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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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Abe Lincoln Gets His Chance
by Frances Cavanah
from Rand McNally
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in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
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Abe Lincoln Goes to Washington
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Abraham Lincoln
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1951 Newbery Honor Book
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Abraham Lincoln
Weekly Reader Heroes of the Civil War
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Abraham Lincoln
A Discovery Book
by Anne Colver
from Garrard Publishing Company
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Abraham Lincoln
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
75th Anniversary Edition from Beautiful Feet Books
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1940 Caldecott Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Abraham Lincoln
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from Charles Scribner's Sons
Historical Non-fiction for 3rd-6th grade
1945 Newbery Honor Book
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Abraham Lincoln - Coloring Book
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$5.99
Alexander Graham Bell
by Elizabeth MacLeod
from Kids Can Press
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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America's Robert E. Lee
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Amistad - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
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$3.95
Annie Oakley: Young Marksman
Childhood of Famous Americans
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$7.99
Black Courage
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from Macrae-Smith Company
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
Brave Clara Barton
Step Into Reading Level 3
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Buffalo Bill
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Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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$17.95
Buffalo Bill: Boy of the Plains
Childhood of Famous Americans
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Childhood of Famous Americans
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$7.99
Cabin Boy to Advent Crusader
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Calamity Jane
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Clara Barton
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Clara Barton: Amazing Civil War Nurse
Amazing Americans
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Clara Barton: Civil War Nurse
Historical American Biographies
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Cora Frear
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$3.50 (1 in stock)
Courage to Run
Daughters of the Faith
by Wendy G. Lawton
from Moody Press
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$8.99 $5.00 (3 in stock)
Crazy Horse
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Second Printing 1975 from Dillon Press
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David Glasgow Farragut
by Jean Lee Latham, illustrated by Paul Frame
from Garrard Publishing Company
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Davy Crockett
by George Edward Stanley
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 4rd-6th grade
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Davy Crockett: Young Rifleman
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Aileen Wells Parks
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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$7.99
Davy Crockett: Young Rifleman
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Aileen Wells Parks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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Drawing America: Sacajawea
Drawing America
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from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 1st-3rd grade
in Lewis & Clark Expedition (1801-1803) (Location: HISA-19L&C)
Electrical Wizard
by Elizabeth Rusch, illustrated by Oliver Dominguez
from Candlewick Press
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in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Enemies of Slavery
from Holiday House
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Farmland Innovator
Creative Minds Biographies
by Catherine A. Welch, illustrated by Jan Naimo Jones
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 2nd-4th grade
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$4.50 (1 in stock)
Forty-Acre Swindle
TrailBlazer Books
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from Bethany House
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in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
Forty-Acre Swindle
TrailBlazer Books
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Castle Rock Creative
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in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
$8.99
Frederick Douglass: The Right to Dignity
from Emerald Books
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$11.99
Freedom's Pen
Daughters of the Faith
by Wendy G. Lawton
New Edition from Moody Press
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in Daughters of the Faith (Location: SER-DAU)
$7.99
Frontiersman
by Marian T. Place
First Ediition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
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George Rogers Clark: War in the West
Events of the Revolution
by Susan and John Lee, illustrated by Richard Wahl
from Children's Press
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in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Gettysburg Address in Translation
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from Capstone Press
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$7.95 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Grandma Moses
Women of Our Time
by Zibby Oneal, illustrated by Donna Ruff
from Puffin Books
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$2.50 (1 in stock)
Henry Ford
by Dina El Nabli
from HarperCollins
for 1st-3rd grade
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Her Story, Her Words
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How Sweet the Sound
by Carole Boston Weatherford, Illustrated by Frank Morrison
from Atheneum
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$17.99
I am Sacagawea
Ordinary People Change the World
by Brad Meltzer, illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos
from Dial Books for Young Readers
for 1st-3rd grade
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
If You Grew Up With Abraham Lincoln
If You Were There
by Ann McGovern
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Non-fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
In Their Own Words: Abraham Lincoln
In Their Own Words
by George Sullivan
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 3rd-4th grade
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$3.00 (2 in stock)
James J. Hill: Young Empire Builder
by Mildred Comfort
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
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Jane Addams
A Discovery Book
by Helen Stone Peterson
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Jeb Stuart
Historical American Biographies
by Lynda Pflueger
