American State History

In many ways, the United States are becoming more homogeneous than they were fifty or a hundred years ago. The rise of mass technology, communication, and entertainment has meant more people get the same information through the same media, resulting in a sameness among people and places not possible before.

The old days were much different. For one thing, until recently a large percentage of the U.S. population were immigrants, bringing with them the culture and ethnic traditions of their home countries. Italians, Chinese, Africans, Dutch, Puerto Ricans, Irish, Jews, Scandinavians—they all tended to settle together, and were thus able to preserve what they knew.

Communication was also far less unifying. Correspondence was much more local, typically, and interactions between regions were limited, usually to word-of-mouth and newspapers. In such circumstances, different parts of the country often seemed almost like different countries altogether; this was especially true in places that didn't become part of the Union until relatively late in the nation's history.

Each state has a history of its own, and each one is uniquely fascinating. Even where there seems to be considerable overlap, the differences are very real, such as the difference between the California Gold Rush and the Alaska Gold Rush. An appreciation of the diversity of our nation is almost always preceded by a knowledge of the individual states and regions within it.

Some states naturally have more written about them than others, like Texas, which before it was a U.S. state was an autonomous nation. Nevertheless, we're working on building a diverse collection, though we do have a slight bias for books about the Pacific Northwest. We also have a bias for books from a Christian perspective, though we carry both Christian and secular titles.

