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: 3rd grade (Ages 8-9), Library Binding
About Our Flag
by Elinor Rees; illustrated by Jerome W. Bowen
from Melmont Publishers
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Abraham Lincoln
Weekly Reader Heroes of the Civil War
by Susan Dye Lee, illustrated by Ralph Canaday
from Children's Press
for 3rd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Acadia National Park
Road Trip: National Parks
by Kathleen Connors
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 1st-3rd grade
in U.S. Monuments & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Akavak
by James Houston
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
American Revolution
Revolution!
by R. G. Grant
from Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Among the Plains Indians
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Battle of Valcour Bay
Triangle Histories: The Revolutionary War
by Scott Ingram
from Blackbirch Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Ben Franklin
See and Read: Beginning to Read Biography
by Estelle Friedman, illustrated by James Caraway
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Benjamin Franklin
Makers of America
by Ruth Cromer Weir, illustrated by Rus Anderson
from Abingdon Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Betsy Ross
Leaders of the American Revolution
by Vicki Cox
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
Black Courage
by A. E. Schraff
from Macrae-Smith Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Cabinetmakers
Colonial American Craftsmen
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
Caddie Woodlawn
by Carol Ryrie Brink, illustrated by Kate Seredy
1st edition, from Macmillan
Realistic Family Fiction for 3rd-7th grade
1936 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Captives of the Senecas
by John Brick
from Hale-Cadmus
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Christmas on the Prairie
by Joan. Anderson
from Clarion Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Claim to the Wilderness
by Peter John Stephens
First Edition, First Printing from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Clara Barton: Civil War Nurse
Historical American Biographies
by Nancy Whitelaw
from Enslow
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Cliff Dwellers of Walnut Canyon
by Carroll Lane Fenton and Alice Epstein, illustrated by Albert Orbaan and Carroll Lane Fenton
from The John Day Company
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Colonial People: The Silversmith
by Wil Mara
from Marshall Cavendish Education
for 2nd-5th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
Colonial Places
by Sarah Howarth
from Millbrook Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$1.60 (1 in stock)
Columbus
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
First BCE from Doubleday & Company
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$28.00 (1 in stock)
Confederate Girl: The Diary of Carrie Berry, 1864
by Carrie Berry; edited by Christy Steele and Anne Todd
from Capstone Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Cook: Captain James Cook Charts the Pacific Ocean
by Jean Kinney Williams
from Compass Point Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Coronado and His Captains
by Camilla Campbell, illustrated by Harve Stein
from Follett Publishing Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Crazy Horse
by John R. Milton
Second Printing 1975 from Dillon Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Cultural History of Women in America: Finding an Identity
A Cultural History of Women in America: Volume 1
by Alex Woolf
from Chelsea House Publishing
Women's History for 3rd-8th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Dakota Dugout
by Ann Turner; illustrated by Ronald Himler
from Macmillan
for 2nd-4th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
Dan Morgan
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Bernice Bryant
from Bobbs-Merril Co
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Day It Rained Forever
Once Upon America
by Virginia T. Gross, illustrated by Ronald Himler
from Viking Press
for 3rd-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Diary of William Bircher: A Civil War Drummer
Fact Finders: First-Person Histories
by William Bircher
from Capstone Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
Doctors
Colonial American Craftsmen
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
Drinking Gourd
An I Can Read Book Level 3
by F. N. Monjo
from HarperCrest
Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
Dust Bowl
by Patricia Lauber
Cadmus Edition from E.M. Hale and Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Early American Industrial Revolution
Let Freedom Ring
by Katie Bagley
from Bridgestone Books
for 3rd-5th grade
in Industrialization & Organized Labor (Location: HISA-19IND)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Eliza Pinckney
Weekly Reader Heroes of the Revolution
by Susan & John Lee
from Children's Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
Empire State Building
by Meish Goldish
from Bearport Publishing
for 2nd-4th grade
in U.S. Monuments & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Eskimo
Sonia Bleeker's Tribes of the Americas
by Sonia Bleeker, illustrated by Patricia Boodell
from William Morrow & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Fire at the Triangle Factory
by Holly Littlefield, illustrated by Mary O'Keefe Young
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
First Book of the American Revolution
by Richard B. Morris
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-5th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Flag of the Dreadful Bear
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Fourth of July Story
by Alice Dalgliesh, illustrated by Marie Nonnast
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Historical Non-fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
Francisco Pizarro
Discover the Life of an Explorer
by Trish Kline
from Rourke Publishing
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Frontiersman
by Marian T. Place
First Ediition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Going to School During the Civil War: The Union
by Kerry A. Graves, consultant Melodie Andrews
from Blue Earth Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Everyday Life in History (Location: HISV-EVERY)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Going to School in Colonial America
by Shelley Swanson Sateren, consultant Melodie Andrews
from Blue Earth Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Everyday Life in History (Location: HISV-EVERY)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Grand Papa and Ellen Aroon
by F. N. Monjo, illustrated by Richard Cuffari
1st edition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 3rd-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
by Santana Hunt
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 1st-3rd grade
in U.S. Monuments & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Her Story, Her Words
by Frances E. Ruffin
from Rosen Central
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
How Men Discovered the World
by Hans R. Hecke, illustrated by Nikolaus Plump, freely translated by Moya Gillespie
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 3rd-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
How They Built the Statue of Liberty
by Mary J. Shapiro, illustrated by Huck Scarry
from Random House
for 1st-4th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
In 1492
by Jean Marzollo
from Scholastic Inc.
