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19th Century America

The 19th was the United States' first full century as a nation. It was full of birth pangs, moments of triumph, and things that made everyone shake their head and wonder what was going on. One of the most interesting of the latter bits was when British ex-pat Joshua Norton crowned himself Emperor of the United States, "reigning" from San Francisco.

Most people remember the 19th century for the Civil War. While it certainly was a significant event, one of the most important events in American history even, there were a number of surrounding factors that were just as important, and without which the War Between the States would never have developed.

Arguably the most significant of these was Western Expansion. The idea that Americans were fulfilling some kind of national destiny by claiming the Western part of the continent was called Manifest Destiny, and its origins can be found in the writings of some of the most prominent Founding Fathers, like Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. Their dedication to the Enlightenment ideal of human progress (that mankind controlled its own destiny, and that that destiny was to move ever forward) translated into a need to expand their country as far as possible.

As with anything else, God used that humanist doctrine to advance His own truth. While politicians and opportunists went West to obtain land, gold, and freedom, Christian missionaries went to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. People like Marcus and Narcissa Whitman and Jason Lee braved the Oregon Trail simply to share their faith with the Native Americans in the Western Territories; the Whitmans even gave their lives, becoming the Pacific Northwest's most famous martyrs.

Meanwhile, back in the East the bigwigs were conspiring to breach the 3,000 mile gap between the East and West coasts with a recently improved invention: the steam engine train. The First Transcontinental Railroad wasn't completed till 1869 (four years after the Civil War had ended), but it's origins reach back to the 1840s when it was first envisioned by Asa Whitney.

In fact, the transcontinental railroad was a significant element of Abraham Lincoln's presidential campaign and administration. This was the problem: the North wanted the Trans to go through their territory because they had so much industrial product to move, while the South wanted it to run through the bottom half of the States so they could transport cotton, sorghum, and other agricultural goods.

The reality was a bit of a compromise, but the violent debates that stirred Congress had no small part in fomenting the division that would ultimately erupt in full-blown war. Slavery was the main issue, but it affected so many other factors that to reduce the origins of the Civil War to slavery alone is a bit revisionist and narrow-sighted.

For a lot of the 19th century, it seemed that the United States led a charmed existence, that Progress was a sure thing and there was nothing really to fear, certainly no problem that couldn't be overcome. The last two decades were exceedingly prosperous, leading to a sense of smug optimism that only the terror of World War I, the moral chaos of the Jazz Age, and the sudden insecurity of the Great Depression could effectively end.

Not everyone was man-centered and materialistic, however. The 19th century saw a surge in evangelism unlike anything the fledgling nation had seen, so pervasive and productive that it was called the Second Great Awakening. Unfortunately, a lot of doctrinal dilution came with the new preaching, but there were plenty of genuine conversions, and much good came of them.

It's difficult to reduce a one hundred year span to a few paragraphs, and there are certainly things we could have mentioned. Comprehensive treatments aren't always the best way to study history, though; each era has its own spirit and attitudes (its own zeitgeist, if you want to get all technical and German) that best represent it. We hope you'll bear that in mind in your study of the 19th century in America, and indeed throughout your study of history here and around the globe.

Topics of Interest from the 19th Century:

