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'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.
Did you find this review helpful?
115 Items found Print
Active Filters: 10th grade (Ages 15-16), Trade Paperback, Used Books & Materials
Abraham Lincoln's World
by Genevieve Foster
from Beautiful Feet Books
Historical Non-fiction for 7th-10th grade
1945 Newbery Honor Book
in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
Abraham Lincoln: The Man & His Faith
by G. Frederick Owen
from Tyndale House
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Al Capone Does My Shirts
by Gennifer Choldenko
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 7th-10th grade
2005 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.49 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Alone Yet Not Alone
by Tracy Leininger Craven
Mti from Zonderkidz
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
America's Christian History
by Gary DeMar
2nd edition from American Vision Press
for 10th-Adult
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
American Civil War
by Robert K. Krick
from Osprey Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
American Covenant
by Marshall Foster
from Mayflower Institute
for 9th-Adult
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
American Revolutionaries
by Milton Meltzer
from HarperCollins
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
American Waterways: Canal Days
by Jeanne Munn Bracken, ed.
from History Compass
for 7th-12th grade
in 19th Century America (Location: HISA-19C)
$4.40 (1 in stock)
Amistad Slave Revolt and American Abolition
by Karen Zeinert
from Linnet Books
for 7th-10th grade
in Slavery & the Underground Railroad (Location: HISA-19SL)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Anne Bradstreet
by Heidi L. Nichols
from P&R Publishing
Biography for 10th-Adult
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
$9.79 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Anne Frank: Beyond the Diary
by Ruud van der Rol & Rian Verhoeven
from Puffin Books
for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Atlas of the North American Indian
by Carl Waldman
1st edition from Facts On File
for 9th-Adult
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
Beginning of the Republic
A Basic History of the United States Volume 2
by Clarence B. Carson
from American Textbook Committee
American History Reference for 9th-Adult
in Basic History of the United States (Location: HISCUR-BHUS)
$17.00 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Black Odyssey
by Mary Cable
from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Slavery & the Underground Railroad (Location: HISA-19SL)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Borrowed House
Bethlehem Books Young Adult Bookshelf
by Hilda Van Stockum
from Purple House Press
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Butter in the Well: Historical Diary 1868-1888
by Linda K. Hubalek
from Butterfield Books
for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Civil War Songbook
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Civil War: 1850-1895
American History by Era Volume 5
by Auriana Ojeda, book editor
from Greenhaven Press
for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$11.20 (1 in stock)
Civil War: A History
by Harry Hansen, Introduction by Richard S. Wheeler, Foreword by Gary Gallagher
from New American Library
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Colonial Experience
A Basic History of the United States Volume 1
by Clarence B. Carson
from American Textbook Committee
American History Reference for 9th-Adult
in Basic History of the United States (Location: HISCUR-BHUS)
$17.00 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Colonial Period: 1607-1750
American History by Era Volume 2
by Brenda Stalcup (editor)
from Greenhaven Press
for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$8.80 (1 in stock)
Devil at My Heels
by Louis Zamperini and David Rensin, foreword by John McCain
from William Morrow & Company
for 8th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Devil in Massachusetts
by Marion L. Starkey
from Anchor Books
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Drive Thru History America with Dave Stotts: Foundations of Character - Book Only
by David Barton
from Tyndale House
for 6th-10th grade
in Drive Thru History with Dave Stotts (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$6.50 (2 in stock)
Early American Republic: 1789-1829
by Paul E. Johnson
from Oxford University
for 10th-Adult
in New Nation (1783-1801) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Emancipating Slaves, Enslaving Free Men
by Jeffrey Rogers Hummel
1st edition from Open Court Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Farewell to Manzanar
by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
from Houghton Mifflin
for 7th-11th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.80 (2 in stock)
Forever Free
by Eric Foner, illustrations edited with commentary by Joshua Brown
from Vintage Classics
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Fortune of War
Aubrey/Maturin #6
by Patrick O'Brian
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Nautical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.95 $6.50 (1 in stock)
George Washington's World
by Genevieve Foster, expanded by Joanna Foster
from Beautiful Feet Books
History Reference/Biography for 7th-10th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$15.00 (3 in stock)
Girl in the Picture
by Denise Chong
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 10th-Adult
in Vietnam War (1957-1975) (Location: HISA-20VIE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
God and Ronald Reagan
by Paul Kengor
Reprint from Harper Perennial
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.29 $7.20 (2 in stock)
Grand Canyon and the Southwest
by Ansel Adams
1st edition from Little, Brown & Company
for 7th-Adult
in U.S. Monuments & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Great Battles of the Civil War
by John Macdonald
from John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
for 7th-Adult
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Great Gatsby
