First, it gives you an idea, or sense of what those before us lived through, to give you the kind of life and freedom you now enjoy. Secondly, there are always mistakes made in life, and in studying history we get the chance to see them, understand them, and hopefully not repeat them. The study of history is learning from our fore fathers. Kind of like sitting on the back porch, and listening to your grandfather tell stories from when he was a kid.