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.
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88 Items found Print
Active Filters: 5th grade (Ages 10-11), Perfectbound, Used Books & Materials
500 Facts: American History for Kids
from Rockridge Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Across America
by Jacqueline Morley
from Franklin Watts
for 4th-6th grade
in Lewis & Clark Expedition (1801-1803) (Location: HISA-19L&C)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Africa Is My Home
by Monica Edinger, illustrated by Robert Byrd
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Slavery & the Underground Railroad (Location: HISA-19SL)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
Amelia Earhart
by Francene Sabin and Joanne Mattern, illustrated by Karen Milone
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
America At War: Korean War
by John Perritano
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Korean War (1950-1953) (Location: HISA-20KW)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
American Adventures Part 1
by Morrie Greenberg
from Brooke-Richards Press
for 4th-6th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$2.80 (5 in stock)
American Adventures Part 2
by Morrie Greenberg
from Brooke-Richards Press
for 4th-6th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$4.80 (2 in stock)
American History: Globalization 1977-2008
from Saddleback Educational Publishing
for 3rd-5th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
American History: The Civil Rights Movement & Vietnam 1960-1976
from Saddleback Educational Publishing
for 3rd-5th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
American Indian Prayer Guide
by Danette Maloof, Dean Cozzens
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for 4th-7th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$3.60 (3 in stock)
Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.: April 4, 1968
24 Hour History
by Terry Collins
from Capstone Press
for 3rd-5th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Big Book of the Civil War
by Joanne Mattern
from Courage Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
Bill of Rights
by Lucia Raatma
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in New Nation (1783-1801) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Brooklyn Bridge
by Elizabeth Mann
from Mikaya Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in U.S. Monuments & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Can't You Make Them Behave, King George?
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
for 4th-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$5.94 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Chief Joseph: Leader of Destiny
by Kate Jassem
from Troll Associates
for 3rd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.40 (2 in stock)
Children of Native America Today
by Yvonne Wakim Dennis and Arlene Hirschfelder
from Charlesbridge
for 3rd-6th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Civil War: An Interactive History Adventure
You Choose Books
by Matt Doeden
from Capstone Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Series Books (Location: SER-MISC)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
Colter's Run
by Judith Edwards, illustrated by John Potter
from Falcon Press Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Cowboys on the Western Trail
by Eric Oatman
from National Geographic
for 3rd-5th grade
in Cowboys & Cattlemen (Location: HISA-19CO)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
Daily Life in a Plains Indian Village 1868
by Michael Bad Hand Terry
from Clarion Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Declaration of Independence
History Speaks
by Douglas M. Rife
from Teaching & Learning Company
for 4th - 8th Grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Declaration of Independence
Documenting U.S. History
by Elizabeth Raum
from Heinemann-Raintree
for 2nd-5th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Don't Know Much About American History
by Kenneth C. Davis
from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
Early American History for Intermediate Grades - Guide
by Rea Berg & Rebecca Manor
3rd edition from Beautiful Feet Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Beautiful Feet Books (Location: HISCUR-BFB)
$25.95 $18.00 (1 in stock)
Early Family Home
Early Settler Life Series
by Bobbie Kalman
from Crabtree Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Electrical Wizard
by Elizabeth Rusch, illustrated by Oliver Dominguez
from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
George Washington Carver
by Tonya Bolden
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
George Washington Carver: Botanist
Black Americans of Achievement
by Gene Adair, introduction by Coretta Scott King
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
George Washington You Never Knew
by James Lincoln Collier
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Graphic History of Gettysburg
by Wayne Vansant (author and illustrator)
from Zenith Press
for 3rd-7th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
I'm In Charge of Celebrations
by Byrd Baylor, illustrated by Peter Parnall
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 2nd-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
If You Grew Up With George Washington
If You Were There
by Ruth Belov Gross
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
Incans, Aztecs, Mayans
by John Holzmann
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$3.60 (6 in stock)
Incans, Aztecs, Mayans
by John Holzmann
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$1.60 (1 in stock)
Indian Winter
by Russell Freedman
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-8th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Life in the Far North
Native Nations of North America
by Bobbie Kalman and Rebecca Sjonger
from Crabtree Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Life on a Plantation
Historic Communities
by Bobbie Kalman
from Crabtree Publishing
for 2nd-6th grade
in Everyday Life in History (Location: HISV-EVERY)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Louisa May Alcott: Her Girlhood Diary
by Louisa May Alcott
from Troll Medallion
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Magellan and the Exploration of South America
by Colin Hynson
from Barron's
Non-fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$3.20 (2 in stock)
Man & Yosemite
by Ted Orland
from Image Continuum Press
for 4th-Adult
in U.S. Monuments & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$8.80 (1 in stock)
Marco Polo
by Struan Reid
from Heinemann Library
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Marian Anderson
History Maker Bios
by Jane Sutcliffe
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 3rd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Mystery of the Maya
by Peter Lourie
from Boyds Mill Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Nathan Hale