from Enslow
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Jed Smith, Young Western Explorer
by Olive W. Burt
from Bobbs-Merril Co
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Jedediah Smith
by Sharlene and Ted Nelson
from Franklin Watts
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Jefferson Davis
by George Ulrich, John Lee, Susan Lee
from Children's Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
Jim Bowie: Boy with a Hunting Knife
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Gertrude Hecker Winders
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
John Brown: One Man Against Slavery
by Gwen Everett, Illustrated by Jacob Lawrence
from Rizzoli International Publications
for 1st-3rd grade
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
John Jacob Aster: Boy Trader
by Dorothy S. Anderson, illustrated by Gray Morrow
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
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Just a Few Words, Mr. Lincoln
An All Aboard Reading Reader Level 4
by Jean Fritz
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-3rd grade
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$4.99
Kate Douglas Wiggin
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Dharathula H. Millender
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
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Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie
by Peter & Connie Roop
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
Historical Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
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Kit Carson
by Shannon Garst
from Julian Messner
Biography for 1st-3rd grade
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Kit Carson
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from Garrard Publishing Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Last Princess
by Fay Stanley; illustrated by Diane Stanley
from HarperCollins
Picture Book Biographies for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
Legends of the Wild West
by James A. Crutchfield, Bill O'Neal, Dale L. Walker
from Publications International
for 3rd-8th grade
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Listen for the Whippoorwill
Trailblazer Books
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
Listen for the Whippoorwill
Trailblazer Books
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Castle Rock Creative
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
$8.99
Little Annie Oakley and Other Rugged People
by Stewart H. Holbrook
First Ediition from Macmillan
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Lost City
by Ted Lewin
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Latin American & Hispanic Culture (Location: HISMC-LAT)
$8.99
Lotta Crabtree
by Lois V. Harris
from Pelican Publishing Company
for 3rd-6th grade
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Louisa May Alcott: Her Girlhood Diary
by Louisa May Alcott
from Troll Medallion
for 2nd-5th grade
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Magic Tree House #21
by Mary Pope Osborne
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-4th grade
in Magic Tree House (Location: SER-MTH)
Make Way for Sam Houston
by Jean Fritz
from Penguin Putnam
for 3rd-6th grade
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$6.99
Make Way for Sam Houston
by Jean Fritz; illustrated by Elise Primavera
First Edition from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (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)
Mark Twain: Boy of Old Missouri
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Mariam E. Mason
from Bobbs-Merril Co
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Mark Twain: Young Writer
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Mariam E. Mason
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99
Meet Abraham Lincoln
Second Series Landmark / Step Up reprints
by Barbara Cary
from Random House
Biography for 1st-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99
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)
Moses
by Carole Boston Weatherford
1st edition from Hyperion/Madison Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
2007 Caldecott Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$18.99
O Captain, My Captain
by Robert Burleigh; illustrated by Sterling Hundley
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 3rd-8th grade
in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$19.99
Picture Book of Davy Crockett
by David Adler
from Holiday House
Picture Book Biography for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.99
Picture Book of Davy Crockett
by David Adler
from Holiday House
Picture Book Biography for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Picture Book of Florence Nightingale
by David A. Adler, illustrated by John & Alexandra Wallner
Repackaged from Holiday House
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Picture Book of Frederick Douglass
by David A. Adler
Reprint from Holiday House
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Picture Book of Harriet Beecher Stowe
by David A. Adler
1st edition from Holiday House
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
Picture Book of Sacagawea
by David A. Adler, illustrated by Dan Brown
from Holiday House
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.99
Pioneering on the Plains
Frontiers of America
by Edith McCall, illustrated by Carol Rogers
from Children's Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (2 in stock)
Real Book About Abraham Lincoln
by Michael Gorham, illustrated by Elinore Blaisdell
from Doubleday & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Real Books series (Location: VIN-RBA)
Remarkable Rough-Riding Life of Theodore Roosevelt
by Cheryl Harness
from National Geographic
for 3rd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Road to Seneca Falls
Creative Minds Biography
by Gwenyth Swain
from Lerner Publishing Group
Biography for 3rd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Robert E. Lee: Young Confederate
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Helen Albee Monsell
Reprint from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99
Robert Fulton
by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Robert Patterson
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for 3rd-5th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$5.00 (4 in stock)
Sacagawea: American Pathfinder
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Meryl Henderson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Sacajawea
by Joseph Bruchac
from Graphia
Biography for 3rd-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.99
Sam Houston: Boy Chieftain
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Augusta Stevenson
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Sam Houston: Boy Chieftain
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Augusta Stevenson
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Sequoyah: Young Cherokee Guide
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Dorothea J. Snow
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Sitting Bull: Dakota Boy
by Augusta Stevenson
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
So Tall Within
by Gary D. Schmidt, Illustrated by Daniel Minter
from Roaring Brook Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$18.99
Spotlight for Harry
by Eric A. Kimmel, illustrated by Jim Madsen
PJ Library from The PJ Library
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
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