Treaty decisions need to be understood through contemporary evidence. Projecting later circumstances backwards can distort explanations of earlier choices. Seeking evidence only to reinforce an established thesis makes that problem worse. Reconstructing events in their contemporary sequence produces a more complicated account and preserves distinctions between the two postwar periods.
Notable Point · 8:53-9:37
Reading treaty decisions through contemporary evidence
Projecting later financial conditions backwards can turn evidence into support for a conclusion chosen in advance.