Why History Matters

Why It Matters to You That History Changes	Reasons
Your grade	If you do not catch on to how history changed, you can be factually inaccurate—and get few to no points. Example: At the beginning of the era, X was true. At the end, Y was true. Your question to answer was about the end of an era, but you write X –so your grade was few to no points.
You will not understand how life (and history) works – the big picture issues	If life (and history) does not change, then: § Humans are powerless to do anything about bad situations § Humans do not need to pay attention because situations will always be good Think about those a bit.
You will not understand how life (and history) works – strategies	If life (and history) does change, then you should: § Observe how humans in the past prevented or fixed bad situations § Observe what is recognizable from the past about how things looked when things were changing (both to preserve good situations and to notice early signs of bad situations) Tip: Frequently changes in life (and history) were because of changes in the law. The legislators (those who write the law) can change the future and what citizens do with the law can make a difference.