United States History Student Edition

Diagrams showing cause-and-effect relationships often use arrows to show the connection between events.

Analyzing Visuals Which event do you think is the cause, and which is the effect?

A king rules his people harshly.

The people overthrow the king.

Historians investigate economics, culture, human interactions, issues of power, and forms and systems of oppression, such as feudalism and slavery. Other subjects for investigation include war and peace, the rise of scientific and technological inventions, and the forms of government and societies. Through their investigations of these various issues, historians can begin to grasp the whole picture of human history. Understanding Cause and Effect Studying history requires you to identify and understand cause-and-effect relationships. Events in the world do not just happen. They take place because something makes them happen. One event produces another event. The event or person that makes something happen is a cause . The result is an effect . The link between cause and effect is called a cause-and-effect relationship. Cause-and-effect relationships explain why things happen. However, reality is not usually so simple. An event often has more than one cause. Also, a cause may have several effects. An event may then become a cause of a further event. When you want to identify and determine cause-and-effect relationships, look for clue words, such as because, led to, brought about, produced, and therefore . Notice the use of statements that express logical connections, such as “She did this, and then that happened.” Continuity and Change Historians look at the differences and similarities of events through time. History can be a story of change. Therefore, historians study how various periods of time differ from one another. Some historical changes have occurred quickly. For

example, in a few years during the 1700s, the United States won its independence from Great Britain. Other changes, such as the winning of woman suffrage, took place more slowly. While looking at historical changes, historians also search for continuity, or the unbroken patterns in history. They study how traditions and concerns link people across time and place. For example, Americans still value the ideas of personal freedoms and the rule of law. Error and Chance in History History has often been made by chance, oversight, or error. For example, Christopher Columbus believed that his voyage in 1492 had brought him to the East Indies, the islands off the coast of Asia. Explorations after Columbus, however, made it clear that Columbus had not reached Asia at all. He had found a part of the world previously unknown to Europeans, Asians, and Africans. Columbus’s mistake had important consequences, however. In the following years, the Spanish explored most of the Caribbean region. In time, their voyages led to the rise of the Spanish Empire in the Americas and prompted other European countries to create settlements in the Americas. Different Interpretations History is often called an ongoing discussion about the past. Historians discuss what the facts are. They also argue about how to interpret the facts. What causes these debates? Despite the efforts of the best minds, some facts are ambiguous , or able to be understood in several ways. What the facts mean often depends on the historian’s judgment.

cause something that makes an event happen effect a change that is produced by a cause

logical reasonable; making sense ambiguous able to be understood in several ways

HT18