Why history matters

Americans don't know their history. Now, I'm not really one to talk because American history is not my favorite subject. I'm sure that will change this year as I submerse myself in it to teach my 12th graders. But history is more than just "learning a timeline" or "memorizing facts." History is a discipline that not only helps you appreciate the struggle of peoples past, but also the impact of people's actions on the present. And in history, you learn valuable skills, like reading comprehension, research, writing, creativity, analysis, and an appreciation for cultures and people different from yourself and your community. 

Now, I love America. I'm glad to live here, and I think we do a lot of things well. But, we also do a lot of things poorly, and we need to step out of our ignorance. If, for instance, Americans knew more about the history of slavery and race in our country, I think we would be much less likely to point fingers at the African American community for the struggles they face today (see former post I've written on racism here.) If people knew history, they wouldn't boast about how America has tried to save the world through democracy, when many times our history of war and invasion is nastily imperialist and heartless. We wouldn't poke fun at the French, who actually saved our revolution and ultimately contributed to their own revolution in doing so. We wouldn't have political parties who hijack Christianity and claim that our country was founded on it, when in actuality it was Deist. We wouldn't wonder why inner city schools are so terrible, given that they weren't given adequate resources or funding until the 1950s and 60s. We wouldn't hate and attack our immigrant population, when every single one of us came from an immigrant family seeking change. We wouldn't wonder at our current economic crisis, given the number of wars fought and the development of our military-industrial complex in the 20th century. We wouldn't pretend that we're not racist, bigoted, or hateful, given our history of slavery, civil rights, women's rights, and immigrants' rights. We wouldn't have made enemies throughout the world by resting comfortably in our ignorance of world affairs and our reliance on the prevalence of English. We wouldn't hate the poor if we understood more about the development of social classes in America. We would think twice before purchasing that chocolate bar full of cocoa harvested by child slaves in Africa, or that $7 skirt at Target sewn by slaves' hands in India. We wouldn't try to fix things by throwing money at them, but would instead try to find the root of problems in our society and the flaws in how we treat one another.  

Now, this probably all sounds like impractical utopian mumbo-jumbo, but I know that my study of the intellectual history of racism in France and the Americas has helped uncover my own racism, ideas lurking in the corners of my mind that I didn't even consciously realize were there. History is powerful. It's necessary. And it unquestionably should be taken seriously in schools. Will most students continue on to study history? No. But will most students need analysis skills, research skills, the ability to take various pieces of information and form a cohesive, well-founded argument? Yes. When students witness the conflicts in society today and shrug it off as commonplace and unimportant, studying history can help them grasp the tangible, living, breathing consequences of past conflicts, many of which remain unresolved. As a British historian has claimed, "People make history but not in circumstances of their own making." We respond to our circumstances, but our circumstances are a product of their context. How, then, can we adequately respond to the present, without even attempting to understand the past?

Does history matter? Emphatically, I say YES.