United States History

What should we say about the United States of America? So much has already been said, adding our two cents is a bit redundant or presumptuous, depending on your perspective. Certainly, no one needs us to outline the facts, the major events and figures, or to describe our unique written Constitution and democratic-republican system.

We can offer a bit of perspective. It's nothing new, nothing we came up with on our own, but it is different from a lot of the prevailing notions about both history in general and our nation in particular.

For starters, there's no specific reference to the U.S. in the Bible. The principles found in God's Word that apply to all nations certainly apply to the United States as well, but we aren't a Christian nation, we don't hold a special place in biblical prophecy, and Manifest Destiny is the result of Enlightenment rationalist views about the Progress of Mankind rather than being rooted in any kind of Christian attitude.

That said, many of the first settlers of the New World were dedicated Christians seeking the right to worship God without the constraints of political entanglement or government-imposed strictures and doctrine. The Pilgrims came in 1620, just 13 years after the first successful English settlement at Jamestown, and the Puritan settlers followed soon after.

Their arrivals and colonization didn't make America Christian, of course. It was a broad continent, largely unknown, and the initial colonies weren't strictly bound together at first, as they were later to become. By that time, things had become substantially more secular, so that by the 18th century many Americans were just as degenerate as their European counterparts. Fortunately, men like Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield were around to preach the true Gospel, and to initiate a revival known as the Great Awakening.

Secular forces were still at work, though. While there were definitely many Christians involved, the American Revolution was largely the result of Enlightenment philosophizing, and men were convinced that America could produce a virtuous and stable population if education and participatory government were enforced. So they rebelled against England, and the United States republic was formed.

Ever since, groups and individuals have tried to call Americans back to their Christian roots. That's the wrong strategy: we don't need to call anyone back to anything, we need to point the way forward to the pursuit of Christ and the bringing of His Gospel and glory to every corner of the earth no matter what our country of origin. That America has been so materially blessed simply means we have more options at our disposal for proclaiming and bringing the Word to the rest of the world.

Our study of United States history is consequently Christ-centered. Not because we think America is more Christian than other countries, but because it (like all other nations) is under Christ's control as King of Heaven and Lord of Time. Of course, you shouldn't abandon study of the facts, people and events, but they only attain true meaning when viewed through the lens of Christ's ultimate plan of redemption and self-glorification.

