History (General) Questions and Answers
History (General)
What are the negative and positive effects of war?
As other Educators have already noted, the negative effects of war include the loss of millions upon millions of lives. In World War Two, around 60 million people were killed. Conversely, a...
History (General)
Importance Of History
In Alan Bennett's play, The History Boys, one of the students refers to the line, attributed to Arnold Toynbee, that history is "just one damn thing after another." This idea encapsulates the worst...
History (General)
What can be the values and limitations of a source?
This is an excellent question, as any source you use will have strengths and limitations. Primary sources, which are generally understood to be eyewitness accounts of an event or the original...
History (General)
What are some examples of greed in the history of mankind?
The unfortunate reality is that the pages of our history books are lined with stories of greed. While much is made of the greed of leaders and dictators like Hitler, Napoleon, and Mussolini, it is...
History (General)
What are the sources historians use to reconstruct the events of history or to research and critique history?
History is reconstructed by the use of “documents,” “artifacts,” and “chronicles” (which category includes official accounts of events, memoirs, and personal correspondence.) They use these...
History (General)
Who said, "Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it?"
The quote “Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it” is attributed to the American philosopher George Santayana and it can be accurately quoted as “Those who cannot remember the past are...
History (General)
In general, what are the causes and effects of war?
There are many factors that lead to countries going to war. Some of these factors include imperialism, nationalism, and militarism. Imperialism is the desire for land. There are many reasons why...
History (General)
What role does archaeology play in the study of history? What are some important archaeological discoveries that have...
Archaeology is the evidence of history. Of course we know that history exists, but archaeological evidence is what gives that history its shape and color. It is of most importance for learning...
History (General)
Is the subject of history considered a narrative?
History is definitely a narrative, or story. In fact the word story is incorporated into this word history; interestingly, the word for history and for story are exactly the same word in French:...
History (General)
How Do Centuries Work
A century is any 100 year period, however the accepted calendar century of today was instituted in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII. Known as the Gregorian calendar, his confirmation of 'Anno Domini'...
History (General)
Why is the past important? Think back over the events of your past. From that time to today is your history, and it...
I adhere to the old saying that "he who refuses to learn from the past is doomed to repeat it." Recognizing mistakes--or, for that matter, learning from positive examples of historical...
History (General)
What role does history have in the development of a country?
History plays an important role in the development of a country. For example, the United States would be a different country today if France or Spain had ruled us instead of Great Britain. We...
History (General)
What is the importance of cultural artifacts?
Cultural artifacts are of critical import to the study of humans and civilizations over the course of history. Artifacts are the concrete items cultures leave behind, such as Native American...
History (General)
How did people communicate back in the 1990s?
During the twentieth century people communicated much the same way as they do today. There are advancements in the technology but we used mobile phones, land-line phones, e-mail, snail-mail and...
History (General)
What are the positive and negative effects of empires?
Throughout history, empires have come into being and then come to pass. They grow by acquiring or conquering neighboring territories, and once large enough, can stabilize the politics of a region...
History (General)
State the relationship between economics and history.
There are very close ties between economics and history. Economic policies help to determine which groups stay in power and which ones fall out of favor. In 1932, Herbert Hoover's failed economic...
History (General)
What questions do historians ask to help them understand the past?
Historians ask many questions when trying to understand the past. One set of questions deal with the who, what, and where surrounding an event. These are the basic questions dealing with who was...
History (General)
Name a person from today or the recent past who challenged society by asking uncomfortable questions. This relates to...
John Steinbeck and Charles Dickens. Both wrote about society in order to expose injustices and humanize the faceless masses. Dickens still reaches a wide audience today with his message that each...
History (General)
Why is it important to have a code of written laws?
That is an interesting question. Written laws are important for several reasons. Written laws provide a shared reference. Once a law is written down, there is an objective record of what the law...
History (General)
Why dates are important in history?
Dates are important, as they note when certain events happened. This is very important because history is recorded chronologically. It helps to know that one event happened before another event so...
History (General)
Explain Why It Is Important To Know The History Of Science
It both helps to develop thinking skills and gives meaningful material/knowledge with which to think. I like posts 1 and 4 above.
History (General)
How does geography influence the way we live?
Geography has an incredible influence on how we live. The buildings we build, the food we grow, the clothing we wear, and the kinds of work we do are just a few ways in which geography matters. A...
History (General)
What lasting legacies of early modern globalization are evident in the early twenty-first century?
Early modern globalization, which began in the late fifteenth century, had numerous lasting effects. The people in many geopolitical entities that promoted globalization were primarily European and...
History (General)
What are "the orient" and "the occident"?
Traditional meanings of "Orient" and "Occident" are "East" and "West." The term "occident" comes from the Latin "occidens," meaning "sunset," while "orient" comes from the Latin "oriens," meaning...
History (General)
What are the characteristics of an empire?
The characteristics of an empire (specifically a modern one) include a centralized government, a strong military, a dominant position in the global political theatre, and imperialist control over...
History (General)
What does "strategic importance of a place" mean?
If a place is of "strategic importance", it usually means it is vital to the military and economic wellness of a country. These places become targets during times of warfare. In times of peace,...