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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177 Items found Print
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54-40 or Fight!
by Bob & Jan Young, maps & drawings by Barry Martin
from Julian Messner
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Adventure to Home
by Robert Wells, illustrated by Mary Stevens
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 3rd-5th grade
in 19th Century America (Location: HISA-19C)
Adventures of Captain Bonneville
by Washington Irving, illustrated by Robert Reynolds
Klickitat from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Astoria
by Washington Irving
from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 8th-12th grade
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
Atlas of Oregon
by William G. Loy (director and cartographer), text by Clyde P. Patton
from University of Oregon
for Adult
in World & U.S. Atlases (Location: GEO-ATLAS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
B is for Beaver
by Marie & Roland Smith, illustrated by Michael Roydon
from Sleeping Bear Press
for nursery-3rd grade
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$18.99 $8.50 (1 in stock)
Back Roads of Oregon
by Earl Thollander
from Clarkson Potter Publishers
for 9th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
Back Roads of Washington
by Earl Thollander
from Clarkson Potter Publishers
for 9th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
Black Man in America
from Franklin Watts
for 6th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Blood of Freedom
Williamsburg in America Series Book 3
by Earl Schenck Miers
from Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Brer Rabbit and His Tricks
by Ennis Rees; illustrated by Edward Gorey
from Young Scott Books
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Bridge of the Gods
by F. H. Balch, illustrated by L. Maynard Dixon
from A.C. McClurg & Co.
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
California Fairy Tales
Travel and Adventure Library for Young Folks
by Monica Shannon, illustrated by C. E. Millard
from Doubleday, Doran & Company Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
California Gold Days
by Helen Bauer
1961 Printing from California State Department of Education
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
California Gold Rush
by Ralph K. Andrist
from Troll Associates
for 6th-10th grade
in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
California Gold Rush
Landmark #6
by May McNeer & Lynd Ward
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
California Gold Rush
Spencer Press Landmark #7 (RH#6)
by May McNeer & Lynd Ward
from Spencer Press
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Captain Cook R. N. the Resolute Mariner
by Thomas Vaughan and A. A. St. C. M. Murray-Oliver
from Oregon Historical Society Press
Museum Exhibition Catalog for Adult
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Caravan to Oregon
by Herbert E. Arntson
from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Carmen of the Golden Coast
Children of America Stories
by Madeline Brandeis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Cassie's Journey
by Brett Harvey; illustrated by Deborah Kogan Ray
from Holiday House
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Oregon Trail (Location: HISA-19OR)
$6.50 (2 in stock)
Chief Joseph Country
by Bill Gulick
from Caxton Press
for 8th-Adult
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
Chief Joseph of the Nez Perces
by Shannon Garst, illustrated by Douglas Gorsline
from Julian Messner
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Chief Seattle
by Elizabeth Rider Montgomery
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Chippewa Indians
Sonia Bleeker's Tribes of the Americas
by Sonia Bleeker, illustrated by Patricia Boodell
1968 Printing from William Morrow & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Christians on the Oregon Trail
from College Press
for Adult
in Church History (Location: XCH-HIS)
Circle of Seasons
by Ann Nolan Clark; illustrated by W. T. Mars
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Colonial Entrepreneur
by Olivia Coolidge, edited by Danny Smith
from Tilbury House Publishing
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Columbia River
Rivers of America for Young People
by Stewart H. Holbrook
from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 4th-8th grade
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
Columbia River
by Tom Lashnits
from Facts On File
for 9th-12th grade
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
Columbia, The
Rivers of America
by Stewart H. Holbrook
from Rinehart & Company, Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
David Douglas, A Naturalist at Work
by Jack Nisbet
from Sasquatch Books
for 10th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
Desert Harvest
Land of the Free Series
by Vanya Oakes, illustrated by Isami Kashiwagi
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Diedrich Knickerbocker's A History of New York
by Washington Irving, illustrated by F.O.C. Darley, introduction by Andrew B. Myers
Facsimile, First Printing from Sleepy Hollow Press
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Disaster at Johnstown: The Great Flood
Landmark #109
by Hildegarde Dolson
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Eagle and the Fort
by Dorothy Morrison
from Atheneum
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Eagle Drums
by Nasugraq Rainey Hopson
from Running Press
for 4th-6th grade
2024 Newberry Honor Book
Early Days in Old Oregon
by Katharine B. Judson
from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
Early Portland
by Eugene E. Snyder
1st edition from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 10th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
East of the Cascades
by Phil F. Brogan
3rd edition from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 8th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
Embarcadero
by Richard H. Dillon, foreword by William Hogan
from Coward McCann
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
Explorers of the Pacific
by A. Grove Day
from Duell, Sloan and Pearce
for 7th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Facing West
by Kathleen V. Kudlinski
for 4th-7th grade
in Oregon Trail (Location: HISA-19OR)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Finns and Finnicans
by Walter Mattila
from Walter Mattila
for Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$38.00 (1 in stock)
Fishermen
by Daniel Jacobson, illustrated by Richard Cuffari
from Franklin Watts
for 4th-8th grade
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
For Ma and Pa
by Wilma Pitchford Hays, illustrated by Peter Burchard
from Coward McCann
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Four Wagons West
by Robert Frye Watt
from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
General History of Oregon
by C. H. Carey
3rd edition from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 11th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
Geology of Oregon
by Ewart M. Baldwin
2nd edition from University of Oregon
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
Give All to Oregon
by Cecil P. Dryden
from Hastings House