Picture Book Biography for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
Indian and His Horse
Gray-Wolf's Indian Culture series
by Robert Hofsinde
from William Morrow & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Indian Beadwork
Gray-Wolf's Indian Culture series
by Robert Hofsinde
from William Morrow & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Indian Costumes
Gray-Wolf's Indian Culture series
by Robert Hofsinde
from William Morrow & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Indian Fishing and Camping
Gray-Wolf's Indian Culture series
by Robert Hofsinde
from William Morrow & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Indian Hunting
Gray-Wolf's Indian Culture series
by Robert Hofsinde
from William Morrow & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Indian Picture Writing
Gray-Wolf's Indian Culture series
by Robert Hofsinde
from William Morrow & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Indian Sign Language
Gray-Wolf's Indian Culture series
by Robert Hofsinde
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Indians at Home
Gray-Wolf's Indian Culture series
by Robert Hofsinde
from William Morrow & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
Indians of Mexico
A Book to Begin On
by Margaret C. Farquhar, illustrated by Mel Klapholz
First Edition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Jefferson Davis
by George Ulrich, John Lee, Susan Lee
from Children's Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
Journal of One Davey Wyatt
by Donald Honig, illustrated by Sam Fink
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Lafayette: French-American Hero
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Lake Huron
Fact Finders
by Anne Ylvisaker
from Capstone Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in U.S. Monuments & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$1.60 (1 in stock)
Let's Go Down the Mississippi with La Salle
by Naomi Buchheimer, illustrated by Albert Micale
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Liam's Watch
by Pamela Dell
from Tradition Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Life During the Great Civilizations: The Inca
by Charles & Linda George
from Blackbirch Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Little House on the Prairie (pictorial hardcover)
Little House Series #2
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCrest
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Little Sioux Girl
by Lois Lenski
Scott, Foresman from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Little Town on the Prairie
Little House Series #7
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Magic of Spices
by E. Joseph Dreany
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Mark Twain: Boy of Old Missouri
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Mariam E. Mason
from Bobbs-Merril Co
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Maryland Colony: Lord Baltimore
Building America
by Jim Whiting
from Mitchell Lane Publishers
for 3rd-5th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Massachusetts Colony
by Dennis B. Fradin
from Children's Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
New Nation
by Betsy Maestro
from HarperCollins
for 1st-4th grade
in New Nation (1783-1801) (Location: HISA-18NN)
New True Book of Bald Eagles
by Emilie U. Lepthien
from Children's Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
New True Book: The Chippewa
A New True Book
by Alice Osinski
from Children's Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Ol' Paul the Mighty Logger
by Glen Rounds
from Holiday House
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$3.20 (2 in stock)
Our Country's Story
by Frances Cavanah, illustrated by Janice Holland
from Rand McNally
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Papermakers
Colonial American Craftsmen
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
Patrick Henry
The Founding Fathers
by Stuart A. Kallen
from ABDO Publishing Co.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Peddlers
Colonial American Craftsmen
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
Peter Jumping Horse at the Stampede
by Gordon Langley Hall, illustrated by Jennifer Kent
from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Picture Book of John Hancock
by David A. Adler, Michael S. Adler
from Holiday House
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Ponce de Leon
Junior World Explorers
by Wyatt Blassingame, illustrated by Russ Hoover
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 3rd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Ponce de Leon
by Trish Kline
from Rourke Publishing
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Potters
Colonial American Craftsmen
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
Printers
Colonial American Craftsmen
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Quilt-Block History of Pioneer Days
by Mary Cobb, Illustrated by Jan Davey Ellis
from Millbrook Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
R My Name is Rachel
by Patricia Reilly Giff
from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Remarkable Rough-Riding Life of Theodore Roosevelt
by Cheryl Harness
from National Geographic
for 3rd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Sailing to America
Adventures in Colonial America
by James Knight, illustrated by George Guzzi
from Troll Associates
Non-fiction for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
San Domingo
by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Robert Lougheed
from Rand McNally
for 3rd-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Shoemakers
Colonial American Craftsmen
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
Sidney Poitier: Actor
by Carol Bergman
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 3rd-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Six Silver Spoons
by Janette Sebring Lowrey, illustrated by Robert Quackenbush
from Harper & Row
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
Sounder
by William H. Armstrong
from Harper & Row
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade
1970 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
South Town
by Lorenz Graham
from Follett Publishing Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Split History of World War II: Axis and Allies
by Simon Rose
from Compass Point Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Statue of Liberty
by Jennifer Silate
from PowerKids Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in U.S. Monuments & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
12