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur.Read more of his reviews here.
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Abraham Lincoln
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
75th Anniversary Edition from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
1940 Caldecott Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Alamo!
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Alexander Graham Bell
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Amazing Impossible Erie Canal
by Cheryl Harness
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Historical Non-Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
$7.99
Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky
by Faith Ringgold
from Dragonfly Books
for 3rd-5th grade
in Slavery & the Underground Railroad (Location: HISA-19SL)
Battle of the Little Bighorn
by Mark Henckel
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Battle of the Little Bighorn
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Blizzard!
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2001 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
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$8.00 (2 in stock)
BOX: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom
by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Michele Wood
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2021 Newbery Honor Book
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$17.99
Buffalo Bill
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
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Colter's Run
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Erie Canal
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Flatboats on the Ohio
Adventures in Frontier America
by Catherine E. Chambers
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From East to West with Lewis and Clark - Set
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Frontier Village
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Go Free or Die
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Biography for 4th-6th grade
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$9.99
Good Ol' Cowboy Stories
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Hitty
by Rachel Field
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Personification story for 4th-8th grade
1930 Newbery Medal winner
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Hitty: Her First Hundred Years
by Rachel Field, illustrated by Dorothy P. Lathrop
1969 printing from Macmillan
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1930 Newbery Medal Winner
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
If You Grew Up With Abraham Lincoln
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by Ann McGovern
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Historical Non-fiction for 2nd-5th grade
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If You Lived at the Time of the Civil War
If You Were There
by Kay Moore
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Non-fiction for 2nd-5th grade
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If You Lived at the Time of the Civil War
by Kay Moore
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in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$16.60
If You Traveled On the Underground Railroad
If You Were There
by Ellen Levine & Larry Johnson
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Non-fiction for 2nd-5th grade
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If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon
If You Were There
by Ellen Levine
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Non-fiction for 2nd-5th grade
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Indian Summer
by F. N. Monjo
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Let's Go to the Battle of Gettysburg
by Judith Spiegelman, Illustrated by Charles Dougherty
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Lewis and Clark and Me
by Laurie Myers
from Henry Holt and Company
Fictionalized Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Log-Cabin Home
Adventures in Frontier America
by Catherine E. Chambers
from Troll Publishing
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in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
Lost City
by Ted Lewin
Reprint from Puffin Books
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in Latin & South America (Location: HISMC-LAT)
$8.99
Many Thousand Gone
by Virginia Hamilton
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Mark Twain and the Queens of the Mississippi
by Cheryl Harness
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 2nd-5th grade
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
Mill
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$12.99
Mountain Men
Cornerstones of Freedom
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Nettie's Trip South
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Panama Canal
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from Mikaya Press
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in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Picture Book of Lewis and Clark
by David A. Adler
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$4.50 (2 in stock)
Star-Spangled Banner
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$10.99
Story of Child Labor Laws
Cornerstones of Freedom
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from Children's Press
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in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of Ford's Theater & the Death of Lincoln
Cornerstones of Freedom
by Zachary Kent
from Children's Press
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in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of Fort Sumter
by Eugenia Burney
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Story of Fort Sumter
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Story of Harriet Beecher Stowe
Cornerstones of Freedom
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Story of Harriet Beecher Stowe
Cornerstones of Freedom
by Maureen Ash
from Children's Press
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in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Story of John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry
Cornerstones of Freedom
by Zachary Kent
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of Old Ironsides
by Norman Richards, illustrated by Tom Dunnington
from Children's Press
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in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Alamo
by Norman Richards
from Children's Press
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in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Barbary Pirates
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
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in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Battle of Bull Run
by Zachary Kent
from Children's Press
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in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Black Hawk Wars
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
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in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Burning of Washington
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the California Gold Rush
Cornerstones of Freedom series
by R. Conrad Stein
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Non-Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the California Gold Rush
Cornerstones of Freedom series
by R. Conrad Stein
Revised from Children's Press
Historical Non-Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Story of the Chicago Fire
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Chisholm Trail
by Andrew Santella
from Children's Press
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in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Conestoga Wagon
by Kenneth Richards
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Story of the Conestoga Wagon
by Kenneth Richards
from Children's Press
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Story of the Election of 1860
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
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Story of the Election of Abraham Lincoln
from Children's Press
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Story of the Erie Canal
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
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$2.00 (2 in stock)
Story of the Gettysburg Address
Cornerstones of Freedom
by Kenneth Richards
from Children's Press
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Story of the Gettysburg Address
Cornerstones of Freedom
by Kenneth Richards
from Children's Press
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in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Story of the Gettysburg Address
Cornerstones of Freedom
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Story of the Gettysburg Address
Cornerstones of Freedom
by Kenneth Richards & Tom Dunnington
from Children's Press
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Story of the Gold at Sutter's Mill
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
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in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Golden Spike
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Stein Conrad
from Children's Press
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in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Haymarket Riot
Cornerstones of Freedom
by Charnan Simon
from Children's Press
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Story of the Homestead Act
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
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in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Homestead Act
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Johnstown Flood
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
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in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Lincoln Memorial
Cornerstones of Freedom
by Natalie Miller
from Unknown Publisher
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in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Story of the Little Bighorn
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Lone Star Republic
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Lone Star Republic
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Lone Star Republic
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Story of The Monitor and the Merrimac
by R. Conrad Stein
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for 4th-6th Grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$2.00 (2 in stock)
Story of the New England Whalers
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Oregon Trail
Cornerstones of Freedom series
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Panama Canal
Cornerstones of Freedom series
by Barbara Gaines Winkelman
from Scholastic Inc.
Non-Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Panama Canal
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Panama Canal
by R. Conrad Stein
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
Story of the Pony Express
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Pony Express
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Story of the Pullman Strike
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Reconstruction
Cornerstones of Freedom series
by Brendan January
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Story of the Rough Riders
Cornerstones of Freedom
by Zachary Kent
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Rough Riders
Cornerstones of Freedom
by Zachary Kent
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Spanish-American War
Cornerstones of Freedom series
by Mary Collins
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Star-Spangled Banner
Cornerstones of Freedom
by Natalie Miller
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Star-Spangled Banner
Cornerstones of Freedom
by Natalie Miller
from Children's Press
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$4.00 (3 in stock)
Story of the Trail of Tears
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Story of the Underground Railroad
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of Women Who Shaped the West
Cornerstones of Freedom
by Mary Virginia Fox
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Ten Mile Day
by Mary Ann Fraser
from Henry Holt and Company
Historical Non-Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Transcontinental Railroad (Location: HISA-19TRR)
$10.99
Texas Roundup
Adventures in Frontier America
by Catherine E. Chambers
from Troll Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Cowboys & Cattlemen (Location: HISA-19CO)
Thee, Hannah!
by Marguerite de Angeli
from Herald Press
Realistic Fiction for
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$16.99
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