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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
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
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
Adventures of Munford: Munford Meets Lewis & Clark
by Jamie Aramini
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Amazing Impossible Erie Canal
by Cheryl Harness
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Historical Non-Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
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America in the Time of Abraham Lincoln
by Sally Senzell Isaacs
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Angel Knew Papa and the Dog
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Big Annie of Calumet
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by Louise Erdrich
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Bite of the Gold Bug
by Barthe DeClements
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Boston Jane
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Boy in the Alamo
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Boy in the Alamo
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Historical fiction for 4th-9th grade
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$4.00 (2 in stock)
By the Shores of Silver Lake
Little House Series #5
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
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1940 Newbery Honor Book
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$9.99
Captain's Dog
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Captive Treasure
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by Mary Jane Carr
2nd edition from Christian Liberty Press
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by Russell Freedman
from Clarion Books
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$5.00 (3 in stock)
Children's Stories
Tales of the Wild West Volume 6
by Rick Steber
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Civil War
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Civil War
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$3.00 (2 in stock)
Civil War Days
American Kids in History
by David C. King
1st edition from John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Civil War for Kids
by Janis Herbert
from Chicago Review Press
Activity Guide for 4th-7th grade
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$16.95
Civil War Handbook - Confederate Captain
by Robin Robinson
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Civil War Handbook - Union Lieutenant
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$7.00 (1 in stock)
Civil War Heroines
by Jill Canon
from Bellerophon Books
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$2.50 (1 in stock)
Clara Barton
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Copper-Toed Boots
by Marguerite de Angeli
from Wayne State University
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
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$18.95
Courage to Run
Daughters of the Faith
by Wendy G. Lawton
from Moody Press
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$8.99
Cowboys
Tales of the Wild West Volume 4
by Rick Steber
from Bonanza Publishing
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in Cowboys & Cattlemen (Location: HISA-19CO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Cowboys of the Wild West
by Russell Freedman
from Sandpiper Books
Non-fiction for 4th-8th grade
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$6.50 (1 in stock)
Cowboys of the Wild West
by Russell Freedman
from Scholastic Inc.
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$4.50 (1 in stock)
Crossing Bok Chitto
by Tim Tingle
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$12.95
Curious World of Calpurnia Tate
by Jacqueline Kelly
Reprint from Square Fish Publishing
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2010 Newbery Honor
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$7.99
Daily Life in a Covered Wagon
by Paul Erickson
from Puffin Books
Historical Reference for 3rd-5th Grade
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$9.99
Daniel Boone
by Daniel Boone
from Applewood Books
Biography for 4th-8th grade
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Davy Crockett
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Biography for 4th-8th grade
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Davy Crockett
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
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$11.99
Diary of an Early American Boy
by Eric Sloane
from Dover Publications
American History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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$14.95
Diary of an Early American Boy
by Eric Sloane
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
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$4.00 (2 in stock)
Diary of an Early American Boy
by Eric Sloane
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
Did You Invent The Phone All Alone, Alexander Graham Bell?
by Gilda Berger, Melvin Berger
from Scholastic Inc.
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$4.99
Down the Big River
Purple House Living History Library
by Stephen W. Meader, illustrated by Edward Shenton
from Purple House Press
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$10.99
Draw 50 Boats, Ships, Trucks, and Trains
by Lee Ames
from Watson-Guptill Publications
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$9.99
Era of Modernization Through the 1930s
by Kathy Sammis
from Walch Publishing
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
by Jacqueline Kelly
Reprint from Square Fish Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
2010 Newbery Honor
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$8.99
Farmer Boy
Little House Series #3
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
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$8.99
Farmer Boy
Little House Series #3
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
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$9.99
Fear in the Forest
by Cateau de Leeuw
from Bethlehem Books
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$14.95
First Four Years
Little House Series #9
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
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$8.99
Follow the Drinking Gourd
by Jeanette Winter
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
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$7.99
For Home & Country
by Angela Herb & Norman Bolotin
from Scholastic Inc.
