Such graduates were valued because they were highly adaptable to many different situations. There are a handful such as Hillsdale College in Michigan where this is still true. For most of the rest, a Liberal Arts degree = Marxism and Politically Correct studies and graduates who, at best, will become reasonably competent apparatchiks and, at worst, will become professional victims.
I am 100% grateful for being REQUIRED to take liberal arts courses as part of my Physics and Computer Science degrees.
You have no idea how much more of everyday life you understand when you study a little bit of everything.