Competent historical thinkers understand both the vast differences that separate us from our ancestors and the ties that bind us to them; they can analyze historical artifacts and documents, which can give them some of the best understandings of times gone by; they can assess the validity and relevance of historical accounts, when they are used to support entry into a war, voting for a candidate, or any of the myriad decisions knowledgeable citizens in a democracy must make. All this requires “knowing the facts”, but “knowing the facts” is not enough. Historical thinking does not replace historical knowledge: the two are related and interdependent.

Peter Seixas, “‘Scaling Up’ the Benchmarks of Historical Thinking” (2008)