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Reissue from Charles Scribner's Sons
Realistic Fiction for 9th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.00 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Guide to America's Greatest Historic Places
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 9th-Adult
in U.S. Monuments & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Helen Keller: The Story of My Life
by Helen Keller
from Dover Publications
Autobiography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.25 $2.00 (2 in stock)
Higher Call
by Adam Makos with Larry Alexander
from Dutton Caliber
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$18.70 $8.80 (1 in stock)
Hitler
by Albert Marrin
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.86 $7.60 (1 in stock)
In My Father's House
by Corrie Ten Boom
Book Club Edition from Power Books
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
In the Land of the Head-Hunters
by Edward Curtis
Reprint from World Book
for 9th-Adult
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
by Harriet Jacobs
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.00 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Indian Chiefs
by Russell Freedman
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-10th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Invisible Man
by Ralph Ellison
from Quality Paperback Book Club
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Jamestown and the Founding of the Nation
by Warren M. Billings
from Thomas Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Jamestown Colony (Location: HISA-17JA)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
John Treegate's Musket
Treegate Series Book 1
by Leonard Wibberly
from Bethlehem Books
Historical fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
John Wesley
Men of Faith
by Basil Miller
from Bethany House
Biography for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Jonathan and Sarah
by Edna Gerstner
from Soli Deo Gloria
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Kingdom Strange
by James Horn
from Basic Books
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.80 (1 in stock)
Labor's Untold Story
by Herbert M. Morais, Richard O. Boyer
3rd edition from United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of Amer
for 9th-Adult
in Industrialization & Organized Labor (Location: HISA-19IND)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Land of Hope
by Wilfred M. McClay
from Encounter Books
for 10th-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$42.49 $20.00 (1 in stock)
Land That I Love
by Bobbie Ames
from Nordskog Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Last Bookshop in London
by Madeline Martin
from Hanover Square Press
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Lee's New School History of the United States
by Susan Lee
1995 reprint from Grapevine Publications
for 9th-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Life of General Stonewall Jackson
by Mary Williamson
from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
$9.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Life of George Washington
by Mary Williamson
from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.99 $4.80 (2 in stock)
Log Cabin Cooking
by Barbara Swell
from Native Ground Music, Inc.
for 6th-12th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
Lost World of Thomas Jefferson
by Daniel J. Boorstin
from Beacon Press
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Men-of-War
by Patrick O'Brian
1st Us Edition from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 5th-10th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Midshipman Bolitho
by Alexander Kent
from McBooks Press
for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Miracle at Philadelphia
by Catherine Drinker Bowen
from Little, Brown & Company
Historical Non-fiction for 9th-Adult
in New Nation (1783-1801) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Mornings on Horseback
by David McCullough
1st edition from Simon & Schuster Macmillan
for 9th-Adult
National; Book Award
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.00 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Mountain Boyhood
by Joe Mills, introduction and notes by James H. Pickering, illustrated by Enos B. Comstock
from University of Nebraska
for 6th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Mountain Men and Fur Traders of the Far West
by LeRoy R. Hafen & Harvey L. Carter
from University of Nebraska
Biography for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$18.66 $9.60 (1 in stock)
Narrative of the Life of David Crockett of the State of Tennessee
by David Crockett
Reprint from Bison Books
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.41 $6.80 (1 in stock)
New World In View
To Pledge Allegiance #1
by Gary DeMar & Fred Douglas Young
from American Vision Press
American History Reference for 8th-10th grade
in To Pledge Allegiance (Location: HISCUR-TPA)
$12.00 (2 in stock)
New York to Nome
by Rick Steber, Photography by Sheldon Taylor
2007 Revised from Bonanza Publishing
for 8th-Adult
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
Night
by Elie Wiesel
Revised from Hill & Wang
Autobiographies & Memoirs for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$13.00 $4.00 (9 in stock)
North American Indian Burial Customs
by Dr. H. C. Yarrow
First Edition from Eagle's View Publishing
for 6th-Adult
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
On the Edge
by David D. Lee, David Horowitz, Peter N. Carroll
1st edition
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
On the Road to Independence
To Pledge Allegiance #3
by Gary DeMar & George Grant
from American Vision Press
American History Reference for 9th-12th grade
in To Pledge Allegiance (Location: HISCUR-TPA)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Oregon Trail, Yesterday and Today
from Caxton Press
for 6th-Adult
in Oregon Trail (Location: HISA-19OR)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Out on the Pampas
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Prayin' to Be Set Free
from John F. Blair Publishing
for 10th-Adult
in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Presidential Anecdotes
by Paul F. Boller Jr.
