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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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Active Filters: Biographies, 5th grade (Ages 10-11)
Abigail Adams
by Natalie S. Bober
from Simon Pulse
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.95
Abigail Adams Package (FACE)
by Rosalie J. Slater, Evelyn Witter
from Foundation for American Christian Education
for 3rd-6th grade
in Principle Approach (Location: HSR-METPA)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr
Landmark #85
by Russel & Anna Crouse, illustrated by Walter Buehr
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
America in the Time of George Washington
by Sally Senzell Isaacs
from Heinemann Library
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
America's Ethan Allen
by Stewart H. Holbrook; illustrated by Lynd Ward
9th printing from Houghton Mifflin
Picture Book Biography for 4th-6th grade
1950 Caldecott Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
America's Paul Revere
by Esther Forbes
from Sandpiper Books
Biography for 2nd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.99
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)
$7.99
Answering the Cry for Freedom
by Gretchen Woelfle, Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
from Calkins Creek
for 4th-7th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$19.99
Ben Franklin
Sterling Point Books
by Thomas Fleming
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 5th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia
Landmark Series
by Margaret Cousins
from Random House
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia
Landmark #28
by Margaret Cousins, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Benjamin Franklin
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Benjamin Franklin
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Benjamin Franklin, American Genius
by Brandon Marie Miller
from Chicago Review Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
Benjamin Franklin: Young Printer
by Augusta Stevenson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin
by Marguerite Henry & Wesley Dennis
Reprint from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$7.99 $5.50 (1 in stock)
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)
Betsy Ross
Leaders of the American Revolution
by Vicki Cox
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Betsy Ross and the Flag
Landmark #26
by Jane Mayer, illustrated by Grace Paull
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Betsy Ross: Designer of our Flag
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Ann Weil
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Betsy Ross: Girl of Old Philadelphia
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Ann Weil, illustrated by Al Fiorentino
from Bobbs-Merril Co
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Biography of Benjamin Franklin
Sons of Liberty Series
by William M. Thayer
from A Beka Books
for 5th-9th grade
in A Beka Book Report books (Location: REA-ABK)
Biography of George Washington
Sons of Liberty Series
by William M. Thayer
from A Beka Books
for 5th-9th grade
in A Beka Book Report books (Location: REA-ABK)
Black Heroes of the American Revolution
by Burke Davis
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 4th-10th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Black Heroes of the American Revolution
by Burke Davis
1992 Odyssey Classics edition from Clarion Books
for 5th-8th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$8.99
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)
$15.99
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)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
Cobblestone Magazine: Thomas Jefferson
from Cobblestone Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$1.25 (1 in stock)
Colonial Governor
by J.G.E. Hopkins, illustrated by William Wilson
from P.J. Kenedy & Sons
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Crispus Attucks: Black Leader of Colonial Patriots
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Dharathula H. Millender
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99
Crispus Attucks: Boy of Valor
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Dharathula H. Millender
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
Dan Morgan
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Bernice Bryant
from Bobbs-Merril Co
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Daniel Boone
by Daniel Boone
from Applewood Books
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.95 $10.00 (2 in stock)
Daniel Boone
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Daniel Boone
Sterling Point Books
by John Mason Brown
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Biography for 3rd-7th
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
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)
Daniel Boone: Boy Hunter
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Augusta Stevenson
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Daniel Boone: The Opening of the Wilderness
Landmark #21
by John Mason Brown, illustrated by Lee J. Ames
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Daniel Boone: Young Hunter and Tracker
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Augusta Stevenson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99
Davy Crockett
by George Edward Stanley
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 4rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Dolly Madison
Landmark #47
by Jane Mayer, illustrated by Walter Buehr
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Eliza Pinckney
Weekly Reader Heroes of the Revolution
by Susan & John Lee
from Children's Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
First Families: The Jacksons
by Cass R. Sandak
from Crestwood House
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
First Families: The Madisons
by Cass R. Sandak
from Crestwood House
for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
First Families: The Washingtons
by Cass R. Sandak
from Crestwood House
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
For You They Signed
by Marilyn Boyer
from Master Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$27.99 $18.00 (1 in stock)
Francis Asbury
by Geoff Benge, Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biographies for 4th-7th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
From Colonies to Country with George Washington - Set
from Unknown Publisher
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
George Rogers Clark: War in the West
Events of the Revolution
by Susan and John Lee, illustrated by Richard Wahl
from Children's Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