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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176 Items found Print
Active Filters: Biographies, 9th grade (Ages 14-15), In-Stock Books & Materials
Abraham Lincoln's World
by Genevieve Foster, expanded by Joanna Foster
from Beautiful Feet Books
Historical Non-fiction for 7th-10th grade
1945 Newbery Honor Book
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Admiral of the Ocean Sea
by Samuel E. Morison
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Adventures of Davy Crockett
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Al Capone Does My Shirts
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2005 Newbery Honor Book
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Amelia Earhart
Lives to Remember
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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 Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank, translated by B. M. Mooyaart-Doubleday with an introduction by Eleanor Roosevelt
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Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
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World's Greatest Literature
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B. Franklin, Printer
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Battle from the Start
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Benjamin Franklin: The Autobiography and Other Writings
Signet Classics
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Betty Before X
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Beyond Stateliest Marble
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Biography of James A. Garfield
Sons of Liberty Series
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Bombs and Blessings
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Bonhoeffer: The Cost of Freedom - Audio Drama (CD)
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Book of Discovery
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Boys in the Boat adapted for Young Readers
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Buffalo Bill
by Helen Cody Wetmore
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Call of Duty
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Captain Edward L. Beach: Around the World Under Water
by Beril Becker
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Carry a Big Stick
Leaders in Action Series
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Biography for 9th-Adult
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1956 Newbery Medal winner
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Carver: A Life in Poems
by Marilyn Nelson
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2002 Newbery Honor Book, Coretta Scott King Honor Award
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Cheer the Lonesome Traveller
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Christopher Columbus
by Samuel Eliot Morison
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Churchill
by Paul Johnson
Reprint from Penguin Putnam
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Claudette Colvin
by Philip Hoose
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2010 Newbery Honor Book, 2010 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book, National Book Award
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Co. Aytch
by Sam Watkins
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Combat Nurses of World War II
Landmark #116
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Come On, Seabiscuit!
by Ralph Moody
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Defeating the Totalitarian Lie
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Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank
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Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank
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Diary of a Young Girl
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Early Days of a Cowboy on the Pecos
by James F. Hinkle
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Emancipation Proclomation
by Tonya Bolden
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Escape from Corregidor
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Evidence Not Seen
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Explorers, Missionaries, and Trappers
by Kieran Doherty
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Eyewitnesses at the Battle of Franklin
by David R. Logsdon
4th edition
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Faith of Our Fathers: Scenes from American Church History
by Mark Sidwell, editor
from Bob Jones University Press
Church History Reference for 7th-12th grade
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Faithful Spy
by John Hendrix
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For You They Signed
by Marilyn Boyer
All-in-One Edition from Master Books
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$39.19
Forgotten Founding Father
Leaders in Action Series
by Stephen Mansfield
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Four Voyages
by Christopher Columbus
from Penguin Classics
Historical Primary Sources for 9th-Adult
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$17.00
Free Indeed
by Mark Sidwell
Expanded from Bob Jones University Press
Biography for 6th-12th grade
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington
Sterling Point Books
by Sterling North
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Biography for 5th-9th grade
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George Washington & the Founding of a Nation
by Albert Marrin
from Dutton Juvenile
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George Washington's World (pictorial hardcover)
by Genevieve Foster
from Charles Scribner's Sons
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George Washington: Man and Monument
by Frank Freidel and Lonnelle Aikman
from Washington National Monument Assoc.
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George Washington: Soldier and Man
by North Callahan
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George Whitefield
by Arnold A. Dallimore
from Crossway Books
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George Whitefield: Wayfaring Witness
by Stuart C. Henry
from Abingdon Press
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Give Me Liberty
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Gladys Aylward: The Little Woman
by Gladys Aylward
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God and Ronald Reagan
by Paul Kengor
Reprint from Harper Perennial
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Going Solo
by Roald Dahl
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Harriet Beecher Stowe
by Suzanne M. Coil
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Harriet Tubman: Moses of Her People
from Dover Publications
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Helen Keller: The Story of My Life
Signet Classics
by Helen Keller
Reprint from Signet Classics
Autobiography for 7th-10th grade
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Helen Keller: The Story of My Life
by Helen Keller
from Dover Publications
Autobiography for 7th-10th grade
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$1.50 (4 in stock)
Hero Tales
by Theodore Roosevelt & Henry Cabot Lodge
from Cumberland House
Biography for 7th-10th grade
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Hero Tales from American Life
by Francis Trevelyan Miller
1994 reprint from Mantle Ministries
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Hiding Place
by Corrie Ten Boom
from Bantam Books
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$8.99
Hiding Place
by Corrie Ten Boom
35th Anniversary Edition from Chosen Books
Biography for 6th-10th grade
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$15.99
Hiding Place - Audio Drama (CD)
by Corrie Ten Boom
Unabridged from Focus on the Family
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$23.99
History of US Book 7
History of US Book 7
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
in History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$15.95 $11.00 (2 in stock)
Hitler
by Albert Marrin
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.95
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
by Harriet Jacobs
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
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Indian Boyhood
by Charles A. Eastman, illustrated by E.L. Blumenschein
from E.M. Hale and Company
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Inventing America: The Life of Benjamin Franklin
by Mark Essig
for 6th-12th grade
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$7.00 (1 in stock)
James Fenimore Cooper
by Donald A. Ringe
from Twayne Publishers
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Jason Lee
Sowers Series
by Charles Ludwig
from Mott Media
Biography for 7th-9th grade
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Jessie Benton Fremont
by Marguerite Higgins
from Beautiful Feet Books
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$13.95
John Brown Russwurm
by Mary Sagarin, Introduction by Ernest Kaiser
1st edition from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
John James Audubon: Painting America's Wildlife
by Janet Stevenson, illustrated by Robert Boehmer
from Encyclopedia Britannica
for 7th-10th grade
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
John Paul Jones
Sterling Point Books
by Armstrong Sperry
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Biography for 5th-9th grade
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$4.50 (1 in stock)
Jonathan and Sarah
by Edna Gerstner
from Soli Deo Gloria
Biography for 9th-Adult
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$10.00 (2 in stock)
Jonathan Edwards
by Stephen J. Nichols
from P&R Publishing
Biography for 9th-Adult
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$16.99
Journals of Lewis & Clark
Signet Classics
by John Bakeless, editor
from Signet Classics
Primary Source Documents for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$8.95
Journey and Ordeal of Cabeza de Vaca
Dover editions
by Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca
from Dover Publications
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$10.95
Kennedy Assassinated! The World Mourns
by Wilborn Hampton
from Candlewick Press
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1998 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Kinderlager
by Milton J. Nieuwsma
from Scholastic Inc.
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Lady of Arlington
by Harnett T. Kane
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Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Biography
by William Anderson
from HarperTrophy
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$9.99
Laura Ingalls Wilder: Pioneer Girl
by Laura Ingalls Wilder, edited by Pamela Smith Hill
from South Dakota State Historical Society Press
for 7th-Adult
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$39.99
Lewis and Clark Expedition - 3-volume Set
by Meriwether Lewis
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
Primary Source Documents for 9th-Adult
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$32.00 (1 in stock)
Life & Times of Washington
by Mario Rivoire, translated by C.J. Richards
from Arnoldo Mondadori Editore
Biography for 8th-12th grade
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Life of General Stonewall Jackson
by Mary Williamson
from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
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$11.75 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Life of George Washington
by Mary Williamson
from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
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$11.75
Life of J.E.B. Stuart
by Mary Williamson
2nd edition from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
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$11.75
Life on the Mississippi
Signet Classics
by Mark Twain
from Signet Classics
Autobiography for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$4.95
Lincoln: A Photobiography
by Russell Freedman
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1988 Newbery Medal winner
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$12.99 $7.50 (5 in stock)
Lindbergh Alone
by Brendan Gill
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 4th-9th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Lives of the Presidents
by Kathleen Krull & Kathryn Hewitt
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-Adult
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$5.00 (3 in stock)
Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence
by Benson J. Lossing
3rd Printing from WallBuilder Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
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$5.00 (2 in stock)
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