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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108 Items found Print
Active Filters: Historical Fiction, 7th grade (Ages 12-13), Used Books & Materials
Across Five Aprils
by Irene Hunt
from Berkley Books
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
1965 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $3.00 (1 in stock)
After the Dancing Days
by Margaret I. Rostkowski
from HarperTrophy
for 7th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
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After the War
by Carol Matas
from Simon Pulse
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
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Amethyst Ring
by Scott O'Dell
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Art of Keeping Cool
by Janet Taylor Lisle
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
2001 Scott O'Dell Award
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$2.50 (2 in stock)
Behind the Bedroom Wall
by Laura E. Williams
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-7th grade
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$2.00 (1 in stock)
Black Falcon
by Armstrong Sperry
from John C. Winston
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Blowing-Wand
Land of the Free Series
by Elsie Reif Ziegler, illustrated by Jacob Landau
from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
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Bold Journey
by Charles Bohner
from Houghton Mifflin
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Bonanza Girl
by Patricia Beatty
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
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$6.00 (4 in stock)
Boy in the Alamo
by Margaret Cousins
from Corona Publishing Co.
Historical fiction for 4th-9th grade
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Bull Run
by Paul Fleischman
from HarperCollins
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Bull Run
by Paul Fleischman, David Frampton (Woodcuts)
2nd edition from Scholastic Inc.
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Bull Run
by Paul Fleischman
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Captive
by Scott O'Dell
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Hans Christian Anderson Award
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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)
Child Star
by Lydia Weaver
from Viking Press
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Come On, Seabiscuit!
by Ralph Moody
from University of Nebraska
Biography for 5th-9th grade
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Countdown
by Deborah Wiles
1st edition from Scholastic Press
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Dark and Bloody Ground
by Phyllis R. Fenner, ed.
from William Morrow & Company
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Dark Venture
by Audrey White Beyer, illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
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Drums
by James Boyd
from Atheneum
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Escape From Warsaw
by Ian Serraillier, illustrated by Irwin Hoffman
from Scholastic Inc.
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Eyes of the Emperor
by Graham Salisbury
from Laurel-Leaf Books
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Far Frontier
by William O. Steele; illustrated by Paul Galdone
from Harcourt
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Farewell to Manzanar
by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
from Random House
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$4.50 (1 in stock)
Father's Promise
by Donna Hess
from Bob Jones University Press
Historical fiction for 5th-8th grade
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Fighting Ground
by Avi
from HarperCollins
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$2.50 (1 in stock)
First Four Years
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
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First Four Years (Pictorial Cover)
by Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams
from Harper & Row
for 3rd-8th grade
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
For Freedom
by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
from Laurel-Leaf Books
for 6th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Forty-Acre Swindle
TrailBlazer Books
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
$4.00 (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
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Great Wheel
by Robert Lawson
from Walker and Company
Realistic fiction for 4th-8th grade
1958 Newbery Honor Book
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Guns for General Washington
by Seymour Reit
from Harcourt
Historical fiction for 4th-8th grade
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Heart Strangely Warmed
by Louise A. Vernon
from Herald Press
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Horses of Anger
by James Forman
2nd Printing from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 7th-10th grade
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
In the Hands of the Senecas
by Walter D. Edmonds
from Little, Brown & Company
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$4.00 (2 in stock)
Indian Captive
by Lois Lenski
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 4th-9th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
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Inside Out & Back Again
by Thanhha Lai
Reprint from HarperCollins
Narrative Poetry / Novel-In-Verse for 4th-8th grade
2012 Newbery Honor Book
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Iron Scouts of the Confederacy
by Lee McGiffin
2nd edition from Christian Liberty Press
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
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$4.50 (1 in stock)
Island of the Blue Dolphins
by Scott O'Dell
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1961 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Island of the Blue Dolphins
by Scott O'Dell
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic Fictio for 5th-8th grade
1961 Newbery Medal Winner
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$12.00 (2 in stock)
Island of the Blue Dolphins
by Scott O'Dell
Anv from Sandpiper Books
Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1961 Newbery Medal winner
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Jack Wade, Fighter for Liberty
A Doubleday Signal Book
by Irving Werstein, illustrated by Albert Orbaan
from Doubleday & Company
for 4th-8th grade
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
January's Sparrow
by Patricia Polacco
from Philomel Books
for 4th-8th grade
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$16.00 (1 in stock)
Johnny Tremain
Illustrated American Classics
by Esther Forbes
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction/Adventure for 3rd-10th grade
1944 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Journey West on the Oregon Trail
by Cecile Alyce Nolan
from Rain Dance Publishing
for 2nd-7th grade
in Oregon Trail (Location: HISA-19OR)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Kathleen: A Yankee Girl at Gettysburg
by Alice Turner Curtis
from Gramercy Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.50 (2 in stock)
King of the Mound
by Wes Tooke
Reprint from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-7th grade
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Lady of Arlington
by Harnett T. Kane
from Doubleday & Company
for 6th-12th grade
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Letter Writer
by Ann Rinaldi
Reprint from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 5th-9th grade
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy
by Gary D. Schmidt
from Scholastic Inc.
