What Is History

Micheal Jordan

8/28/16

What is History and how is it different from “the past”?

History is the study of events that have already occurred. While the past is time that has happened, people don’t take time to study a current event as with every waking second that passes it becomes part of our past. With history it documents very detailed facts and reasons on significant moments on what has happen in our past and how this event essentially helped us get to a moment or place that is occurring in the present moment.

Without history we wouldn’t know how we as humans evolved over such a long period of time. With technology being as advanced as it is in present day, back in the B.C. era they would have to document events by writing on rocked walls to explain and portray to people what had happen at that current location during a specific time. With battles in the war of 1812 artist would have to paint specific images they captured in their mind to recreate and show citizens what the war was like. It was until right before the civil war when we could find better documented papers on events that occurred and this was due to the invention of type writers. Historians dedicate their lives and careers to find old documents from deceased politicians to find out what was going on throughout the US government. They find writings composed from meetings with the President and his cabinet to see what his plan were to make the country better. While the past has guided us to where we as people and a country are today, we would not be as knowledgeable on how we have got here if it wasn’t for history and its documented facts.