Wa alaikum assalaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh
This is a very good question that you've asked.
There is a whole Qur'anic science devoted to this field, and it is called Asbaab an-Nuzool, sometimes written as Asbaab al-Nuzool, which translates roughly as the reasons for revelation, and also as causes, context, and occasion for revelation.
There are many benefits to knowing the Asbaab an-Nuzool for verses. For an introduction, go to PDF page 141 here:
http://d1.islamhouse.com/data/en/ih_...at-Tafseer.pdf (Link for Usool at-Tafseer: The Methodology of Qur'aanic Explanation, by Abu Ameenah Bilal Phlips).
It also lists at the end of that chapter, the books on Asbaab an-Nuzool, the most famous of which is the one by Ali ibn Ahmad al Waahidi (died 468 hijri, 1075 ce), who is considered one of the earliest scholars of Asbaab an-Nuzool (although it is still a mixture of authentic and some weak reports). That book, is available translated into English here, as a PDF document:
http://www.altafsir.com/Books/Asbab%...0Al-Wahidi.pdf
Alternatively, here
http://www.altafsir.com/WahidiAsbabAlnuzul.asp you can go the exact verses and surah you want, and if there is anything recorded about it's background and reason for revelation in Waahidi's book, it will be there. It has Asbaab an- Nuzool for some of the verses from 83 Surahs, along with chains of narration.
You could also try googling the other ones listed at the end of the chapter and see if they've been translated into English, but I don't think they have. I've heard that Tafseer al-Jalaalayn has some Asbaab an-Nuzool as well. Allahu a3lam.
Hope that helps a bit.
:sl: