Legal advocacy made historical arguments harder to dismiss

Corbett's barrister training gave him a disciplined way to research a position, phrase an argument, and present its logic as difficult to evade. The comparison between barristers and historians shows that evidence alone does not guarantee persuasion. Two informed teachers can also argue opposing positions before students as an abridged Socratic debate. That method works only when both participants understand the evidence and can represent their assigned positions competently. These skills helped Corbett turn naval history into arguments that officers and politicians had to answer rather than merely acknowledge.