A historical perspective on world affairs is absolutely necessary in the fields of science, technology, the arts, politics, or anything else. As such a young country, it's misleading to most Americans about what a large role history plays in our world. And we are a world community. The whole idea of the liberal arts is outdated by many people's standards, but I don't think so. Granted, the history major is a difficult thing to put into practice right out of college.
Most people have to go into teaching, graduate school or a job where they learn from the ground up.
The benefits of this major are to be able to read, understand and articulate in words or in writing. This will sustain you over many jobs. There are two types of students who major in history. The first comes already turned-on to the subject. But I would say that most students come to the study of history reluctantly.