Answer and Explanation:
Notice that Euchner uses present tense verbs in his account. In what verb tense is historical text usually written?
Historical texts are usually written with verbs in the past tense, since they give an account of something that has already happened.
What effect does using present tense verbs create?
When Charles Euchner uses present tense, he makes the account sound as the narration of something that is happening at this very instant. It does not feel like the past. Readers visualize and hear what is being described as if they are there, taking part in it, at this very moment:
"Martin Luther King speaks deliberately."
"Just feet from King, Mahalia Jackson calls out."
It's as if readers are hearing all this, seeing the historical moment unfold in the present.