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$3.50 (2 in stock)
Fort Clatsop
by Daniel J. Dattilio
from KC Publishing
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$4.50 (2 in stock)
Forty-Acre Swindle
TrailBlazer Books
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
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Forty-Acre Swindle
TrailBlazer Books
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from Castle Rock Creative
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$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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$7.99
From Sea to Shining Sea for Children
by Peter Marshall, David Manuel & Anna Fishel
from Revell Publishing
American History Reference for 4th-6th grade
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington Carver
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
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$11.99
Gettysburg Address in Translation
by Kay M., Olson
from Capstone Press
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$7.95
Go Free or Die
by Jeri Ferris
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
Biography for 4th-6th grade
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$9.99
Gold Rush Dogs
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from Alaska Northwest Books
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Gold Rush Fever
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from Kids Can Press
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Grandfather's Dance
by Patricia MacLachlan
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
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$6.99
Grandpa's Stories
Tales of the Wild West Volume 10
by Rick Steber
from Bonanza Publishing
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in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
$2.50 (2 in stock)
Great Fire
by Jim Murphy
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
1996 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
in 19th Century America (Location: HISA-19C)
$7.99
Great Fire
by Jim Murphy
Later Printing from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in 19th Century America (Location: HISA-19C)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Harriet Tubman
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Harriet Tubman
by Frances T. Humphreville
from Houghton Mifflin
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$2.00 (1 in stock)
Hattie Big Sky
by Kirby Larson
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$8.99
Heading West
by William E. Hill
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$1.50 (2 in stock)
House Divided
Young Founders 1863
by Elizabeth Massie
from Tor Classic
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
How We Crossed the West
by Rosalyn Schanzer
Reprint from National Geographic
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$7.95
If You Grew Up With Abraham Lincoln
If You Were There
by Ann McGovern
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Non-fiction for 2nd-5th grade
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$4.00 (2 in stock)
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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$3.00 (2 in stock)
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
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Incredible Journey of Lewis and Clark
by Rhoda Blumberg
from HarperCollins
Historical Reference for 4th-7th grade
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$12.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Incredible Journey of Lewis and Clark
by Rhoda Blumberg
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Reference for 4th-6th grade
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$6.00 (2 in stock)
Indians
Tales of the Wild West Volume 3
by Rick Steber
from Bonanza Publishing
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$2.50 (1 in stock)
Industrial Revolution
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from Nomad Press
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$15.95 $8.00 (1 in stock)
J. Pierpont Morgan
by Michael Burgan
1st edition from Compass Point Books
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$2.00 (1 in stock)
Jed Smith
by Frank Latham
from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 4th-8th grade
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$10.50 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Jericho's Journey
by G. Clifton Wisler
from Puffin Books
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$3.50 (1 in stock)
Jessie Benton Fremont
by Marguerite Higgins
from Beautiful Feet Books
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$13.95
John Flynn
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
John Lincoln Clem: Civil War Drummer Boy
Based on a True Story
by E. F. Abbott
from Square Fish Publishing
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in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$9.99
Journey West on the Oregon Trail
by Cecile Alyce Nolan
from Rain Dance Publishing
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in Oregon Trail (Location: HISA-19OR)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Kids on Strike!
by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
from Houghton Mifflin
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$10.99
Kirsten's Cook Book
American Girl
by Jodi Evert
from Scholastic Inc.
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$2.40 (1 in stock)
Klondike Fever
by Michael Cooper
from Clarion Books
for 4th-6th rgade
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Last Safe House
by Barbara Greenwood
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Slavery & the Underground Railroad (Location: HISA-19SL)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Laura Ingalls Wilder Country
by William Anderson
from HarperCollins
Literature Resource for 4th-8th grade
in Little House Materials (Location: LIR-LHM)
$24.95
Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Biography
by William Anderson
from HarperTrophy
for 4th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.99
Lewis & Clark
by Steven Kroll
from Holiday House
Historical Non-Fiction for 1st-4th grade
in Lewis & Clark (Location: HISA-19L&C)
$7.99
Lewis & Clark Hands On Art & English Activities
by Sharon Jeffus
from Geography Matters
for 4th-6th grade
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$12.95 $8.00 (1 in stock)
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