In the essay Haunted America, Patricia Nelson Limerick reflects on whether or not there is any benefit to society in possessing historical knowledge. Limerick contradicts himself numerous times in his opinion on the usefulness of history. She implies that there are many lessons that can be learned from history. However, Limerick is disappointed in the human race because he fails to learn from the mistakes of others. He then asks, “What do we get besides a revival and a restoration of misery?” (Limerick, 473). Based on Limerick's examination of people and history, it can be concluded that objectively history is useless, however, in theory, people would be much better off if they learned from the lessons the past presents. To some extent, the story is harmful to modern readers because it presents them with documentation of people's past miseries. For example, when we read about the Battle of Bad Axe, we are presented with the horrors of human cruelty. Limerick describes the memory of the Battle of Bad Ax by stating that "the water, on August 2, 1832, was red with the blood of the wounded Sauk and Fox trying to escape the bullets of the American troops. [...] The Inds. were driven literally in the Mississippi, whose current was once noticeably tingled with the blood of the Indians who were shot on its margin and in the stream..." (472). Limerick points out that "there is no way to be truly prepared for the terrible reality of these events" (473). After reading about such an event, the reader experiences depression, sadness, and disappointment in human beings. This event revives the misery of the past. Such events in history show the ugly side of human nature. When reading about wars, the reader immerses himself... in the middle of the paper... without making the same mistakes over and over again. Data shows that the number of people who died due to violence in the 20th century is higher than the number of people who died in the 19th century. Limerick writes, “If you measure the numbers, comparing the violence of the nineteenth century to the violence of the twentieth century is clearly to the disadvantage of our times” (497). Humans don't seem to learn that wars and violence are not the best way to resolve disputes. He goes on to state that “whatever else we learn from numbers, we learn that twentieth-century humans do not have much in the way of moral high ground” (497). Limerick implies that people today are not morally higher due to greater historical awareness than they were a century ago. In theory, if humans learned from history, they would be much better off.