Air Conditioner Situation

I was told to always start the air conditioner by starting with the high fan only for a minute before switching to AC.  I am not exactly sure why but perhaps it has something to do with the number of amps it draws.  So, the other day I'm napping in the r-pod with the AC on.   I did the prerequisite 1 min. high fan then, I switched to AC for about 10 minutes with it still on high.  After running it on high I switched to low and I could tell the AC compressor was still running just fine.  Then, the thermostat detected that the temperature had been reached and I could hear the compressor shut down but the fan was still on low.  After 15 minutes or so I heard the compressor try to start back up — it was very labored then, the circuit breaker kicked out.  Then, I remembered being told to always start with high fan first.  I flipped the circuit breaker back on, ran the AC again doing everything on high then switched to low and I had the same results.

So, my point in all this is, if it won't run on low why have a low position on the dial?   I suppose there is another explanation but for now it escapes me.  Any ideas?