The first chapter deals with the doubts raised by previous historians as to the authenticity of the discourse.

In his work, he showed contempt for the previous Roman historians of the annalistic school.

William Ferguson argued that previous historians had overemphasised the significance of the treaty and the English military action.

The previous historian's works of De originibus are about the origins and definitions of geographical sites, peoples, and certain stone structures.

Unlike some previous historians of the 1960s, Sandbrook argues that the period was marked by strong conservatism and conformity.

More cogently than any previous historian, Foner examines the political events that shaped Lincoln and ultimately brought out his true greatness.

But this borderline protest was so ambiguous that previous historians have not convincingly determined when - and exactly to what - it constituted resistance.

Gordon-Reed argued that these were notable facts that previous historians had disregarded.

Goodrick-Clarke defines this genre as crypto-history, since its "final point of explanatory reference is an agent which has remained concealed to previous historians."

Pointing to the lack of substantive documentation, they conclude that the assertions of previous historians have been exaggerated.