Essay for my History class (in progress...)

Okey-doke,

My assignment is to either defend or disagree with the statement, "Thucydides deserved to be recognized as the father of modern history." If you don't know who Thucydides was, um... Wikipedia is your friend!

[b]Mind you! IN NO WAY is this even half-way finished or polished. It doesn't even have a conclusion yet, this is just the beginning. I wouldn't even call it a rough draft so much as just my basic ideas for the essay which I shall revise in time. I'd like to know if my ideas are good and my sentences clear, etc. rather than opinions on the essay on a whole, because it isn't a whole yet. In the part with a blank, it's because I haven't found that date yet. ^_^[/b]

Thanks so much for your time!

The expression “History repeats itself”has been spoken so many times that the words have begun to seem empty. However, the concept of learning from history's mistakes was originally introduced by Thucydides in ___________. In the introduction to his account of the war between Sparta and Athens, Thucydides emphasizes that, in order to prevent the tragic events of the war from occurring again, future generations should read and analyze his documentations carefully.
“It will be enough for me... if these words of mine are judged useful by those who want to understand clearly the events which happened in the past and which (human nature being what it is) will, at some time or another and in much the same ways, be repeated in the future. My work is not a piece of writing designed to meet the taste of the immediate public, but was done to last for ever (49)
Thucydides explains why he finds it so urgent for the future to learn from the example of the past by going on to tell us what may be at stake if we don't: Our happiness, our well-being, and our very lives.
“The Peloponnesian War... not only lasted a long time, but throughout it's course brought with it unprecedented suffering for Hellas. Never before had so many cities been captured and then devastated... Never had there been so many exiles; Never such loss of life...(49)
Thucydides changed how we view history and gave a sense of purpose to all the writers of history who came after him. He proved that it was not just necessary, but vital to learn history, and more importantly, to learn from history. He predicted that the same tragic events would repeatedly occur, for mainly the same reasons and in similar ways, and he was correct. Again and again, people are slaughtered for the same things: money, land, religion, race.
Thucydides was indeed “the father of modern history.” Though he was not the first person to document historical events, he inspired people to continue documenting events. He inspired fear in them. He gave history purpose.
Obviously, history has repeated itself, in horrifying ways. We have not learned from the work of Thucydides as he intended us to. Thucydides predictions were correct when black slaves in the south toiled in the cotton fields, and they were correct when war broke out to free these slaves. His predictions were correct when Jews we're killed in gas chambers. Every past war has affirmed his predictions, and, ironically, we continue to affirm them.

More coming soon, hopefully. Again, thanks so much, and I'm really sorry this is so rough right now.

My tip for an article about Thucydides -- you really should refer to Herodotus. Both have been called the "father of history" and the debate splits academics. I think if you compare the way both present history -- Thucydides' incredible accuracy and almost scientfic method, as contrasted by Herodotus' storytelling, with interesting dubious anecdotes. Thucydides would probably be considered more the modern historian, but can he really be considered its Father when Herodotus was first?

Thucydides was also full of scorn for his predeccesor, something you could include (he never refers to Herodotus by name, but implies it).

So -- basically -- I think your best approach would be to look at the way Thucydides treated History, and use Herodotus as a contrast.

What you have now seems a bit unstructured and haphazard, although I guess that's because it's unfinished.

Thanks for your comments!

Yeah , Herotodus was first. I'll take that into consideration.

I know this is a bit sloppy- sorry. Like I said, it's really not an essay, just a somewhat random compilation of my ideas.

That aside, I hope my ideas are okay.

Even though Herotudus was first (and I shouldn't really say this because I pretty much know nothing about Herotodus,) this is what I want my essay to convey:

Though he was not the first person to document historical events, he inspired people to continue documenting events. He inspired fear in them. He gave history purpose.