How is history a story? Arizona’s history is the story of its people. Some of the people were rich or powerful. Some were not. Some were featured in the newspapers of their days. Some were not. Some were just ordinary people who did extraordinary things. Some gave their lives so others might live in freedom. They were equally courageous in living their lives. Francisco Coronado, Fred Harvey, and George W. P. Hunt were wealthy men. People like Father Kino, Carmen Soto Vasquez, and Eulalia Bourne did good works and lived simpler lives. James Ohio Pattie and John Wesley Powell were adventurers. Arizonans like Wyatt Earp, Barry Goldwater, and John McCain are famous. Their lives are written about in books and newspapers. Doña Rosa Kitchen, Nellie Cashman, and Martha Summerhayes were just ordinary people. We know about their lives from their letters and diaries. Some people have lived in Arizona for a long time. They tell stories about their lives many years ago. The schoolchildren who wrote “The Little Cowpunchers” told these kinds of stories. Fred Harvey Carmen Soto Vasquez Who should learn about history? The French Emperor Napoleon once said, “History is a myth that men agree to believe.” Abraham Lincoln said, “History is not history unless it is the truth.” United States President Herbert Hoover said, “The supreme purpose of history is a better world.” “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” This statement has been written and said by many people over many years. It explains the major reason that history is taught and learned in schools around the world. History is not just a list of wars fought or the names of presidents. It is the story of things that happened in the past. It is the story of things that are happening now. It is the story of people and their dreams. Each person’s life adds a tiny bit to the story that we call history. Wyatt Earp Martha Summerhayes 164  Chapter 16 • Arizona in the 21st Century