Essay from Grade 12. Lolz

So I just discovered this. With my (newfound) background from HI398 - Historiography, I'm laughing at my answerse. Although, I did do well in this class

Assignment: Read the handout (not provided here) and interpret each of the given perspectives in your own words. select one of hte quotes to guide your response to the following question: "How/why is history an important subject to study in a soceity that is increasingly centered on science and technology?". Answer this question in a concise (500 words or less ) persuasive essay giving clear examples to illustrate your point. The essay can be informal

NOW ONTO THE ESSAY

What is History? Barry Torch

"Who is more ignorant? The one who cannot define lightning? Or the one who cannot understand its awesome power?" - Dan Brown

In our world of science and technology, we tend to migrate towards the objective studies such as mathematics and science. It has come to a point where we have many weapons, many strategies of war, and much more technology than we did in the past. But just having the ability to destroy large amounts of life in a second does not necessarily mean you should. In our world of numbers, microchips, and technology, history performs a vital service to our society. It helps us learn lessons from the past, so we do not make the same mistakes in the future. The quote by cicero, "not to know what happened before one was born is to always be a child" definitely exemplifies this point. This quote means that while only children think in only the present, it takes a mature mind to comprehend the past and apply it to current events

Historically speaking, the Russian Army has a very effective tactic to deal with foreign invaders. Whenever a country invades them, the army moves into the heart of Russia, scattering villages, burning crops, leting animals loose, and making sure that it is very hard for the invading army to get sustenance from the land. Therefore, when winter comes in, the invading army has a hard time surviving on their diminished supplies. One of the best cases of when this happened was during the Napoleonic Wars, when Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France, told his troops to invade Russia. The Russian Army destroyed the supplies, and Napoleon lost the war, contributing to his later defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. According to Cicero, perhaps we could consider Adolf Hitler childlike in his intelligence. Adolf Hitler was by far one of the most destructive men in the history of humanity. He created a society that was based on attacking the Jews, Homosexuals, Gypsies, and other recognizable minorities in society. He put them into concentration camps and forced labour, and, with the aim of creating a total master race, exterminated those who did not fit. At the start of World War II, Hitler made a pact with Josef Stalin of Communist Russia that they would not attack each other. However, in 1942, he invaded Russia, calling it Operation Barbossa. Again, the exact same situation happened. The Nazi's invaded, the Red Army retreated, but fought at St. Petersburg. Hitler found himself fighting on two fronts, and that led to the dissolution of the Third Reich, and of Germany as a world power. If Hitler had learned from military history, perhaps he would not have invaded Russia, and the world would be radically different.

Unlike Hitler, Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of England from 1940-1945, was a student of history. While Hitler was making a decision to invade England, called Operation Sea Lion, Churchill was busy studying military maneuvers to try and find a way to beat Hitler. Churchill understood the power of propaganda, and at the start of the Battle of Britain, he made his infamous "We Shall Never Surrender" speech over the radio. To make sure that England would not lose the Battle of Britain, he looked at historical military strategies, and, using a technique devised by the Athenian General Pericles, decided to fight with what the British people were strongest with: The Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy. He would send these divisions out to attack the Nazi onslaught, and while doing so, kept London on full alert for falling bombs, much like Pericles did with Athens while the Spartans were attacking. Due to his efforts, and the skill of the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy, England held out long enough for it to gain two important allies - the United States and Soviet Russia. If Churchill had not found Pericles' ideas, and used them to London's benefit, Hitler would have invaded England, and would have won World War II. Cicero, in his wisdom, would consider Winston Churchill a mature adult, as he not only learned from history, but applied it to modern day, and in a way that saved a nation

Despite new technologies or sciences, history is and will always remain a true testament to how our world is run. Yes, our world can be broken down into particles, protons, neutrons, and the like, but the true art is in seeing and understanding  the ramifications of such ideas. And that is why history will always remain relevant to humanity

Note: all spelling errors are done in transcribing my paper essay to the web. Comments on the original paper? "Very well thought through". I may disagree now

TL;DR - found an essay I wrote in grade 12. Am laughing at it, but am also secretly impressed