And a very important part. But too often students believe that it is the only part. The truth is, that unless you want to be a historian, the facts will not help you. Oh sure, a knowledge of the simple facts of American history might keep you from looking like a fool at some corporate party but, in the end, they are of little value. While the facts themselves will not help you, you will find the practice and process of history to be invaluable.
History is the attempt to understand why something happened.
In trying to understand the cause of an event, we must know what happened and when it happened. That knowledge, however, is just a point of embarkation. The true quest is to understand the origins and significance of an event. To be able to answer the question of why. As we begin to answer these questions, we hopefully can find some enlightenment as to who we are, not only as individuals, but as a people and a nation.