Why History Is Important

Brittany Rose Smith

History 1700 Section 012/812

November 30th, 2016

 There are many reasons why history should still be taught in todays classrooms. There

are many, vastly different views as to what should and should not be taught, and how it should

be taught and by whom. The teaching of history should cover all facets of mans experience.

There are political, sociological, financial, religious and of course historical reasons why history

is such a vital part of mans existence. However, how history should be taught is a very

controversial topic. There are those who think that it should be interactive, and engage the

students in a very hands on way. Others think that it should just be a lecture type of a setting,

and students should listen and take copious, detailed notes. Throughout this essay, I will go over

each of these topics, and voice my own personal opinion on a few.

As previously stated, there are many reason why one should know their history, and be

well informed on this subject. The first reason is the importance of knowing what is going on

around you in a political setting. Knowing what the local and national issues are in your

community is an integral part of being a good citizen. How can the right people be elected to

represent you, if you do not have a clue as to who they are and what they stand for? In this past

year, we have witnessed, in my opinion one of the most important presidential elections in years.

History is extremely important, when it comes knowing the ebbs and flows of politics. As you

have shown us this past semester, the outcome of each election, turns the country in a different

direction for at least four years. There is a typical cycle when it comes to political parties, as to

who will get elected in the upcoming presidential election12. For example, when there has been a

Republican president in office for four to eight years, the next president to be elected will most

1 Alexander, Michael A. "American Political Cycles." American Political Cycles | Michael A.

Alexander | Safehaven.com. November 29, 2004. Accessed November 30, 2016.
2 Welch, Johnny. "Learning Leadership Lessons from History: Recognizing Repeating Patterns
and Recurring Themes." RSS 20. August 8, 11. Accessed November 30, 2016.
likely be a Democrat as people will be disillusioned with the current administration and feel that

a change will bring about the desired results. 34

Cycles like this show why it is important to know your political history. Knowledge makes it

easier to understand why a certain president is being elected, and why either the Republican or

Democrat party has the majority in Congress. In knowing how politics work, you can be better

prepared to make the decisions that are needed to continue our republican form of government.

History shows us why and how certain social aspects of our country are changing. We see that

with major shifts of power to the different political parties, the focus and priorities of the

government as a whole, can shift from one end of the political spectrum to the other. Knowing

that your party will most likely be back in favor within a couple of years, should bring you some

peace of mind. For those who feel that there is no hope after this election, this knowledge of

political history should bring a small bit of comfort to them.

After watching the events of this election unfold, it has become clear to me, that people

really do not know their government. They do not understand the Constitution and how both

their local and federal governments function. People are not aware of how the electoral college is

set up, and why we even have an electoral college. They do not understand the three branches of

government, and that there are checks and balances built into it, to make sure that one branch

does not become too powerful. An example of this, is that President-Elect Donald Trump has

stated that he is going to build a wall on our border with Mexico. This wall will cost billions of

taxpayers dollars, and the Congress controls the budget. In order to get the legislation passed for

3 Alexander, Michael A. "American Political Cycles." American Political Cycles | Michael A.

Alexander | Safehaven.com. November 29, 2004. Accessed November 30, 2016.
4 Welch, Johnny. "Learning Leadership Lessons from History: Recognizing Repeating Patterns
and Recurring Themes." RSS 20. August 8, 11. Accessed November 30, 2016.
a wall, it would have to be passed in both the Senate and the House, and this is how one party

cannot just dictate how things should be done.

Take California for an example. After the presidential election, many of the residents

were so upset that they are trying to succeed from the Union. This however is complete

nonsense. It is clear that the people in the state of California do not know their own state

constitution. If they did, they would know that succeeding would be impossible.5 There are only

two states that can succeed from the union, Texas and Hawaii.6 These are the only two states that

wrote this clause into their state constitutions. The people of California wanting to succeed

would first need to change their state constitution. This shows that the people demanding that

they be allowed to succeed are naive and uneducated. This is why knowing your history is so

important! All of their time and money will have been wasted, trying to get a law passed that is

unconstitutional by their own state constitution.

When it comes to war, history is extremely important in helping to understand why we are in a

certain war, and what might have caused said war. When it comes to the two World Wars,

knowing history is key. If you want to know how WWII was started, and why it was so

devastating you will need to know what triggered the hot emotions that led countries to declare

war upon each other. If you know how WWI was started, how it was fought and how it ended, it

will lead you to better understand how it contributed to the beginning of WWII. How the

Germans were treated at the end of the war, and how the Treaty of Versailles was written made

the ordinary German citizen feel like the whole civilized world was against them.7 If we do not

5 "California Constitution." Ballotpedia. Accessed November 30, 2016.