for 9th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
Going West
by Martin Waddell, illustratred by Philippe Dupasquier
from Harper & Row
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Gold in California
North Star Books #2
by Paul I. Wellman, illustrated by Lorence F. Bjorklund
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Gold Rush
by May McNeer, illustrated by Lynd Ward
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Gold, Guns, and Ghost Towns
from Stanford University Press
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Great American Gold Rush
by Rhoda Blumberg
from Atheneum
for 7th-9th grade
1990 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in California State (Location: HISA-19CGR)
Half-Breed
by Evelyn Sibley Lampman
from Doubleday & Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: Fiction (Location: ZCLE-FIC)
Hawaii, Gem of the Pacific
Landmark #49
by Oscar Lewis
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
Here Rolled the Covered Wagons
by Albert Salisbury
from Superior Publishing Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Historical Atlas of the Pacific Northwest
by Derek Hayes
First Edition from Sasquatch Books
for 4th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
Home in the Woods
by Eliza Wheeler
from Nancy Paulsen Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
How Edison's Lamp Helped Light the West
by John Dierdorff
from Pacific Power & Light
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
How Grace Got Her Name
by Alice Elshoff, illustrated by Jennifer Curtis
from Moonglade Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
How to Get Rich in the California Gold Rush
by Tod Olson & Scott Allred
from National Geographic
for 3rd-8th grade
in California State (Location: HISA-19CGR)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Indians of Western Oregon
by Stephen Dow Beckham, illustrated by Christina Romano
from Arago Books
for 7th-12th grade
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
Island of the Blue Dolphins
by Scott O'Dell
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic Fictio for 5th-8th grade
1961 Newbery Medal Winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.00 (2 in stock)
Islands of Hawai'i
from Hawaii Preparatory Academy
for 4th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Jamestown, John Smith, and Pocahontas
by Judith Edwards
from Enslow
for 4th-6th grade
in Jamestown Colony (Location: HISA-17JA)
Jamestown: First English Colony
by Marshall W. Fishwick
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 3rd-8th grade
in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
Jessie Benton Fremont
North Star Books #32
by Marguerite Higgins, illustrated by Bea Holmes
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Joe Meek
by Shannon Garst
from Julian Messner
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Johnstown Flood
by David McCullough
from Simon and Schuster
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
Joseph, Chief of the Nez Perce
by Dean Pollock
from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 5th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Junipero Serra: Founder of the California Missions
by Linda Gondosch, Illustrated by Emmanuel Beaudesson
from Ignatius Press
for 5th-8th grade
in California State (Location: HISA-19CGR)
$14.99
Kit Carson
A Discovery Book
by Nardi Reeder Campion, illustrated by Shannon Stirnweis
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Klondike Gold
by Alice Provensen
from Simon and Schuster
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Last Princess
by Fay Stanley; illustrated by Diane Stanley
from HarperCollins
Picture Book Biographies for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Letters of the West
by Michelle E. Walch & John Maddin, illustrated by John Maddin
First Ediition
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
Liberty Letters: The Story of Pocahontas, 1613
Liberty Letters
by Nancy LeSourd
1st edition from Zondervan
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Series Books (Location: SER-MISC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Little John of New England
Children of America Stories
by Madeline Brandeis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Lone Journey
by Jeanette Eaton, illustrated by Woodi Ishmael
from Harcourt
for 7th-10th grade
1945 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Long Ago in Oregon
by Claudia Lewis, illustrated by Joel Fontaine
from Harper & Row
for Kindergarten-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Lotta Crabtree
by Lois V. Harris
from Pelican Publishing Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Lucretia Ann on the Oregon Trail
by Ruth Gipson Plowhead
from Caxton Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
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)
Making of America
by Robert D. Johnston
from National Geographic
for 6th-9th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Mammals of Grand Canyon
by Donald F. Hoffmeister, illustrated by James Gordon Irving
from University of Illinois Press
for 8th-12th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Many Horses
by Elizabeth Lambert Wood, Illustrated by Dean Pollock
from Binford & Mort Publishing
Horse Stories for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Marcus and Narcissa Whitman
by James Daugherty
from Viking Press
for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Marcus and Narcissa Whitman
A Discovery Book
by Marian T. Place
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Marcus Whitman: The Great Command
by Nard Jones
2nd edition from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 6th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
McLoughlin and Old Oregon
by Eva Emery Dye
1936 Printing from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
Mike and Dick on a Washington Apple Farm
The Farm Life Series
by Joan Liffring
from Follett Publishing Co.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Muslin Town
by Gwendolen Lampshire Hayden and Pearl Clements Gischler
from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Narcissa and Marcus Whitman
Heroes of God
by Anne West Williams
from Association Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Narcissa Whitman
by Jeanette Eaton, woodcuts by Woodi Ishmael
from Harcourt, Brace & Company
for 7th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Navarre of the North
Travel and Adventure Library for Young Folks
by Esther Birdsall Darling, illustrated by Charles Livingston Bull
1930s printing from Doubleday, Doran & Company Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Next Wave
Scientists in the Field
by Elizabeth Rusch
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for 3rd-6th grade
in Energy, Forces & Motion (Location: SCI-PHY)
$9.50 (1 in stock)
Nickel's Worth of Skim Milk
by Robert J. Hastings, illustrated by Steve Kerr
from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
for 6th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Nkwala
by Edith Lambert Sharp, illustrated by William Winter
from Little, Brown & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Oak's Long Shadow
by Olive W. Burt, illustrated by Frederick T. Chapman
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
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