for 7th-9th grade
2005 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Madeleine Takes Command
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
by Ethel Brill
from Bethlehem Books
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
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Me, Cholay & Co.
by Don Schellie
from Four Winds Press
for 5th-8th grade
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
My Brother Sam Is Dead
by James & Christopher Collier
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1975 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
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My Brother Sam Is Dead
by James & Christopher Collier
from Simon and Schuster
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1975 Newbery Honor Book
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Never Dies the Dream
by Margaret Landon
from Doubleday & Company
for 7th-12th grade
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
No Promises in the Wind
by Irene Hunt
from Berkley Books
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
North to Freedom
by Anne Holm
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Ojibway Drums
by Marian Magoon, illustrated by Larry Toschik
from Longmans, Green & Co.
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Out of the Dust
by Karen Hesse
from Scholastic Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 6th-8th grade
1998 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Out of the Dust
by Karen Hesse
from Scholastic Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 6th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Out of the Dust
by Karen Hesse
1st edition from Scholastic Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 6th-8th grade
1998 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Parallel Journeys
by Eleanor Ayers, Helen Waterford, & Alfons Heck
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Historical Non-Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Partisans
Shadow Series #4
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.95 $7.00 (1 in stock)
Patty Reed's Doll
by Rachel K. Laurgaard
from Tomato Enterprises
Historical fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.00 (3 in stock)
Perilous Road
by William O. Steele
from Harcourt
for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99 $3.50 (2 in stock)
Red Badge of Courage
Puffin Classics
by Stephen Crane
from Puffin Books
for 7th-10th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Rush Revere and the American Revolution
by Rush Limbaugh with Kathryn Adams Limbaugh
from Threshold Editions
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims
by Rush Limbaugh
from Threshold Editions
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Rush Revere and the First Patriots
by Rush Limbaugh
1St Edition from Threshold Editions
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.00 (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)
Sarah Bishop
by Scott O'Dell
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Fiction for 6th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Seaman's Journal
by Patricia Reeder Eubank
from Ideals Children's Books
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Lewis & Clark (Location: HISA-19L&C)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Seek the Dark Gold
Land of the Free series
by Jo Evalin Lundy, illustrated by Edward Shenton
from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Shadow of the North
by Joseph A. Altsheler
from Appleton-Century-Crofts
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Silence Over Dunkerque
by John R. Tunis
from William Morrow & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Silver Sword
by Ian Serraillier, illustrated by C. Walter Hodges
from Criterion Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (3 in stock)
Sing Down the Moon
by Scott O'Dell
from Houghton Mifflin
for 6th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Sing Down the Moon
by Scott O'Dell
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 6th-8th grade
1971 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
Slave Dancer
by Paula Fox
from Laurel-Leaf Books
Historical Fiction for 6th-8th grade
1974 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.50 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Slave Dancer
by Paula Fox
from Simon and Schuster
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
1974 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Slave Dancer
by Paula Fox
from Simon and Schuster
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
1974 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Slave Dancer
by Paula Fox
from Bradbury Press
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
1974 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Slave Dancer
by Paula Fox, illustrated by Eros Keith
from Bradbury Press
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
1974 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Slopes of War
by N. A. Perez
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Snow Goose
by Paul Gallico
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 7th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$19.95 $14.00 (2 in stock)
So Far From the Bamboo Grove
by Yoko Kawashima Watkins
from Beech Tree Books
Historical fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.99 $4.00 (2 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 (1 in stock)
Stories of the Old Dominion
by John Esten Cooke
from American Foundation Publications
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Streams to the River, River to the Sea
by Scott O'Dell
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 7th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Sword of the Wilderness
by Elizabeth Coatsworth, illustrated by Harve Stein
from Macmillan
for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
This Dear-Bought Land
by Jean Lee Latham
from Harper & Row
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$56.00 (1 in stock)
Thunder Rolling in the Mountains
by Scott O'Dell & Elizabeth Hall
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
To Be a Slave
Puffin Modern Classics
by Julius Lester, illustrated by Tom Feelings
from Puffin Books
Historical Non-fiction for 6th-10th grade
1969 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Trails to Poosey
by Olive R. Cook
from Misty Hill Press
Pioneer Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Walk the World's Rim
by Betty Baker
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
Historical fiction for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.00 (5 in stock)
War Comes to Willy Freeman
by James Lincoln Collier, Christopher Collier
Reissue from Yearling
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Way of Eagles
by Clifford Lindsey Alderman
from Doubleday & Company
for 6th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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