The Importance of History

Why study history?

Peter Stearns wrote, "because we virtually must, to gain access to the laboratory of human experience."

Ch. 11 Objective 5 :

Explain why the teaching of history must include the examination of conflicts.

 In order to teach history, you must examine conflicts. Conflicts shape history, without them, we would have never progressed, cultures would have never formed, civilizations would have never formed, etc.  When we examine conflicts we usually start with the causes first. Why did this conflict start? It is important to examine these causes because it can help to avoid conflicts in the future. We also examine the effects of the conflict/event. What changed after the conflict ended? Did society get better or worse? Also, by examining the causes and effects we can better understand these conflicts and realize the importance of them and the impact they had on life then and life now. 

For example: The American Revolution. There were many causes, unfair taxes was just one cause. The effect of the revolution was a new nation, The United States of America.