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18th Century America

In Europe, the 18th century was about Progress. Technological advances were only one aspect of that progress, the most important elements being intellectual and spiritual. The Age of Enlightenment was at its peak, and philosophers envisioned a future time when the knowledge, virtue and diligence of Mankind would usher in a golden era of educated populations working together for self-actualization and evolutionary development.

It's easy to think the American Colonies, and later the fledgling United States of America, were different, that the distance of oceans removed them from the influence of secular humanism. In fact, the Founding Fathers were thoroughly sons of the Enlightenment, and it was their commitment to the same kind of Progress espoused by men like Hegel and Voltaire that led them to break with England.

Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin were probably the most outspoken defenders of Enlightenment idealism, but there were plenty of others. There were also plenty of Christians, men whom today's Enlightenment heirs would prefer we forgot, but the fact remains that the American political experiment was largely undertaken with the goal of reshaping government to advance the people further on the path toward perfection.

Essentially, the primary tenets of the Enlightenment were that man can know all there is to know, that through education all men can acquire enough knowledge to become virtuous and productive, and that together we can all make the world a better place. It's basically a mirror-image of the Christian doctrine of history: that man is helpless, that only God knows everything, and that history is moving along the path God set for it to fulfill His ultimate ends and glorify Himself through Jesus Christ.

As in any era, God raised men to proclaim the latter truth despite the humanism engulfing so much of Western society. The wisdom of God is foolishness to those who are perishing (as He says in His Word), and many rejected the calls to repentance, but there were plenty who accepted and turned to Christ, enough to start a revival called the Great Awakening.

Men like George Whitefield, John Wesley and Jonathan Edwards preached the Gospel in direct opposition to the wisdom of this world that was spreading so quickly and thoroughly. Even today, their sermons are remembered and read, and even today men and women are converted through their doctrinally sound and spiritually edifying writings.

