US History

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Why study History?

The Roman historian, Tacitus, once wrote that "The task of history is to hold out for reprobation every evil word and deed, and to hold out for praise every great and noble word and deed".

Tacitus was a Roman historian who lived during the First Century and early Second Century A. D. His most famous work is "The Histories". Tacitus was a senator during the reign of Domitian and was later to fill the post of consul, the highest office open to a Roman who was not emperor. After his consulship, he was given the governorship of the large province of Anatolia (much of modern Turkey). Tacitus hated great concentration of power in the hands of the early emperors. His writing is full of tales of corruption, government scandal, and innocent people being destroyed or having their good names ruined because of the emperor’s lust for power. It was Tacitus’ belief that the emperor had so much power in his hands that no man could occupy the throne without being corrupted by that power.

It is my hope and desire that every student that walks into my classroom would walk out not only with a comprehensive knowledge of history and a great respect for its heroes and their virtuous acts, but also, a great dislike of the evil done to people through the abuse of government power. For only by studying the mistakes of the past do we have any hope of avoiding them in the future. As Thomas Jefferson said "If a people hope to be ignorant and free, they hope for what never was nor will ever be".