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.
Did you find this review helpful?
139 Items found Print
Active Filters: 4th grade (Ages 9-10), Hardcover
A is for Abigail
by Lynne Cheney
1st edition from Simon and Schuster
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$19.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Abigail Adams
A Discovery Book
by Helen Stone Peterson, illustrated by Betty Fraser
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
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 is Born
A History for Peter #1
by Gerald W. Johnson (iilustrations by Leonard Everett Fisher)
from William Morrow & Company
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$45.00 (1 in stock)
America Moves Forward
A History for Peter #3
by Gerald W. Johnson
from William Morrow & Company
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
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)
American Fairy Tales
1st edition from Hyperion Books for Children
for 3rd-Adult
American Plague
by Jim Murphy
from Clarion Books
for 4th-8th grade
2004 Newbery Honor Book, 2004 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner, NCTE Orbi Pictus Award
in New Nation (1783-1800) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$21.99
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
Architects
Colonial American Craftsmen
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
Battle for Long Island and New York
by Susan Lee
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
Battle for Quebec
North Star Books #38
by F. Van Wyck Mason, illustrated by Victor Mays
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Battle of Yorktown
by Thomas J. Fleming
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 3rd-7th grade
in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
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: 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)
Christmas Tree Hessian
by Cora Cheney, illustrated by Edith Ballinger Price
from Henry Holt and Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Colonial Craftsmen and the Beginnings of American Industry
by Edwin Tunis
from World Publishing Company
for 4th-9th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
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)
Courage of Sarah Noble
by Alice Dalgliesh
from Atheneum
for 3rd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$19.99
Courage of Sarah Noble
by Alice Dalgliesh
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 3rd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Courage to Command
by Zillah K. MacDonald, illustrated by Harve Stein
from John C. Winston
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
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)
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)
Crossing
by Jim Murphy
from Scholastic Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$7.00 (2 in stock)
Daily Life in the Pilgrim Colony 1636
by Paul Erickson
from Clarion Books
for 3rd-5th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$8.50 (1 in stock)
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)
Davy Crockett
by George Edward Stanley
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 4rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Drumbeats in Williamsburg
by Isabelle Lawrence
from Rand McNally
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Far Frontier
by William O. Steele; illustrated by Paul Galdone
from Harcourt
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Felicity Discovers a Secret
American Girls Short Stories
by Valerie Tripp
First Edition, First Printing from American Girl
for 2nd-5th grade
in American Girl (Location: SER-AMGIRL)
Felicity's Dancing Shoes
American Girls Short Stories
by Valerie Tripp
First Edition, First Printing from American Girl
for 2nd-5th grade
in American Girl (Location: SER-AMGIRL)
Felicity's New Sister
American Girls Short Stories
by Valerie Tripp
First Edition, First Printing from American Girl
for 2nd-5th grade
in American Girl (Location: SER-AMGIRL)
First Book of the Constitution
by Richard B. Morris
from Franklin Watts
for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage & Collectible (Location: VIN-COL)
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)
From Colonies to Country with George Washington - Book Only
My American Journey
by Deborah Hedstrom
from Multnomah Books
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$2.00 (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 Washington
by Heather Lehr Wagner
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Golden Book History of the United States Volume 2
by Earl Schenck Miers
from Golden Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Golden Book History of the United States Volume 3
by Earl Schenck Miers
from Golden Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Golden Book History of the United States Volume 4
by Earl Schenck Miers
from Golden Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Golden Book of the American Revolution
from Golden Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
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)
Gristmill
Historic Communities
by Bobbie Kalman
from Crabtree Publishing
for 3rd-8th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Hatters
Colonial American Craftsmen
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Benchmark Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
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)
Home Crafts (Historic Communities)
by Bobbie Kalman
from Crabtree Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$5.50 (1 in stock)
Homemakers
Colonial American Craftsmen
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
How and Why Wonder Book of the American Revolution
by Felix Sutton, illustrated by Leonard Vosburgh
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in How and Why Wonder Books (Location: VIN-H&W)
How Ben Franklin Stole the Lightning
by Rosalyn Schanzer
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
How Our Nation Began
Christian Social History Series
by Don Sharkey, Sister Margaret, and Rt. Rev. Msgr. Philip J. Furlong
from W. H. Sadlier
for 2nd-4th grade
in New Nation (1783-1800) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
I Walk in Dread
Dear America
by Lisa Rowe Fraustino
from Scholastic Inc.