https://ballotpedia.org/California_Constitution.
6 Stahl, Johnathan. "Could Texas Secede from the United States, If It Wanted To?" Constitution
Daily. May 02, 2016. Accessed November 30, 2016.
7 Kaiser, David. "Treaty of Versailles." History.com. 2009. Accessed November 30, 2016.
know about the Treaty of Versailles, and how it impacted the world, then we truly do not know

why WWII was started.8

Knowing how wars begin and end is important. It helps us to better understand why our

modern world functions the way it does. If our goal is to prevent future wars and conflicts

between peoples and nations, then we must understand why previous wars were started. Take

Jerusalem for example. Comprehending why there is such constant conflict over this holy

ground, means going back thousands of years. If you want to fully know why different religions

claim that it is their land, take a look back over the ages and see what they each claim happened

there.9 If we are to ever bring peace to Jerusalem, we have to know why each of them want to lay

claim to it. In knowing why, they each make a claim, we must know the history attached to this

extremely holy piece of land. 10

How society functions as a whole, and the cycles that it goes through can be semi-

predicted when closely examined and analyzed. Looking back through history, will show how

certain patterns arose and why they follow significant events. For instance, after each world war,

there was a sudden boom in child births. When the war ended and all the men came home, there

was a sudden baby boom.11 After major events like this happen, certain trends are sure to follow.

If you trace history back through the ages, you will see many patterns arise, and they always

have similar features.

Another social trend that has played a large part in our history of the United States is

religion. Large tracts of our country were settled by people leaving the old world in search of

8 Ditto
9 "Israeli-Palestinian Conflict - ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. Accessed November 30,
2016.
10 "Israeli-Palestinian Conflict - ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. Accessed November 30,
2016.
11 History.com Staff. "Baby Boomers." History.com. 2010. Accessed November 30, 2016.
religious liberty. The Puritans settled most of New England. The Quakers, under the leadership

and financial support of William Penn, settled Pennsylvania and brought with them an

atmosphere of tolerance and acceptance for all. We have many examples also of people who

stood up for what they believed and caused whole movements to begin. We only need to look as

far as Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks to see how individuals, who knew their rights and

were not afraid to stand up for what was right, can change a society. If we know our history, we

can improve on the past and make things better for all in the future.

When it comes to finance and economic ups and downs, history will show us why they

occurred, and how they could have either been either avoided or handled better. Every few years,

the United States goes into some type of economic crash, and everyone seems surprised, like

they never thought this could happen.12 What people in the US do not realize, is that this happens

quite often, and if we were to just look back through history, we would see this pattern.13 History

is very important when it comes to tracking these financial crashes and how they can be avoided.

Knowing what was happening leading up to and during these hard times, will help us prepare for

when they begin again. 14

A knowledge of what goods and items were scarce in the past gives us a better idea on

how to prepare for the next financial crisis.15 If you know that food prices will go up, and the

government may regulate how much food you can buy, you would be wire to keep dry goods in

12 Walling, Michelle. "The Seven Year Cycle Of Economic Crashes That Everyone Is Talking
About." How To Exit The Matrix. June 29, 2015. Accessed November 30, 2016.
13 Walling, Michelle. "The Seven Year Cycle Of Economic Crashes That Everyone Is Talking
About." How To Exit The Matrix. June 29, 2015. Accessed November 30, 2016.
14 Jennings, Daniel. "5 Warning Signs An Economic Collapse Is Looming." Off The Grid News.
Accessed November 30, 2016.
15 Kurutz, Steven. "The Depressing Food of the Depression, in A Square Meal." The New
York Times. August 17, 2016. Accessed November 30, 2016.
storage.16 During the Great Depression, almost everything was regulated, and the dollar was

worth almost nothing.17 Therefore, it is smart to have a different monetary source available, in

the case the dollar loses its value again.18 If you know your history, and are watching for the

signs of another crash coming, youll be able to stock up on the necessary items to keep you and

your family alive. Understanding these ups and downs of the financial world, will help us to

understand our country's current financial position and gives us guidance on what to do and not

to do to get out of the current situation.

After looking over some reasons why history is important to know, understand and

respect, we can now dive into how it should be taught. Growing up in this generation, I was

constantly told how boring history was, and how pointless it really was. However, none of that is

true. In my opinion, the reason why students hate history that most have been given a

predisposition to hate it by the way that it was taught to them at a young age. The type of history

teacher that you first have in elementary school is vital when it comes to the relationship youll

have with history.

We live in a world today where history is no longer valued or considered important in

ones day to day life. Most people think of history as just a collection of old, boring and dusty

facts, that are no longer relevant in todays modern life. They could not be more wrong. The

events that have taken place in the past are what molded the events of today. If we want a future

of financial security, respect for one another, peace between the nations and religious

understanding, we must look to the past to see how these issues were addressed.

