While history does not change, our information about history grows alongside our understanding of it. When information is recovered that is contrary to previously understood facts, it is necessary to revise history and record the changed version. Revisionist history allows the academic community to update information with the latest facts and information. This use of regular revisions allows for the study of a more accurate history and facilitates a deeper understanding of the past.
Historical additions are a common part of historical studies, occurring every time a historian learns something and adds it to the history community. New additions are found through the study of old letters or newly located family documents. Additions to history are generally subtle changes to the overall context of history, adding family stories to the body of information after discovering old letters or a Civil War diary. While these subtle changes rarely alter the stories of history, they can add depth to events and show the many faces and perspectives that affected history.
History is filled with stories and events, many requiring a certain maturity in order to understand and appreciate. Conversely, parents and educators want their children to begin studying history early as a means of gaining some grasp on the conditions that affected the world. This requires the creation of a lighter version of history, one acceptable to be taught to children. While this version of history is different, and generally less severe, than the full scope of history, it provides early students with the opportunity to begin grasping at the events of their history without having to face issues that they are unprepared to face.
As the understanding of history grows, so does the need to review it with new perspectives and through different interpretations. As an example of interpretation revisionism, the feminist critique is a modern perception but historians can use this critique to review the life and position of women throughout history. While this revisionism does not change the historical facts of an event, it does provide a new context by which history can be studied and also used as a means for determining areas of history that require further study, such as the place of women in older societies.