In the end, the tension between Christianity and Enlightenment rationalism that swept the newly settled North American continent was indicative of the same battle that has raged ever since Adam declared war on God by eating the forbidden fruit. For Christians, the most important event in 18th century America was the Great Awakening, not the American War for Independence. It's essential when studying the period that we keep this in perspective, appreciating the good things the Revolution and its advocates accomplished while measuring everything against the truth of Scripture.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and 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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Aaron and the Green Mountain Boys
by Patricia Lee Gauch, illustrated by Margot Tomes
from Betterway Books
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Adventures of the American Revolution
by Susan Olasky
from P&R Publishing
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
AIO Imagination Station Book #14
by Marianne Hering, Nancy I. Sanders
from Focus on the Family
for 1st-3rd grade
in Imagination Station (Location: SER-AIO)
$6.79
Alone Yet Not Alone
by Tracy M. Leininger
Mti from Zonderkidz
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
American Twins of the Revolution
by Lucy Fitch Perkins
from Salem Ridge Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Amos Fortune, Free Man
by Elizabeth Yates, illustrated by Nora S. Unwin
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1951 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64
Annie Henry and the Secret Mission
Adventures of the American Revolution
by Susan Olasky
from Crossway Books
for 3rd-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Arrow Over the Door
by Joseph Bruchac
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.94
At Seneca Castle
by William W. Canfield
from Salem Ridge Press
for 7th-10th grade
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At the Seven Stars
by John & Patricia Beatty, illustrated by Douglas Gorsline
from Macmillan
for 6th-10th grade
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Battle for Quebec
North Star Books #38
by F. Van Wyck Mason, illustrated by Victor Mays
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
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Ben and Me
by Robert Lawson
from Little, Brown & Company
Humor/historical fiction for 2nd-5th grade
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$7.64
Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin
by Marguerite Henry & Wesley Dennis
Reprint from Aladdin Paperbacks
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$6.79
Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin
by Marguerite Henry & Wesley Dennis
from Bobbs-Merril Co
Biography for 1st-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Blackthorn Winter
Monroe Family Chronicles #1
by Doug Wilson
from Veritas Press
Nautical fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.00 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Blackthorn Winter
Veritas Maritime Series #1
by Doug Wilson
from Veritas Press
Nautical fiction for 4th-6th grade
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Blue Birds
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Dgs from Puffin Books
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$9.34
Boy Sailor with John Paul Jones
by H. C. Thomas
from Whitman Publishing Company
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Boys of '76
by Charles Coffin
from Maranatha Publications
Historical Reference for 10th-Adult
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Cabin Faced West
by Jean Fritz
from Puffin Books
Historical fiction for 4th-6th grade
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$7.64
Calico Bush
by Rachel Field, illustrated by Allen Lewis
from Macmillan
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$5.60 (1 in stock)
Calico Captive
by Elizabeth George Speare
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
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$8.49
Calico Captive
by Elizabeth Speare
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Captain of the Minute Men
Boys of Liberty Library
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from David McKay Company
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Captives of the Senecas
by John Brick
from Hale-Cadmus
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Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1956 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$13.59
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham, illustrated by John O'Hara Cosgrave II
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1956 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Clearing Weather
by Cornelia Meigs
Repint from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
1929 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Codfish Musket
by Agnes Hewes, illustrated by Armstrong Sperry
from Doubleday, Doran & Company Inc.
for 8th-12th grade
1937 Newbery Honor Book
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$45.00 (1 in stock)
Colonial America: An Interactive History Adventure
You Choose Books
by Allison Lassieur
from Capstone Press
for 3rd-6th grade
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$4.40 (2 in stock)
Courage of Sarah Noble
by Alice Dalgliesh
from Atheneum
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in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$16.99
Courage of Sarah Noble
by Alice Dalgliesh
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 3rd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Cromwell's Head
by Olivia Coolidge, illustrated by Edward A. Wilson
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Dan Morgan, Rifleman
by Ernest E. Tucker
from Harper & Row
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Dan Morgan, Rifleman
by Ernest E. Tucker
70th anniversary from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.04
Daniel Boone, Wilderness Scout
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Stewart Edward White, illustrated by Henry C. Pitz
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Daniel Boone, Wilderness Scout
by Stewart Edward White, illustrated by James Daugherty
from Garden City Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Dark Venture
by Audrey White Beyer, illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 7th-12th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$11.20 (1 in stock)
Day of Glory
by Philip Spencer
for 4th-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Drums
Scribner Illustrated Classics
by James Boyd
1st edition from Atheneum
for 5th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Early Thunder
by Jean Fritz
from Puffin Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.79 $3.20 (3 in stock)
Encounter at Easton
by Avi
from Beech Tree Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: Fiction (Location: ZCLE-FIC)
Faith and Freedom Trilogy
Faith and Freedom
by Douglas Bond
from P&R Publishing
for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$33.97
Fever 1793
by Laurie Halse Anderson
from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-9th grade
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$7.64 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Fiddler's Green
Fin's Revolution #2
by A. S. Peterson
from Rabbit Room Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.44
Fiddler's Gun
Fin's Revolution #1
by A. S. Peterson
1st edition from Rabbit Room Press
for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.44
Finding Providence
An I Can Read Chapter Book
by Avi
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-5th grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$5.09
