History is the study of the past. All people and peoples are living histories.
Many people do not think history is important. They think that it has nothing to do with how we live our lives today and why we even have to learn it. History is just as important to know as math, English, writing, reading, and even science. We live in a time of rapid change. We want to define ourselves in where we are going and not where we are from. The past is outdated. Historians do not perform heart transplants, improve highway design, or arrest criminals in a society that expects education to serve useful purposes, the functions of history can seem more difficult to define than those of engineering and medicine. History is in fact extremely useful. History is more subtle. History is inescapable.
History is not just about memorizing dates and any history teacher that is making you memorize dates is not doing their job correctly because that does nothing. This is how history used to be taught because history was used as a way of testing people’s intelligence. If say, Joe, could recite the exact dates that the Civil War were then he was automatically smarter than Bob who didn’t know. Even if Bob was a math whiz.
History helps us be better people. It helps you understand the world better and what shaped it into the world it is today. It helps you better understand the suffering, joy, chaos that were necessary for today to happen. History tells you about the people that were here before you. This helps you understand and mold the world around you. It helps you become a better citizen also. Studying history can improve your view of politics and voting by looking at the past presidents and who was and was not a good president and comparing their actions and policies to those of the current candidates.
History can help people spot warning signs. For example, the Holocaust, we hope that it never happens again and by studying the history that surrounds it we can fight against another one happening. History helps you learn problem-solving in a different way, rather than problem-solving it’s more like problem preventing.
History provides a sense of identity. Why do you think ancestry.com is so popular? People want to know where they come from and what their family history is. People are intrigued by it and it’s also good to know for medical reasons. Knowing where you come from gives you a sense of identity.
History helps you understand change why it is so important. History allows us to look into what causes change. The events leading up to both World Was help us understand how a small event can help us understand how a small event can set off a large series of changes. History lets us see how daily lives change over the years and what causes those changes.
Also, how can you begin to understand society without understanding what created it? Communities speak languages that are inherited from the past. They live in societies with complex cultures, traditions and religions that were not created on the spur of the moment. Understanding the linkage between past and present is absolutely basic for a good understanding of the condition of being human.
It isn't just American history that is important, all history is important. World history, art history, music history etc.. If you want to travel but don't know a single thing about the country's history that you will be traveling to then how are you supposed to know what is rude and what isn't? How do you expect to get around and not taken advantage of? It is so important to be informed about the places that you travel because the culture in Japan is obviously not going to be the same as the culture in The United States and doing the same things that you do here at home could be considered rude over there.
Our view of history shapes the way we view the present. There is so much to understand about why history is important. I could go on and on about it but I won’t, instead I have hyperlinked a few interesting websites above.
