“Historical meaning” and why statistical analysis might be regarded as insufficient

Suppose a historian wants to understand:

Why did people in 1850 support a particular political movement?

A statistical study might show:

60% of people in Region A supported it.

But that doesn't necessarily tell us:

what the political language meant to those people.

A textual historian may examine:

• speeches;
• newspapers;
• letters;
• political pamphlets.

They may ask:

What did “liberty” mean to people at that time?

That is historical meaning:

the meaning ideas, words, actions and events had within their particular historical context.