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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238 Items found Print
Active Filters: 7th grade (Ages 12-13), Hardcover, In-Stock Books & Materials
Abe Lincoln Grows Up
by Carl Sandburg, illustrated by James Daugherty
from Harcourt, Brace & Company
for 5th-8th grade
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Sterling Classics
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Scott McKowen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 6th-10th grade
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$14.95
Alamo All Stars
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #6
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
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Album of the Civil War
by William Loren Katz
from Franklin Watts
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$4.50 (1 in stock)
America in the 1900s and 1910s
Decades of American History
by Jim Callan
from Facts On File
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in 20th Century America (Location: HISA-20)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
America in the 1930s
Decades of American History
by Jim Callan
from Facts On File
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in 20th Century America (Location: HISA-20)
$35.00 (1 in stock)
America in the 1970s
from Facts On File
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$25.00 (1 in stock)
America in the 1990s
by George Ochoa
from Facts On File
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in 20th Century America (Location: HISA-20)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
America is Born
A History for Peter #1
by Gerald W. Johnson (iilustrations by Leonard Everett Fisher)
from William Morrow & Company
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$45.00 (1 in stock)
America's Fascinating Indian Heritage
by James A. Maxwell
from Reader's Digest
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 1
from Dell Publishing
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 10
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 12
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 2
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 6
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 7
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 8
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 9
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American Heritage History of the Indian Wars
by Robert M. Utley, Wilcomb E. Washburn
Revised from American Heritage Publishing Co.
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
American Heroes of the 20th Century
Landmark Giant #14
by Harold & Doris Faber
from Random House
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
American Indian Tales and Legends
by Vladimir Hulpach, illustrated by Miloslav Troup
from Paul Hamlyn
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
American Plague
by Jim Murphy
from Clarion Books
for 4th-8th grade
2004 Newbery Honor Book, 2004 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner, NCTE Orbi Pictus Award
in New Nation (1783-1800) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$21.99
Americans Before Columbus
by Elizabeth Baity, illustrated by C.B. Falls
from Viking Press
for 5th-10th grade
1952 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank, translated by B. M. Mooyaart-Doubleday with an introduction by Eleanor Roosevelt
Book Club Edition from Nelson Doubleday, Inc.
for 6th-10th grade
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$14.00 (1 in stock)
Answering the Cry for Freedom
by Gretchen Woelfle, Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
from Calkins Creek
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Apache Land
by Ross Santee
from Charles Scribner's Sons
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$14.00 (1 in stock)
B. Franklin, Printer
by David A. Adler
from Holiday House
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$8.00 (2 in stock)
Before Columbus
by Charles C. Mann
from Atheneum
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in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$24.99 $18.00 (1 in stock)
Before Columbus
by Charles C. Mann
from Atheneum
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
Betsy and Joe
by Maud Hart Lovelace, illustrated by Vera Neville
15th Printing from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 6th-9th grade
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$45.00 (1 in stock)
Big Annie of Calumet
by Jerry Stanley
1st edition
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Black Falcon
by Armstrong Sperry
from John C. Winston
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Black Man in America
from Franklin Watts
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$7.50 (1 in stock)
Bomb
by Steve Sheinkin
First Edition from Flash Point
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2013 Newbery Honor Book, 2013 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner
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Boston
from Crescent Books
for 4th-Adult
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Boys in the Boat adapted for Young Readers
by Daniel James Brown, adapted by Gregory Mone
from Penguin Putnam
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$17.99
Bull Run
by Paul Fleischman
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
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Caddie Woodlawn
by Carol Ryrie Brink
from Simon and Schuster
Realistic Family Fiction for 3rd-7th grade
1936 Newbery Medal winner
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Captain Edward L. Beach: Around the World Under Water
by Beril Becker
from Kingston House
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Captive
by Scott O'Dell
from HMH Books for Young Readers
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Hans Christian Anderson Award
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Carver: A Life in Poems
by Marilyn Nelson
from Boyds Mill Press
for 7th-11th grade
2002 Newbery Honor Book, Coretta Scott King Honor Award
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.95
Character for Life
by Don Hawkinson
for 7th-12th grade
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Chariot in the Sky
Land of the Free Series
by Arna Bontemps, illustrated by Cyrus Le Roy Baldridge
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
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$35.00 (1 in stock)
Charles A. Lindbergh
by James Cross Giblin
from Clarion Books
Biography for 5th-8th grade
1998 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
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$7.00 (2 in stock)
Child Star
by Lydia Weaver
from Viking Press
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Children of the Wild West
by Russell Freedman
from Clarion Books
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Civil War Battles
by Curt Johnson
1st edition from Crescent Books
for 7th-12th grade
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Colonial American Home Life
by John F. Warner
from Franklin Watts
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$6.00 (2 in stock)
Colonial Governor
by J.G.E. Hopkins, illustrated by William Wilson
from P.J. Kenedy & Sons
for 4th-8th grade
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
Countdown
by Deborah Wiles
1st edition from Scholastic Press
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Cry from the Earth
by John Bierhorst
from Four Winds Press
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Cultural Atlas for Young People: Ancient America
by Marion Wood
1st edition from Facts On File
Ancient History Reference/Atlas for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Cultural Atlas for Young People: Ancient Maya & Aztec Civilizations
by Marion Wood
3rd edition from Facts On File
Ancient History Reference/Atlas for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$35.00 $18.00 (1 in stock)
Dime a Dozen
by Nikki Grimes, Illustrated by Angelo
from Dial Books for Young Readers
for 5th-8th grade
in Poetry (Location: POET-GEN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Explorer
by Rupert Matthews
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
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in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Explorer
DK Eyewitness Series
by Rupert Matthews
1st edition from DK Publishing
HIstory Reference for 4th-8th grade
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Presidents
DK Eyewitness Series
by James Barber
3rd edition from DK Publishing
American History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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$16.99
Do's and Don'ts of Yesteryear
by Eric Sloane
from Dover Publications
for 5th-9th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$12.95
Early Days of a Cowboy on the Pecos
by James F. Hinkle
from Unknown Publisher
for 7th-12th grade
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$3.50 (1 in stock)
Eating the Plates
by Lucille Recht Penner
1st edition from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-8th grade
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Emancipation Proclomation
by Tonya Bolden
from Abrams Books for Young Readers
for 4th-9th grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Empires Lost and Won
by Albert Marrin
1st edition from Atheneum
for 5th-12th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Escape from Corregidor
by Edward D. Whitcomb
from Regnery Publishing, Inc.
