These are broad, general explanations that I won't accept on a test. For example, when I ask you what caused the increase in slavery in the Americas after 1750 and you tell me "because people wanted it to happen" I will 1) fail you, and 2) fight you. Seriously, don't do that. However, I would be even more upset if you wrote. "I'm not sure, Markstone. Everything happens for a reason."
Can you see the absurdity in that second answer? Good luck explaining to a family member of a former slave, or the relative of a Holocaust victim, or the decedents of the First People's of the Americas that "everything happens for a reason." Thanks, pal. That really brings closure to the issue. #ihateyou.
So, in all seriousness, WHY things happen is important, kinda... Usually, what we are really after is not WHY they happen, but WHAT caused them to happen. We are historians, not psychologists. That's a different degree entirely and some of the worst histories ever written were attempts to psychoanalyze individuals and their motives. Like I said, we aren't aren't psychologists. If you want to be one, then go study it and be one. Stop trying to mind"F" me, though.
So, as we study the remainder of the curriculum, don't assume you know what the people were thinking as they made these increasingly relevant decisions about life, liberty (or the lack of it), and the pursuit of happiness. And don't make claims you can't back up. You need evidence to prove things, because your thoughts on history aren't going to get you very far. The guy making french fries and McDonald's and the guys in the SWAP program all have thoughts on history too. In fact, so did Hitler. His were wrong, but he didn't know. People fell into his reality, and as a result, he touched and ruined the lives of many people around the world.
Study hard, be diligent, and use evidence to make your case.
Peace and love,
Markstone
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