16 Kurutz, Steven. "The Depressing Food of the Depression, in A Square Meal." The New
York Times. August 17, 2016. Accessed November 30, 2016.
17 Vronsky, I. M. (2009, April 2). Dollar Devaluation is Inevitable...just like in 1934. Retrieved
November 30, 2016.
18 Vronsky, I. M. (2009, April 2). Dollar Devaluation is Inevitable...just like in 1934. Retrieved
November 30, 2016.
 In my freshman year of high school, I had a terrible history teacher and he made me hate

history. I dreaded going to class every day. In my sophomore year though, my history teacher

was amazing and made me fall in love with history. When it comes to history, I truly believe that

the type of teacher you get, will either make you love or hate history. Along with what type of

teacher you get, it depends on their teaching style. I think that a teacher should really know their

subject. When you study and read about events and the people who shaped them, you can make

it come alive for those you teach. How exciting is it when in the middle of a dry list of dates and

places a story can be told that will bring it to the imaginations of the listener. From what I can

tell, most people hate history, as the lecture method is the most commonly used method of

teaching.19 However, if a song such as The Battle of New Orleans captures the ear, think how

much history can be conveyed, even to the most unenthusiastic audience! We can also see how

movie producers have been able to take history and make it come alive with the skillful use of

pictures, narratives and awe inspiring music. This is exactly what Ken Burns did when he made

the award winning mini-series The Civil War. Entire new generations were awakened to the

thrill and pathos of a crucial turning point in our nations history. Students of all ages want a

more hands on learning environment that can include different activities and personal stories,

instead of just listening to a teacher lecture on for an hour and a half.

For me personally, I prefer a lecture based class when it comes to history, as I am able to

just take notes and listen to all the stories being told. When there is too much movement and

activity going on, it detracts from the actual learning and we are not able to cover as much

material as we normally would have been able to. In the end however, it comes down to your

personal preference for a learning environment. There really is no right way of teaching, as each

teacher is better at teaching in a different way than another would be.

19 Cutler, D. (2014, May 1). Retrieved November 30, 2016.

 In conclusion, history is tremendously important, if you truly want to know what is going

on, and why people feel the way they do. If you want to know why wars are fought and people

are willing to die over certain reasons, just trace it back in history. We have many resources at

our disposal in this day and age that help us to truly understand different peoples and cultures.

Even the most primitive cultures have truths and words of wisdom for mankind. With all of the

issues coming forth from the recent presidential election, it is more vital now than ever for

people to understand politics and how laws are passed. If more people knew how the constitution

worked and how the branches of government functioned, then the people currently protesting the

outcome of the recent presidential election would realize that there are more effective ways to

create change. If we want to be prepared for the future, all we have to do is look at the past.
 Bibliography

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict - ProCon.org. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2016, from

http://israelipalestinian.procon.org/view.answers.php

Alexander, M. A. (2004, November 29). American Political Cycles. Retrieved November

30, 2016, from http://www.safehaven.com/article/2274/american-political-cycles

California Constitution. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2016, from

https://ballotpedia.org/California_Constitution

Cutler, D. (2014, May 1). Retrieved November 30, 2016, from

http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/05/how-i-teach-history/361459/

History.com Staff. (2010). Baby Boomers. Retrieved November 30, 2016, from

http://www.history.com/topics/baby-boomers

Jennings, D. (n.d.). 5 Warning Signs An Economic Collapse Is Looming. Retrieved

November 30, 2016, from http://www.offthegridnews.com/financial/5-warning-signs-an-

economic-collapse-is-looming/

Kaiser, D. (2009). Treaty of Versailles. Retrieved November 30, 2016, from

http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/treaty-of-versailles

Kurutz, S. (2016, August 17). The Depressing Food of the Depression, in A Square

Meal. Retrieved November 30, 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/17/dining/great-

depression-food-square-meal-book.html

Stahl, J. (2016, May 02). Could Texas secede from the United States, if it wanted to?

Retrieved November 30, 2016, from http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2016/05/could-texas-

secede-from-the-united-states-if-it-wanted-to/
 Vronsky, I. M. (2009, April 2). Dollar Devaluation is Inevitable...just like in 1934.

Retrieved November 30, 2016, from http://www.gold-eagle.com/article/dollar-devaluation-

inevitablejust-1934

Walling, M. (2015, June 29). The Seven Year Cycle Of Economic Crashes That Everyone

Is Talking About. Retrieved November 30, 2016, from

http://howtoexitthematrix.com/2015/06/29/the-seven-year-cycle-of-economic-crashes-that-

everyone-is-talking-about/

Welch, J. (11, August 8). Learning Leadership Lessons from History: Recognizing

Repeating Patterns and Recurring Themes. Retrieved November 30, 2016, from

http://www.leadershipbythepeople.org/learning-leadership-lessons-from-history-recognizing-

repeating-patterns-and-recurring-themes/