History And History By James A. Baldwin

History class in itself has a specific purpose which seems to be frequently forgotten. We learn about violent and horrible events in our past, as well as life- changing and positively impacting ones. From the negative events, we learn what went wrong and how to prevent similar tragedies from happening. From the positive, we gather knowledge and comprehension of the basis of our modern society. We are a self- repairing race, analyzing every flaw and figuring out what caused it. It's an ancient practice, trial and error is human nature.

Where we are from, our own personal history contributes to who we are. Each of our own stories are unique and make up a part of ourselves. We all have a knowledge of our own, customs, traditions, a family, and a history.

To Howard Zinn, history is no more than a looking glass for historians to see what needs to change in the modern world. Zinn explains how historians should see the past and the future in his 1966 essay “Historian as Citizen”. He begins by stating that historians cling too tightly to the patterns of the past and are wrong in using them as a guide to the future. He says, “This necessariness of the past tends to infect our thinking about the future, weighing down our disposition to act” (Zinn 44). Already, Zinn makes a broad statement that counters the aged ways of historians everywhere. He is asking them to let go of history. This is offputting to some but it is his strong voice that makes his philosophy so grand.

History is the totality of all past human events, and historiography is the written record of what is known about our lives and societies. In the recent past, history lessons were meant to convey a certain patriotism or to turn an immigrant into a “true American,” but today too many historians are using historical analysis for political purposes. This probably dates to the tumultuous times of the 1960s. Gordon Wood offers a prescription for the proper use of history. Shunning the ideologues of today, he believes historians should “seek to study past events not to make trans-historical generalizations about human behavior but to understand those events as they actually were, in all their peculiar contexts and circumstances.”

The article “History Still Matters” by Bill Moyers expresses some important concerns in our societies over the loss of interest in history. Throughout the article Moyers explains the loss of interest but also shows the reader the subject is crucial for societies to progress. He uses deeper meanings to further understand the importance of history as well as expressing the reasons he thinks cultures have lost interest past events. The author also mentions that although people find no relations to history in today’s world, there are conflicts that can resemble current problems. It is also imperative to realize history has assembled our concurrent world. For those reasons we can have our own outlook and interpretations of history to further understand the progression and stage we are currently in.

Why is it that knowing our past history is so important to our society? Would it be easier to just leave what is meant to be in the past, in the past and focus on the present and future? These are questions that historians would never dare ask because history has formed what is considered our present, without it people would not know how ancient Greece came to be or when America was founded. It’s not every day that there is someone that has the courage to stand out in society, it’s usually about following the rules and falling in line with what is considered normal. When one steps out of line people will listen or wonder as to what it is for. History is made every single day from new laws being put into place to abnormal movements. We take

History matters a lot for each human life. First of all, it helps us to understand

The importance of our world's history is huge because it teaches us about our past and how we came to be in the world we live in today. History can help you learn about our ancestor’s origins and cultures.

“I don’t understand why I have to take this class. All that old history stuff has no relevance to my life, and it is a waste of time to fool with it. My life today is more important than the lives of all those dead and boring people.” This remark is said more frequently than we realize. History is a combination of events that created our present and future today. The past it what simply gives our present it’s value. Another way to look at history is it can be compared to our ancestry line. Without our ancestors we wouldn’t have the make-up of genes that we do today. For example, the Columbian exchange is one of the events in history that has really impacted our world. Not only did one change come from the event but a variety including food, plants, animals, goods and knowledge. History also exposes knowledge to us. It is the resource that allows us to better our lives and expand our knowledge. Believe it or not, our life we peruse everyday consist of history. Including languages, we inherited, religions that weren’t just created on the spot, technologies that have been upgraded in the past years, and the clothing we decided to put on our backs everyday that has evolved from different materials to different fittings. The world has evolved in many ways in the past and it continues to evolve.

History is a subject that can define a person’s heritage. Each one is different, but can have a few similarities. Each person’s history can explain where their family originated, the culture that they are originally from, the struggles that their family encountered, and so much more. But the most important thing that a person’s history can show, is how they ended up where they are today.

The history that is discussed in classrooms today is not what it once was. History is no longer held with the same value as it was once before. History repeats itself. We can learn the story of history and unpack it to understand. Through history we can learn the effects of change. Through history we learn so much.

By teaching only the happy-go-lucky versions of history, people are not able to learn from previous ancestors’ mistakes and, instead, are more prone to causing history to repeat itself through their own ignorant

To know the past is to know the future. In his essay Knowing History and Knowing Who We Are, David McCullough argues about the importance of studying and teaching history. In his essay, he explains that there are three main points about history: character and its effect upon destiny, our failure of teaching the future generation, and the importance of learning and listening to history. David McCullough strongly advocates that audience should start to listen to and teach about the past in order to learn about the way a person’s character can affect their destiny.

The importance of our world's history is huge, because it teaches us about our past and how we came to be in the world we live in today. History can help you learn about our ancestor’s origins and cultures.

We study history to look into the minds of those before us and get a better understanding of their