14th edition from Penguin Putnam
for 8th-12th grade
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$5.20 (2 in stock)
Rainbow's Gold
by Vera Martin Lynch
from William W. Lynch
for 6th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.40 (1 in stock)
Red River to Appomattox
The Civil War: A Narrative, Vol. 3
by Shelby Foote
from Vintage Classics
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Revenge of the Whale
by Nathaniel Philbrick
from Scholastic Inc.
for 6th-10th grade
in 19th Century America (Location: HISA-19C)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Revolutionary Period: 1750-1783
American History by Era Volume 3
by Bruce Thompson (Book Editor)
from Greenhaven Press
for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$10.40 (1 in stock)
Robert E. Lee
Heroes in Time
by John J. Dwyer
from Broadman & Holman
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Robert E. Lee the Christian
by William Johnson
from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Rough Riders
by Theodore Roosevelt
from University of Nebraska
Historical non-fiction for 9th-Adult
in Gilded Age & Progressive Era (1877-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Sea Captain from Salem
Treegate Series Book 3
by Leonard Wibberley
Reprint from Bethlehem Books
for 9th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Sequoyah and the Cherokee Alphabet
by Robert Cwiklik
from Avyx, Inc.
for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (3 in stock)
Sergeant York and the Great War
by Alvin C. York
from My Father's World
Autobiography for 7th-Adult
in World War I (1914-1919) (Location: HISA-20WW1)
$18.70 $8.00 (2 in stock)
Seven Wonders of the World
by Ron Tagliapietra
from Bob Jones University Press
for 8th-Adult
in International Landmarks & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANINT)
$11.01 $6.40 (1 in stock)
Sherwood Ring
by Elizabeth Marie Pope
from Sandpiper Books
for 10th-12th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.79 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Shiloh: A Novel
by Shelby Foote
from Vintage Books
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Smithsonian Guide to Historic America: The Deep South
by William B. Logan and Vance Muse, with photography by Mary Z. Jenkins
from Stewart, Tabori, & Chang
for 9th-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Smoke and Ashes
from Holiday House
for 9th-Adult
in Holocaust (Location: HISW-20WW2H)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Somewhere There is Still a Sun
by Michael Gruenbaum with Todd Hasak-Lowy
from Scholastic Inc.
for 6th-Adult
in Holocaust (Location: HISW-20WW2H)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Songs of My People
by Dudley M. Brooks & Eric Easter
from Little, Brown & Company
for 10th-Adult
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Soul of the Lion
by Willard M. Wallace
Reprint from Stan Clark Military Books
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Spirit of the American Revolution
by John Pevoto
for 8th-12th grade
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$1.60 (1 in stock)
Squalls Before War
by Ned Bustard
from Veritas Press
Nautical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.00 $8.00 (2 in stock)
Story of Liberty
by Charles Coffin
from Maranatha Publications
Historical Reference for 10th-Adult
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$16.97 $8.00 (2 in stock)
Story of the Trapp Family Singers
by Maria Augusta Trapp
from HarperCollins
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.14 $7.20 (1 in stock)
Survival in Auschwitz
by Primo Levi
1st edition from Touchstone
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.29 $7.20 (2 in stock)
They Had a Dream
by Jules Archer
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 8th-12th grade
in Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) (Location: HISA-20CIV)
$3.50 (3 in stock)
12