for 6th-12th grade
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Escape or Die
by Ina R. Friedman
from Addison Wesley
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
by Jacqueline Kelly
from Henry Holt and Company
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Exploration and Conquest
by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
1st edition from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Exploration and Conquest
by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
1st edition from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Explorers & Discoverers - 4 Volume Set
from UXL Publishing
biographical encyclopedia for 5th-8th grade
in World History Reference (Location: HISW-REF)
$30.00 (1 in stock)
Explorers, Missionaries, and Trappers
by Kieran Doherty
from Oliver-Nelson Books
for 7th-9th grade
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Facing West
by Kathleen V. Kudlinski
for 4th-7th grade
in Oregon Trail (Location: HISA-19OR)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Far Frontier
by William O. Steele; illustrated by Paul Galdone
from Harcourt
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Fields of Fury
by James M. McPherson
from Atheneum
for 4th-7th grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$24.99 $14.00 (2 in stock)
Fight for Freedom
by Benson Bobrick
1st edition from Atheneum
for 5th-10th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$24.99 $15.00 (1 in stock)
First Four Years
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$18.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
First Four Years (Pictorial Cover)
by Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams
from Harper & Row
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
First Houses: Native American Homes and Sacred Structures
by Jean Guard Monroe, Ray A. Williamson, illustrated by Susan Johnston Carlson
from Houghton Mifflin
for 6th-12th grade
in Houses & Homes (Location: HISMC-HH)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Fishermen
by Daniel Jacobson, illustrated by Richard Cuffari
from Franklin Watts
for 4th-8th grade
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
For You They Signed
by Marilyn Boyer
from Master Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$27.99 $18.00 (1 in stock)
For You They Signed (old)
by Marilyn Boyer
from Learning Parent
for 3rd-8th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$12.50 (1 in stock)
Fortune's Bones
by Marilyn Nelson, notes and annotations by Pamela Espeland
from Front Street
for 4th-8th grade
2005 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book
in Slavery & the Underground Railroad (Location: HISA-19SL)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Freewater
by Amina Luqman Dawson
from Little, Brown & Company
for 5th-8th grade
2023 Newbery Medal Winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$16.99
From Ballots to Breadlines
Young Oxford History of Women in the United States Volume 8
by Sarah Jane Deutsch
from Oxford University
for 6th-8th grade
in 20th Century America (Location: HISA-20)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
From Colonies to Country with George Washington - Book Only
My American Journey
by Deborah Hedstrom
from Multnomah Books
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
From Log Cabin to White House with Abraham Lincoln - Set
from Multnomah Books
for 4th-7th grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington
by Heather Lehr Wagner
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington's World (pictorial hardcover)
by Genevieve Foster
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$38.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington: Soldier and Man
by North Callahan
from William Morrow & Company
for 7th-10th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Good Fight
by Stephen Ambrose
from Atheneum
WWII Historical Reference for 4th-9th grade
in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
$27.99
Good Ol' Cowboy Stories
by Jack Terry
from Harvest House
for 4th-7th grade
in Cowboys & Cattlemen (Location: HISA-19CO)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Great Explorers
by Joyce Grosseck & Elizabeth Attwood
for 4th-8th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Gristmill
Historic Communities
by Bobbie Kalman
from Crabtree Publishing
for 3rd-8th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Harriet Beecher Stowe
by Suzanne M. Coil
from Franklin Watts
for 7th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Haym Salomon: Liberty's Son
by Shirley Milgrim, illustrated by Richard Fish
from Jewish Publication Society
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Hero Tales from American Life
by Francis Trevelyan Miller
1994 reprint from Mantle Ministries
for 6th-9th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
History of the United States and Its People
by Edward Eggleston
1st edition from Lost Classics Book Co.
for 7th-9th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
History of US - 11 Volumes (hardcover)
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
for 5th-9th grade
in History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$165.00 (1 in stock)
History of US Book Concise Edition B
by Joy Hakim
Concise from K12
for 5th-9th grade
in History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Hitler Youth
by Susan Bartoletti
from Scholastic Press
for 7th-9th grade
2006 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
$21.99
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