George the Drummer Boy
An I Can Read Book Level 3
by Nathaniel Benchley
from HarperCollins
Historical fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
Give Me Liberty
by L. M. Elliott
from HarperCollins
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Glorious Conspiracy
by Joanne Williamson
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 6th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Grand Papa and Ellen Aroon
by F. N. Monjo, illustrated by Richard Cuffari
1st edition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 3rd-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Guns for General Washington
by Seymour Reit
from Harcourt
Historical fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Guns of Thunder
Faith and Freedom Trilogy #1
by Doug Bond
from P&R Publishing
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.74
Hessian
by Howard Fast
from William Morrow & Company
for 11th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
High Towers
by Thomas B. Costain
from Doubleday & Company
for 8th-12th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
I Survived the American Revolution, 1776
I Survived #15
by Lauren Tarshis
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
In the Hands of the Senecas
by Walter D. Edmonds
from Little, Brown & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$3.20 (2 in stock)
Indian Captive
by Lois Lenski
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 4th-9th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Jack Wade, Fighter for Liberty
A Doubleday Signal Book
by Irving Werstein, illustrated by Albert Orbaan
from Doubleday & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
John Treegate's Musket
Treegate Series Book 1
by Leonard Wibberly
from Bethlehem Books
Historical fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
John Treegate's Musket
Treegate Series Book 1
by Leonard Wibberly
3rd printing from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Historical fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Johnny Tremain
by Esther Forbes
from Yearling
Historical Fiction/Adventure for 3rd-10th grade
1944 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Johnny Tremain
by Esther Forbes
Reprint from Sandpiper Books
Historical Fiction/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
1944 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Johnny Tremain
by Esther Forbes
Reprint from Laurel-Leaf Books
Historical Fiction/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
1944 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Journeyman
by Elizabeth Yates
from Bob Jones University Press
Realistic Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64
Kings Mountain
by G. Clifton Wisler
1st edition from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Lafayette!
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #8
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$13.59
Last Fort
Land of the Free Series
by Elizabeth Coatsworth, illustrated by Edward Shenton
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
List
by C. D. Baker
from Preston Speed
Historical Fiction for 8th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Little Maid of Maryland
by Alice Curtis
from Applewood Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Little Maid of Massachusetts Colony
Little Maid Historical Books
by Alice Turner Curtis
from Applewood Books
Historical Fiction for 2nd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Little Maid of Old Maine
by Alice Turner Curtis, illustrated by Sandra James
2025 Reprint from Purple House Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.34
Little Maid of Provincetown
Little Maid Historical Books
by Alice Turner Curtis
from Applewood Books
Historical Fiction for 2nd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Little Maid of Ticonderoga
by Alice Curtis
from Applewood Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Little Maid of Virginia
Little Maid Historical Books
by Alice Turner Curtis
from Applewood Books
Historical Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Lydia the Patriot
Sisters in Time
by Susan Martins Miller
from Barbour Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Sisters in Time (Location: SER-SIS)
Madeleine Takes Command
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
by Ethel Brill
from Bethlehem Books
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.71 $7.20 (3 in stock)
Magnificent Mutineers
by Earl Schenck Miers, illustrated by W. T. Mars
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 5th-8th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
Matchlock Gun
by Walter Edmonds
from PaperStar Books
Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
1942 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64 $3.60 (2 in stock)
Meggy MacIntosh
by Elizabeth Janet Gray, illustrated by Marguerite de Angeli
from Viking Press
for 7th-10th grade
1931 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
by Henry W. Longfellow
Reprint from National Geographic
for 1st-4th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
by Henry W. Longfellow, illustrated by Jeffrey Thompson
Reprint from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$1.60 (1 in stock)
Midshipman Bolitho
by Alexander Kent
from McBooks Press
for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Monroe Family Chronicles
by Douglas Wilson, Ned Bustard
from Veritas Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$54.00
Mooring Tree
by Gertrude Robinson
2020 GaTB from The Good and the Beautiful
for 4th-8th grade
in GATB Language Arts & Reading (Location: CUR-GABELA)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Morgan the Jersey Spy
Adventures in History Series
by James Otis
from A Beka Books
for 4th-8th grade
in A Beka Book Report books (Location: REA-ABK)
Mr. Revere and I
by Robert Lawson
from Little, Brown & Company
Humor/historical fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.64 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Mr. Revere and I
by Robert Lawson
from Little, Brown & Company
Humor/historical fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
My Brother Sam Is Dead
by James & Christopher Collier
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1975 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.79
My Brother Sam Is Dead
by James & Christopher Collier
from Four Winds Press
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1975 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
Namesake for Nathan
by F. N. Monjo, illustrated by Eros Keith
from Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, Inc.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Ocean-Born Mary
by Lois Lenski
1st Edition Thus from Purple House Press
for 3rd-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.29
One Dead Spy
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #1
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$13.59
Patriots' Gold
by Virginia Frances Voight, illustrated by H. Tom Hall
from Macrae-Smith Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Patsy Jefferson's Diary
by Miriam Anne Bourne
First Edition from Coward McCann
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Peter Treegate's War
by Leonard Wibberley
from Bethlehem Books
for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Peter Treegate's War
by Leonard Wibberley
from Ariel Books
for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Phoebe and the General
by Judith Berry Griffin
from Weekly Reader
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Phoebe the Spy
by Judith Berry Griffin
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.79 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Pirate's Promise
by Clyde Robert Bulla, illustrated by Peter Burchard
for 1st-3rd grade
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