George vs. George
by Rosalyn Schanzer
Reprint from National Geographic
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$6.95
George Washington
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
George Washington
by James Giblin & Michael Dooling
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.50 (2 in stock)
George Washington
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
George Washington
Sterling Point Books
by Sterling North
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
George Washington
by James Cross Giblin
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington
by Cheryl Harness
from National Geographic
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.99
George Washington
by Heather Lehr Wagner
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington
Childhood of Famous Americans / History's All-Stars
by Augusta Stevenson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$6.99
George Washington - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Peter F. Copeland
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in History of America Coloring Books (Location: COL-HISA)
$4.99
George Washington You Never Knew
by James Lincoln Collier
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington, Spymaster
by Thomas B. Allen
from National Geographic
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington: Frontier Colonel
Landmark #71
by Sterling North, illustrated by Lee J. Ames
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
George Washington: Our First Leader
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Augusta Stevenson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99
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)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Great Little Madison
by Jean Fritz
1st edition from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Haym Salomon: Liberty's Son
by Shirley Milgrim, illustrated by Richard Fish
from Jewish Publication Society
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Haym Salomon: Son of Liberty
by Howard Fast
from Julian Messner
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
I Have Just Begun to Fight
by Commander Edward Ellsberg, illustrated by Gerald Foster
from Dodd, Mead & Co.
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
If You Grew Up With George Washington
If You Were There
by Ruth Belov Gross
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
John Audubon
Young Patriots series
by Miriam E. Mason
from Patria Press, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
John Hancock: A Signature Life
by Philip Koslow
from Franklin Watts
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
John Marshall: Boy of Young America
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Helen Albee Monsell
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
John Paul Jones
Sterling Point Books
by Armstrong Sperry
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in War of 1812 (Location: HISA-19WET)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
John Paul Jones
A Discovery Book
by Stewart Graff, illustrated by William Hutchinson
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
John Paul Jones
by Norma Jean Lutz
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
John Paul Jones
by Donald E. Worcester, illustrated by Forrest Orr
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
John Paul Jones
Heroes of the Revolution
by Susan & John Lee, illustrated by Tom Dunnington
from Children's Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
John Wesley
by May McNeer, illustrated by Lynd Ward
from Abingdon Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Joseph Priestley
Immortals of Science / First Biography
by Rebecca B. Marcus
from Franklin Watts
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Lafayette, Friend of America
Makers of America
by Alberta Powell Graham
1st edition from Abingdon Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Lafayette: French-American Hero
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Life of Washington
by Josephine Pollard
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 3rd-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.95 $7.50 (2 in stock)
Making It Go: The Life and Work of Robert Fulton
by Don Herweck
from Teacher Created Materials, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.00
Marquis de Lafayette
World Landmark #34
by Hodding Carter, illustrated by Mimi Korach
from Random House
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
May Day for Samoset
by Wilma Pitchford Hays
from Coward McCann
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
Meet George Washington
Second Series Landmark / Step Up reprints
by Joan Heilbroner
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99 $3.00 (3 in stock)
Meet George Washington
by Joan Heilbroner
First Scholastic Printing 2001 from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Meet Thomas Jefferson
Second Series Landmark / Step Up reprints
by Marvin Barrett
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.99 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Meriwether Lewis
by Charlotta M. Bebenroth
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 2nd-5th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
Molly Pitcher: Young Patriot
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Augusta Stevenson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Nathan Hale
Hidden History: Spies
by Aaron Derr, Illustrated by Tami Wicinas
from Red Chair Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Nathanael Greene
by Howard Peckham
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
Noah Webster: Father of the American Dictionary
by Isabel Proudfit
13th printing from Julian Messner
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Noah Webster: Father of the American Dictionary
by Isabel Proudfit, illustrated by I.B. Hazelton
from Bradford Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.00 (1 in stock)
Ocean-Born Mary
by Lois Lenski
1st Edition Thus from Purple House Press
for 3rd-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$17.99
Patrick Henry
The Founding Fathers
by Stuart A. Kallen
from ABDO Publishing Co.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Patrick Henry: Boy Spokesman
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Thomas Frank Barton, Illustrated by Mel Bolden
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
Patriots in Petticoats
by Shirley Raye Redmond
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 4th-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
Patsy Jefferson's Diary
by Miriam Anne Bourne
First Edition from Coward McCann
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
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