WHY HISTORY?

WHAT IS HISTORY?

• “History is something that never happened told by someone who wasn’t there.”

• Ramon Gomez de la Serna (Spanish author)

• “History is indeed, little more than the register of the crimes, follies and misfortunes of mankind.”

• Edward Gibbon (English historian)

WHY STUDY HISTORY?

IS HISTORY USEFUL?

• It doesn’t help build schools, fight fires, perform operations, help sell merchandize or launch a space shuttle.

• So…why do we study history?

• Write TWO reasons you think we study or should study history down for A1 and A2 on your activity sheet. For the rest of part A, copy down the headlines on each of the following slides.

TO AVOID THE MISTAKES OF THE PAST

• “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

• George Santayana (Harvard educated philosopher and novelist.)

HISTORY HELPS US UNDERSTAND OUR WORLD

• You cannot understand people if you do not understand their past.

• You cannot understand our community if you do not know how it came to be.

• You cannot understand our nation without knowing it’s history.

• You cannot understand the world if you do not understand history.

HISTORY GIVES YOU A NATIONAL IDENTITY

• Studying history gives people a sense of nationalism.

• It gives organizations, communities, schools etc. a sense of community.

HISTORY GIVES YOU A SENSE OF “SELF”

• A shared history gives individuals, families and religious and ethnic groups identity.

HISTORY HELPS US UNDERSTAND PEOPLE

• History acts as a “social laboratory.” It is one of the few ways we can predict the future behavior of large groups of people.

UNDERSTANDING HISTORY ENABLES US TO BE GOOD CITIZENS• History provides examples of success, morality

and examples of the opposites.

• It helps us understand current world affairs and conflicts by understanding the roots of the problems.

• It provides support for making decisions and encourages, “responsible public behavior, whether as a national or community leader, an informed voter, a petitioner, or a simple observer.”

HISTORY CHALLENGES US TO THINK

• While studying history it is important to ask not just the basic questions such as who, what, when and where but the questions WHY and WHAT IF

NOW WHAT…

• Now that we understand a little more about why history is so important, how do we take the first steps to become a historian?

JOBS OF THE HISTORIAN

• Historians have at least four different jobs.

• Each of these jobs helps to understand the past so that we are able to understand ourselves, our society and our world.

THE DETECTIVE

• Investigates the past

• Determines what happened

• Separates truth from falsehoods or misinterpretations

• Weeds out bias in historical writing to determine truth

THE STORYTELLER

• Tells others’ stories

• Imparts lessons, morals and other learning of history

• Entertains and fascinates with the epic story of our history

THE JUDGE

• Judges history and makes moral decisions (Ex: evil or misunderstood?)

• Ever heard the saying: “We will see how history judges me.”

• Sorts what should be emulated and what should be discarded

THE PHILOSOPHER

• Is a reflector and may speculate on what was right or wrong

• Ponders important questions and attempts to pull out meaning

• Not only speculates on the lessons of the past but may attempt to predict the future

ARE YOU WILLING?

• To put on the four hats of the historian and attempt to understand the past…

• In order to secure a brighter future for yourself, your family, your community, your nation, your world.

DAVID MCCULLOUGH

• Preeminent American historian and author

• Two-time Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner and winner of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

• “History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. History is who we are and why we are the way we we are.”

• “No harm is done to history by making it something someone would want to read.”

8TH GRADE US HISTORY • Begins with…

CONFLICTS OF RELIGION

• How did the world become sectioned off the way it is?

• How did different religions come to be in different places?

• Are religious conflicts evident in the world today?

• Do they effect history?

RELIGIOUS CRUSADERS

EXPLORERS

COMING TO THE “NEW WORLD”

HENRY VIII

• Split from Catholicism to form the Church of England in 1532.

• Around the same time in France and Germany, Luther and Calvin were protesting perceived abuses by the Catholic church. Protestantism was created.

PURITANS

• Following the religious reformations, the Puritans, wanting to “purify” the Church and being persecuted for their desires began to emigrate to North America.

ROGER WILLIAMS

• He, along with other early Puritan leaders established refuges for these religious refugees.

• Williams is the founder of the Providence Plantation, which became Rhode Island.

NATIVE AMERICANS

• When the Europeans arrived, there was already a strong indigenous culture and religion.

OTHER EUROPEAN SETTLERS

JOHN LOCKE

• English philosopher who’s ideas influenced the founding fathers and the declaration of independence.

THOMAS JEFFERSON

• Founding father

• Wrote the Declaration of Independence

• 3rd President of the US

REVOLUTIONARY WAR

CONSTITUTION

CONFLICT

• American Indian Wars

• War of 1823

• Conflicts with other colonizers

SLAVERY

THE CIVIL WAR

HOW CAN WE APPLY KNOWLEDGE OF PERSONAL HISTORICAL EVENTS TO THE PRESENT?

• The Great American Melting Pot