History is an interpretation of past events based on the analysis of evidence. Letters, documents, photographs, public records, drawings, newspaper articles, and other historical evidence help piece together the story of what’s happened in the past. But evidence doesn’t speak for itself!
Think of it like this - evidence from a crime scene can help a detective piece together what happened. If a detective finds a footprint in the mud, they must examine the evidence by asking questions. Does the print offer any clues about who left it? Which direction the person was headed? What else was going on at that time? Asking questions about the evidence helps the detective have a better understanding about what happened at time of the crime.
History must be examined in a similar way. Asking questions about historical evidence helps historians understand more about what was going on at the time they were created.