Hidden History: Spies
by Aaron Derr, Illustrated by Tami Wicinas
from Red Chair Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Nations of the Northwest Coast
by Kathryn Smithyman and Bobbie Kalman
from Crabtree Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
New England Indians
by C. Keith Wilbur
2nd edition from The Globe Pequot Press
for 3rd-12th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
Nystrom Atlas of United States History
from Nystrom
for 5th-12th grade
in Historical & Cultural Atlases (Location: HISRF-ATLAS)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
People Could Fly
by Virginia Hamilton, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Pioneer Children of Appalachia
by Joan Anderson, photography by George Ancona
from Clarion Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Plymouth Thanksgiving
by Leonard Weisgard
Reprint from Doubleday Book For Young Readers
for Kindergarten-5th grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Portraits of African-American Heroes
by Tonya Bolden, illustrated by Ansel Pitcairn
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$5.60 (2 in stock)
Primary Source History of the American Revolution
Fact Finders
by Sarah Powers Webb
from Capstone Press
for 3rd-5th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Reconstruction and the Aftermath of the Civil War
Understanding the Civil War
by Lisa Colozza Cocca
from Crabtree Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Gilded Age & Progressive Era (1877-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Robert Fulton
by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Robert Patterson
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for 3rd-5th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$4.00 (3 in stock)
Salmon's Journey and More Northwest Coast Stories
by Robert James Challenger
from Heritage House Publishing Company
for 1st-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Seaman's Journal
by Patricia Reeder Eubank
from Ideals Children's Books
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Lewis & Clark Expedition (1801-1803) (Location: HISA-19L&C)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Secrets in Stone
by Laurie Coulter, illustrated by Sarah Jane English
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 3rd-8th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Settling of Jamestown
Landmark Events in American History
by Janet Riehecky
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 3rd-5th grade
in Jamestown Colony (Location: HISA-17JA)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Sourcebook on Colonial America: Battles in a New Land
by Carter Smith (editor)
from Millbrook Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$1.60 (1 in stock)
Sourcebook on Colonial America: Governing and Teaching
by Carter Smith (editor)
from Millbrook Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$1.60 (1 in stock)
Sourcebook on Colonial America: The Arts and Sciences
by Carter Smith (editor)
from Millbrook Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$1.60 (1 in stock)
Spindle Whorl
by Nan McNutt, illustrated by Roger Fernandes and Susan Point
from Sasquatch Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$1.60 (1 in stock)
Step Into the Aztec & Maya Worlds
by Fiona Macdonald
from Hermes House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Step Into the Inca World
by Philip Steele
from Hermes House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Story of Building the Capital City
by Marlene Targ Brill
from Children's Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Fort Sumter
by Eugenia Burney
from Children's Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Story of John F. Kennedy
A Spotlight Wonder Book
by Earl Schenck Miers
from Wonder Books
for 5th-Adult
in How and Why Wonder Books (Location: VIN-H&W)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Story of Marquette and Jolliet
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Story of the Declaration of Independence
by Norman Richards, Tom Dunnington
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Story of the Erie Canal
by R. Conrad Stein
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for 4th-6th Grade
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
$1.60 (2 in stock)
Story of the Gettysburg Address
Cornerstones of Freedom
by Kenneth Richards
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Story of the Lincoln Memorial
by Deborah Kent
from Children's Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Story of The Monitor and the Merrimac
by R. Conrad Stein
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for 4th-6th Grade
in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$1.60 (2 in stock)
Story of the Spirit of St. Louis
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Story of the Women's Movement
Cornerstones of Freedom
by Maureen Ash
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Thomas Jefferson
by Cheryl Harness
from National Geographic
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
True Stories of the Revolutionary War
Graphic Library: Stories of War
by Elizabeth Raum, illustrated by Pat Kinsella
from Capstone Press
for 3rd-5th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Usborne Book of Explorers
by Anne Millard, Felicity Everett & Struan Reid
from Usborne
for 4th-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$7.00 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Usborne Book of Explorers
by Anne Millard, Felicity Everett & Struan Reid
from Usborne
for 4th-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Usborne Introduction to the Second World War
by Paul Dowswell
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
What Was the Holocaust?
What Was?
by Gail Herman
1st edition from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-7th grade
in Holocaust (Location: HISW-20WW2H)
$2.80 (2 in stock)
What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin?
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
for 4th-6th grade
in New Nation (1783-1801) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$5.94 $2.80 (4 in stock)
What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin?
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in New Nation (1783-1801) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
Where is Alcatraz?
by Nico Medina, illustrated by David Groff
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in U.S. Monuments & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Who Were the First North Americans?
Usborne Starting Point History
by Phillippa Wingate & Struan Reid
from Usborne
for 1st-6th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$2.00 (2 in stock)
You Wouldn't Want to Sail on the Mayflower!
by Peter Cook, illustrated by Kevin Whelan
Revise Edition from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Young Frederick Douglass
by Laurence Santrey
from Troll Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)