Fictional historical journal for 3rd-6th grade
in Dear America Books (Location: SER-DEAR)
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)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
John Hancock
Weekly Reader Heroes of the Revolution
by Susan & John Lee, illustrated by Chuck Mitchell
from Children's Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$4.00 (1 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
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)
Johnny Tremain
Illustrated American Classics
by Esther Forbes
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction/Adventure for 3rd-10th grade
1944 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Johnny Tremain
by Esther Forbes, illustrated by Lynd Ward
from Houghton Mifflin
for 3rd-4th
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Johnny Tremain - Student's Edition
by Esther Forbes, illustrated by Lynd Ward, discussion guide by Ruth M. Stauffer
from Houghton Mifflin
for 3rd-4th
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Joke's on George
by Michael O. Tunnell; illustrated by Kathy Osborn
from Tambourine Books
for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Justin Morgan Had a Horse
G&D Famous Horse Stories
by Marguerite Henry
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Justin Morgan Had a Horse
by Marguerite Henry, illustrated by Wesley Dennis
1st edition from Rand McNally
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Justin Morgan Had a Horse
by Marguerite Henry, illustrated by Wesley Dennis
1958th edition from Rand McNally
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Justin Morgan Had a Horse (pictorial cover)
by Marguerite Henry, illustrated by Wesley Dennis
from Rand McNally
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
King George's Head Was Made of Lead
by F. N. Monjo
from Coward McCann
for 2nd-4th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$14.99
Lafayette, Friend of America
Makers of America
by Alberta Powell Graham
1st edition from Abingdon Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Liberty or Death
by Margaret Whitman Blair
from National Geographic
for 4th-9th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Life in Early America
by Mary G. Kelty
from Ginn and Co.
for 3rd-5th grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
Look to the Hills
Dear America
by Patricia C. McKissack
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Dear America Books (Location: SER-DEAR)
Love Thy Neighbor
Dear America
by Ann Turner
from Scholastic Inc.
Fictional historical journal for 3rd-6th grade
in Dear America Books (Location: SER-DEAR)
Man with the Silver Eyes
by William O. Steele
from Harcourt Brace Jovanich
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Miracle at Philadelphia
by Catherine Drinker Bowen
from Little, Brown & Company
for 4th-6th grade
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$9.00 (3 in stock)
Nathan Hale
by Loree Lough
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
New England Primer of 1777
by Gary & Wanda Sanseri
from Back Home Industries
for 1st-4th grade
in Miscellaneous Phonics (Location: PHO-MISC)
$20.00
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)
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)
$14.99
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)
Paul Revere
by Margaret Green
from Julian Messner
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Paul Revere's Ride
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, illustrated by Charles Santore
1st edition from HarperCollins
for 2nd-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Phoebe and the General
by Judith Berry Griffin
from Weekly Reader
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Pictorial Encyclopedia of American History Volume 15
from United States Capital Historical Society
for 4th-7th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
Pictorial Encyclopedia of American History Volume 16
from United States Capital Historical Society
for 4th-7th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
Pictorial Encyclopedia of American History Volume 17
from United States Capital Historical Society
for 4th-7th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
Pictorial Encyclopedia of American History Volume 2
from United States Capital Historical Society
for 4th-7th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
Picture Book of Patrick Henry
by David A. Adler; illustrated by John & Alexandra Wallner
1st edition from Holiday House
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Pilgrims Plantation
by June Behrens and Pauline Brower
from Children's Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Profiles of Valor
2017 Printing from Learning Parent
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Puritan Adventure
by Lois Lenski
from Lippincott
for 3rd-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Rabbits and Redcoats
by Robert Newton Peck
from Walker and Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Rainbow on the Road
by Esther Forbes
from Houghton Mifflin
for 3rd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior
by George Washington
from Applewood Books
for 4th-9th grade
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
Rush Revere and the American Revolution
by Rush Limbaugh with Kathryn Adams Limbaugh
from Threshold Editions
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Rush Revere and the First Patriots
by Rush Limbaugh
1St Edition from Threshold Editions
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Shaw's Fortune
by Edwin Tunis
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 4th-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
12