall into global events.
Another example would be the secession of the southern states from the Union,
which happened between June 8 and August 12 of 1861. This was after Linn enlisted in the war and was a time of great instability in the states. The secession of the southern states further increased the tension amongst the north and south. This may have contributed to the challenges Linn faced while writing in his diary.