“Assigns significance, meaning, relationship, cause, consequence…”

This is a useful way to understand interpretation.

Significance

The abolition of slavery was a turning point in American labor relations.

You are saying the event was historically important in a particular way.

Relationship

Abolition was connected to the transformation of labor markets.

You are connecting two developments.

Cause

Abolition contributed to the expansion of wage labor.

You are proposing causation.

Consequence

Abolition expanded the population of legally free workers.

You are identifying an effect.

Explanation

The transformation of legal status helped weaken inherited restrictions on labor mobility.

You are explaining how one development could produce another.

So interpretation is often about answering:

What does this event mean in relation to the larger historical process?