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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161 Items found Print
Active Filters: 4th grade (Ages 9-10), 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
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Akavak
by James Houston
from Harcourt, Brace & World
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
American Revolution
Revolution!
by R. G. Grant
from Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishing
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Among the Plains Indians
from Lerner Publishing Group
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Art of the Woodland Indians
by Shirley Glubok
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Battle of Valcour Bay
Triangle Histories: The Revolutionary War
by Scott Ingram
from Blackbirch Press
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Benjamin Bonneville, Soldier-Explorer
from Julian Messner
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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)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Black Courage
by A. E. Schraff
from Macrae-Smith Company
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Cabinetmakers
Colonial American Craftsmen
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Franklin Watts
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Camels West
by James Ralph Johnson
from David McKay Company
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Captives of the Senecas
by John Brick
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Christmas on the Prairie
by Joan. Anderson
from Clarion Books
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in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Christopher Columbus and the Discovery of the New World
by Jim Gallagher
from Chelsea House Publishing
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
City! San Francisco
by George Ancona, Shirley Climo
from Simon and Schuster
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Civil War
American War Series
by Zachary Kent
from Enslow
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$3.50 (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)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Clara Barton: Civil War Nurse
Historical American Biographies
by Nancy Whitelaw
from Enslow
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Colonial People: The Silversmith
by Wil Mara
from Marshall Cavendish Education
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$7.00 (1 in stock)
Colonial Places
by Sarah Howarth
from Millbrook Press
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Confederate Girl: The Diary of Carrie Berry, 1864
by Carrie Berry; edited by Christy Steele and Anne Todd
from Capstone Press
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$5.00 (2 in stock)
Cook: Captain James Cook Charts the Pacific Ocean
by Jean Kinney Williams
from Compass Point Books
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Cowboy Soldier
by Donald Russell, illustrated by Max Ranft
from Benefic Press
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Crazy Horse: The Story of an American Indian
by John R. Milton
Second Printing 1975 from Dillon Press
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Dakota Dugout
by Ann Turner; illustrated by Ronald Himler
from Macmillan
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Dear Levi
by Elvira Woodruff
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Doctors
Colonial American Craftsmen
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Franklin Watts
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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
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Dust Bowl
by Patricia Lauber
Cadmus Edition from E.M. Hale and Company
for 3rd-6th grade
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Early American Industrial Revolution
Let Freedom Ring
by Katie Bagley
from Bridgestone Books
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$5.00 (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)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Empire State Building
by Meish Goldish
from Bearport Publishing
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Eskimo
Sonia Bleeker's Tribes of the Americas
by Sonia Bleeker, illustrated by Patricia Boodell
from William Morrow & Company
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Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
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Ferdinand Magellan
by Milton Meltzer
from Benchmark Books
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Ferdinand Magellan and the Discovery of the World Ocean
by Rebecca Stefoff
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Ferdinand Magellan and the First Voyage Around the World
by Jim Gallagher
from Chelsea House Publishing
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First Book of the American Revolution
by Richard B. Morris
from Franklin Watts
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Flag of the Dreadful Bear
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
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Forts in the Wilderness
by Edith S. McCall
from Children's Press
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Fourth of July Story
by Alice Dalgliesh, illustrated by Marie Nonnast
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Historical Non-fiction for 2nd-4th grade
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Francisco Coronado and the Exploration of the American Southwest
Explorers of New Worlds
by Hal Marcovitz
from Chelsea House Publishing
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From Sea to Shining Sea: Americans Move West 1846-1860
How America Became America
by Jack Rakove, Sheila Nelson
from Mason Crest Publishers
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$7.00 (1 in stock)
Frontiersman
by Marian T. Place
First Ediition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
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Geronimo: Apache Freedom Fighter
Native American Biographies
by Spring Hermann
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Glassmakers
Colonial American Craftsmen
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Franklin Watts
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Glorious Days, Dreadful Days
Stories of America
by Philippa Kirby
from Steck-Vaughn Company
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$5.50 (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 Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Harriet Tubman
Triangle Histories: The Civil War
by Lisa Halvorsen
from Blackbirch Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Henry Hudson
Library of Explorers and Exploration
by Josepha Sherman
from Rosen Central
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Her Story, Her Words
by Frances E. Ruffin
from Rosen Central
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Hernando de Soto and the Exploration of Florida
by Jim Gallagher
from Chelsea House Publishing
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$3.00 (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
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How They Built the Statue of Liberty
by Mary J. Shapiro, illustrated by Huck Scarry
from Random House
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Hunters Blaze the Trails
by Edith S. McCall
New 1980 Edition from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Hunters Blaze the Trails
by Edith S. McCall
from Children's Press
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In Their Own Words: World War I
by Nicholas Saunders
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
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in World War I (1914-1919) (Location: HISA-20WW1)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Incas
by Rosemary Rees
from Heinemann Educational Books
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
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
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in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$5.00 (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)
$7.00 (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
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$16.00 (1 in stock)
Island Far From Home
by John Donahue
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
James Longstreet
Triangle Histories: The Civil War
by Melanie LeTourneau
from Blackbirch Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Jefferson Davis
by George Ulrich, John Lee, Susan Lee
from Children's Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
Jefferson Davis
Triangle Histories: The Civil War
by W. Scott Ingram
from Blackbirch Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
John Charles Frémont
by Charles W. Maynard
1st edition from PowerKids Press
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$2.00 (1 in stock)
John Paul Jones
by Donald E. Worcester, illustrated by Forrest Orr
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
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Joseph E. Johnston
Famous Figures of the Civil War Era
by Christin Ditchfield
from Chelsea House Publishing
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$2.00 (1 in stock)
Journal of One Davey Wyatt
by Donald Honig, illustrated by Sam Fink
from Franklin Watts
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Juan Ponce de Leon and the Search for the Fountain of Youth
by Daniel E. Harmon
from Chelsea House Publishing
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$6.00 (2 in stock)
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 Landmarks & Symbols of the United States (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Landmark History of the American People Volume 2
Landmark Giant #21
by Daniel J. Boorstin
from Random House
for 4th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
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)
Lewis and Clark Expedition
We the People
by Patricia Ryon Quiri
from Compass Point Books
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in Lewis & Clark (Location: HISA-19L&C)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Liberty Bell
Primary Sources of American Symbols
by Jennifer Silate
1st edition from PowerKids Press
for 3rd-6th grade
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Life During the Great Civilizations: The Inca
by Charles & Linda George
from Blackbirch Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Lighthouses of America
by Mina Lewiton, Illustrated by Howard Simon
from E.M. Hale and Company
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$12.50 (1 in stock)
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)
Little Women
Dilithium Press Children's Classics
by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith
from Dilithium Press, Ltd.
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Little Women
by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith
from Longmeadow Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Live Aid
Cornerstones of Freedom
by Susan Maloney Clinton
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Magic of Spices
by E. Joseph Dreany
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
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$25.00 (1 in stock)
Makers of the Americas
by Marion Lansing
Second Edition from D. C. Heath and Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$6.00 (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)
Mountain Men
Cornerstones of Freedom
by Andrew Santella
from Children's Press
for 4th-5th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Mr. Justice Holmes
from Follett
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in Biographies (Location: BIO)
New Nation
by Betsy Maestro
from HarperCollins
for 1st-4th grade
in New Nation (1783-1800) (Location: HISA-18NN)
Ol' Paul the Mighty Logger
by Glen Rounds
from Holiday House
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Oregon Trail
Events That Shaped America
by Michael V. Uschan, Sabrina Crewe
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
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)
12