Regional History

Once upon a time, schoolchildren could be expected to know the name of the mountains separating France from Spain, the location of the Nile River, the capitals of all fifty states, and what and where the Pampas could be found. Now, even adults have a hard time naming the most populous city in the U.S. or the countries of Asia. These are, indeed, sad times, and doomed to become sadder if this geographic ignorance is not turned to knowledge.

Without a firm grasp on geography, how can we expect to know anything about history? History is rooted in a sense of place. Why did the Union troops lose the Battle of Cold Harbor? Because they were attacking Confederate fortifications uphill. And if you don't know anything about the Alps, the fact that Hannibal's army crossed them with elephants won't surprise you near as much as it should. Understanding the physical terrain and the demographics of an area are essential to understanding the history of that region.

Which is why studying history by place is such a good idea. There are cultural considerations, of course, and these can be immensely helpful guides in their own right, but simply looking at the lay of the land so to speak will provide a sense of context more abstract boundaries never can. African history, for instance, makes so much more sense if you know what the continent is like.

Even cultures are influenced by geography. Take the United States: some of the most important advances in transportation technology happened within her borders largely due to necessity. The steam engine train was perfected here, automobiles and airplanes were invented here, and in the last few decades we've led the world in space exploration.

It's not that no one traveled before the 19th and 20th century, or outside the North American continent—it's just that because the new nation was so vast, and there were so many natural barriers (the Mississippi River, the Grand Tetons and Great Smokey Mountains, the Mojave Desert), new forms of getting from here to there were not only a good idea, they were a necessity.

There probably isn't one instance in the history of the world in which geography and events weren't directly tied. Certainly this is true for military history, and exploration, and agriculture, but it's also true of ideas and ideologies. Part of the reason slavery was such an important part of Southern culture in the U.S. was that cotton was an immensely growable crop and only armies of slaves could be counted on to get all the work done; in order to justify the use of forced labor, however, a philosophical ethos was developed.

Other instances may be more obscure, but no less true. In France, the mild climate and fertile country led to a series of approaches to thought that emphasized experience and the pursuit of pleasure for its own sake (particularly existentialism); in ancient Greece, the geographical isolation enforced by mountains and seas allowed democratic polity to emerge among the city states.

Geography and history are pretty much Siamese twins, and academic technology has not advanced to the point where they can be separated without risk of life to both. We've organized the subcategories in this section along pretty standard lines (continents, countries, and the like), but standards arise because they work. Explore a region you're unfamiliar with; you're likely to uncover quite a few surprises.

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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20 Plays for U. S. History Classes
by Dean R. Bowman
Revised from Walch Publishing
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20th Century Wars
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Abe Lincoln Grows Up
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Abraham Lincoln
Heroes of History
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Abraham Lincoln
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1951 Newbery Honor Book
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Abraham Lincoln's World
by Genevieve Foster, expanded by Joanna Foster
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Accidental Voyage
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Across America on an Emigrant Train
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1994 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
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Adam and His Kin
by Ruth Beechick
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Adopted by Indians
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After Tupac & D Foster
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2009 Newbery Honor Book
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Al Capone Does My Shirts
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2005 Newbery Honor Book
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All That Glitters
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America and Vietnam
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America from the Beginning - Student Manual
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America's War Heroes
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American History in Verse
by Burton Stevenson
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Poetry for 3rd-Adult
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American Waterways: Canal Days
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Amistad
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Amistad Slave Revolt and American Abolition
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Amistad: A Long Road to Freedom
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And Now Miguel
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1954 Newbery Medal winner
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Anna and the King (adapted)
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Anne Bradstreet
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Anne Frank: Beyond the Diary
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Anne Frank: Beyond the Diary
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Anne of Avonlea
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Anno's Journey
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At the Point of the Bayonet
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Atlas of North American Exploration
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Augustus Caesar's World
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Australia - An Interdisciplinary Unit
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Avion My Uncle Flew
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1947 Newbery Honor Book
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Beat the Story-Drum, Pum-Pum
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Beautiful Lie
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Beckoning Road
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Becoming Naomi Leon
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Beethoven Lives Upstairs
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Behind Enemy Lines
Sterling Point Books
by H.R. DeMallie
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by Laura E. Williams
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Behind the Blue and Gray
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Ben Franklin
Sterling Point Books
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Heroes of History
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Between the Forest and the Hills
Bethlehem Books Adventure Library
by Ann Lawrence
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Humorous Fantasy for 7th-10th grade
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Beyond the Sacred Page
Book of Books #2
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Big Annie of Calumet
by Jerry Stanley
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Biography of Benjamin Franklin
Sons of Liberty Series
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Biography of George Washington
Sons of Liberty Series
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Biography of James A. Garfield
Sons of Liberty Series
by William Thayer
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Black Heroes of the American Revolution
by Burke Davis
1992 Odyssey Classics edition from Clarion Books
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Black Potatoes
by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
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2002 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
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Black Radishes
by Susan Lynn Meyer
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Blood on the River: James Town, 1607
by Elisa Carbone
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Blue Birds
by Caroline Starr Rose
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Bobby’s Friends
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Bold Journey
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Bold Journey
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Bonnie Prince Charlie
by G. A. Henty
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Book of the Ancient Romans
by Dorothy Mills
2nd edition from Memoria Press
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Book of the Ancient Romans - Teacher Guide
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Boris
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Boston Jane
by Jennifer L. Holm
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Boy and the Samurai
by Erik Christian Haugaard
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Boy in the Alamo
by Margaret Cousins
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Boy in the Alamo
by Margaret Cousins
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Historical fiction for 4th-9th grade
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Boy on the Wooden Box
by Leon Leyson
Reprint from Atheneum
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Boy's War
by David Michell
1st edition from OMF
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Boys in the Boat adapted for Young Readers
by Daniel James Brown, adapted by Gregory Mone
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Boys Who Rocked the World
by Michelle Roehm McCann
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Boys without Names
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Boys' War
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Breaking Stalin's Nose
by Eugene Yelchin
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2012 Newbery Honor Book
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Bring Your Eyes and See
International Adventures
by Steve Goode, Mary Goode
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Bronze Bow
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Buffalo Bill
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Buffalo Hunt
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Historical Non-Fiction for 4th-8th grade
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Bull Run
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Bulu: African Wonder Dog
by Dick Houston
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Burying the Sun
by Gloria Whelan
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Burying the Sun
by Gloria Whelan
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By Right of Conquest
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