History (General)
What is a good topic sentence (hook) for an essay about the similarities and differences between the 5 different...
Let's talk about terminology for a moment before we discuss what it is you need for your essay. In an essay with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, the sentence that sets up the...
History (General)
How did the rulers use their religion to legitimize their rule?
Generally speaking, rulers throughout history have used religion to add a touch of spiritual legitimacy to their rule. Think of it this way, if it's widely believed that a king or queen has been...
History (General)
What are some causes and effects of militarism?
Militarism is the idea that a state, government, or people believe in keeping a strong military and in actively using it to maintain rights, property, or to expand their nation. A major cause of...
History (General)
What is an example from history of how deviance encourages social change?
The use of nonviolent protest is an example of how deviant behavior may bring about social change. This is especially true in the Civil Rights movement. When Rosa Parks got arrested, the...
History (General)
What are the effects of war on society?
War shapes society. Different wars make it possible for social action to take place. For example, after the Civil War, slavery no longer existed. The Vietnam War made people question US...
History (General)
What is the difference between today's women and how things used to be? Not just the more freedom, but how have women...
In simple words, the women of the 20th and 21st century have had the brilliant opportunity to expand their philosophical, psychological, physical, and professional potential by obtaining their...
History (General)
What are some challenges historians face when studying the prehistoric era?
The word prehistoric refers to a time before a culture has written records. The word itself, therefore, points to the chief challenge in studying and understanding prehistoric cultures: they lack,...
History (General)
What topic is relevant to both the colonial era and the Age of Reason?
It's worth keeping in mind that the age of the enlightenment coexisted with the age of colonialism. Indeed, consider how much the founding fathers and the framers of the Constitution were...
History (General)
Is it more important to study your own country's history or other historical traditions?
I think you need to study your own country, but be aware of others as well. We tend to view things in America by our own slant, in our own best interest. Everything does not revolve around us....
History (General)
If you could go back in time. Where would you go? Why? What would you like to do? The longer the better.
I would go back to Elizabethan England and go to the Globe Theatre to see each of Shakespeare's opening nights! I can only imagine how interesting it would be to see the plays as Shakespeare...
History (General)
What role does technology play in the study of history?
Technology plays an enormous role in history, by allowing historians to analyze data that used to be inaccessible. In the 1920s and 30s scientists tended to unwrap mummies to find out what the...
History (General)
How does a person make history? Please name one person who made history and discuss why the individual has...
There are so many historically significant people. I suggest you choose one with which you identify. Someone you respect will make this task more meaningful. For example, a particular athlete or...
History (General)
Explain how history is a link between the past, the present, and the future.
I often tell my students the best way to understand history is to understand Newton's second law: For every action, there is an equal opposite reaction. Precious few events in history have occurred...
History (General)
How important is written language to the development of human civilizations in general? An Inscribed Oracle Bone and...
Just as speaking takes a culture to a new level, writing brings a culture to an entirely new level. Writing gives a culture a sense of permanence. It also has constant practical applications that...
History (General)
"The history of the world is but the biography of great men"—so the Scottish historian Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881)...
One way to support this thesis is to explain how these great men changed the world. Indeed, Alexander the Great (356–323 BC) was the quintessential great man. Although he perished at the young age...
History (General)
What were the impacts of the Renaissance on education?
During the Middle Ages, also known as the Dark Ages, little progress was made in the arts and sciences. However, between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries, during a period known as the...
History (General)
Examples Of History Repeating Itself
In terms of history repeating itself, there are two examples that come to mind. During World War II, the Nazi regime in Germany systematically attempted to annihilate not only the Jewish...
History (General)
What is the significance of the Paleolithic Era in world history?
The Paleolithic Era is significant because people established the process of hunting-gathering, which has supported humans for the majority of their existence on earth. Their means of survival was...
History (General)
What makes a nation? What contributes to nationalism? What allows for individual identity?
A nation is a large group of people who share the same ethnicity, culture, language, beliefs, history, or passions (as with "nations" of sports-teams fans). A nation might be a country, like China,...
History (General)
Why is war futile?
You will gain a variety of answers to this question. Some will argue that it is futile because of the massive loss of life and displacement that results from it. Even in the most compelling of...
History (General)
Why was the fourteenth century described as an age of adversity?
The fourteenth century was known as the age of adversity for several reasons. One factor was the continued growth of the population, which reached about 100 million people in Europe by the end of...
History (General)
Are there any events in history where one or a few lives have been sacrificed for the many to achieve the "greater...
This happens in any war. Wars sacrifice soldiers for the sake of the common people. We know some of them will die. They know some of them will die. It is accepted in war. We do it when there...
History (General)
What were some differences between the Aztec Empire and the Roman Empire?
One of the biggest differences was that the Roman Empire was more multicultural. Given its enormous size, it was inevitable that it would encompass a greater variety of tribes, religions, and...
History (General)
Why is history important to know? What do you think would happen if history was never written and we knew nothing...
In the early 1930s, Adolf Hitler promised "change." The Germans did, indeed, get change. In the 2008 Democratic Campaign was based upon the word change. What might have happened if people had...
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