The Importance of Learning the History of History free essay sample

This paper is meant to focus on the importance of the facts and history that lead up to, and surround the history of a major historical event. It will show that there is more meaning to an event such as the Vietnam War if you are able to understand the culture, beliefs, and impacts that surround Vietnam prior to the war. This will allow for a better understanding of why a war took place and how it affected those who lived in the country at that time. It is also important to know where to look to gain this information. First you must make sure all information that you are researching is coming from reliable sources based on facts, not an author’s opinion of the war. This information can be obtained from books based on historic facts, or encyclopedias. It can also be researched via the internet is you are careful and make sure it is a valid source based on facts not opinions. We will write a custom essay sample on The Importance of Learning the History of History or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The importance of learning a nation’s background prior to a major event helps to understand the why of the situation surrounding the event. When it comes to Vietnam and the Vietnam War the history of what the culture and beliefs were played a very important role in what that nation was going through that preempted a war. Using a timeline is a helpful tool as a starting point for research to help find more facts on the country and its background. An article that was found to provide a good starting point timeline was titled Vietnam Timeline found using EBSCOhost. â€Å"The article presents a calendar of historical events in Vietnam from 1940 to 2006† (International Debates, 2006). Not only is it important to know the history of Vietnam during this time period to better understand the war, but it is also essential to know what was going on in the world around them at the same time. All things that affect the nations in general are important facts to understand such as foreign trade relations, independence, communism, and threats of suppression of cultures. By learning and understanding these facts you can understand how all participants involved in the war were brought into play and what was at stake for all of them. Every side has something to gain and something to lose when it comes to initiating and involving oneself into war. There are a lot of opinions and reasons tossed around every day about the Vietnam War especially when it comes to the involvement of the United States. This is why it is even more important to learn factual information to be able to learn about the war and the effects it made on all countries involved. Another article that was found via the internet was on the background of Vietnam history and the current day effects since the war. This article discusses how Vietnam was always a family based agricultural country with very strong family roots. The article explains the different agrarian reforms that were implemented in Vietnam that proved to change over and again the ways of the Vietnamese people. The author starts by explaining how the Vietnamese people’s way of tight nit family farming was interrupted and changed with different reforms that at times suppressed the values of their way of life. In the end he discusses how changes made through the years after the war have not only improved the life of the Vietnamese by keeping their way of living and farming intact, but how it has impacted them and other nations as an export asset. According to Dao the Taun (2007), Vietnam has become one the biggest exporters of rice, cashews, and coffee around the world. In conclusion, when learning about a major event in history, it is important to learn as much history around the history as possible. This helps give us a better more in depth knowledge of the event such as the Vietnam War. When we know the background and culture of the people involved and the happenings in the world around them we can better interpret the reasons that surround the war. One must also be cautious when finding information to make sure you are reading factual information and not opinions that can be misleading and cause you to draw a biased opinion on the event at hand.