E-S-P

Economic

A green dollar sign

The economic perspective looks at how money and business influence an event. Perhaps a business tried to do something to make a profit. Maybe someone changed their behavior because they got a new job or lost one. Follow the money, and you'll know the economic perspective.

Social

A graphic of four faces, two of women and two of men of different ethnicities set on gears with arrows indicating they are moving together

The social perspective is all about how ordinary people behave with one another and their motivations. For example, if you spend time with another person because you both like football or the same television show, that's a social perspective. If you say that a person's actions were motivated by religion or race, that's a social perspective. When the focus is on relationships between people, that's social history.

Political

A black and white graphic of the U.S. Capitol Building set atop a blue background

The political perspective is all about the actions of government. When an event happens because the government enacts a law or the president makes a decision, that's using the political perspective. Saying that the Civil War occurred because Southern state governments voted to secede is using the political perspective. When the focus is on government, that's the political perspective.