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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549 Items found Print
Active Filters: 7th grade (Ages 12-13), Used Books & Materials
100 African-Americans Who Shaped American History
by Chrisanne Beckner
from Bluewood Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
13 Colonies: Georgia
by Roberta Wiener and James R. Arnold
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Abraham Lincoln in Peace and War
by Earl Schenck Miers
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for 6th-10th grade
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Across Five Aprils
by Irene Hunt
from Berkley Books
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
1965 Newbery Honor Book
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Adventures of Lewis and Clark
by John Bakeless
from Dover Publications
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Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain
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After the Dancing Days
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After the War
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Al Capone Does My Shirts
by Gennifer Choldenko
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2005 Newbery Honor Book
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Alone Yet Not Alone
by Tracy Leininger Craven
Mti from Zonderkidz
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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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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America's Fascinating Indian Heritage
by James A. Maxwell
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American Barns and Covered Bridges
by Eric Sloane
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American Faith
by Kevin Swanson with Joshua Schwisow, Daniel Noor, and Peter Bringe
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 1
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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 2
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 4
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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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American Indian Prayer Guide
by Danette Maloof, Dean Cozzens
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
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American Indian Tales and Legends
by Vladimir Hulpach, illustrated by Miloslav Troup
from Paul Hamlyn
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American Presidents & Presidential First Ladies Notebooking Pages
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American Waterways: Canal Days
by Jeanne Munn Bracken, ed.
from History Compass
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American Yesterday
by Eric Sloane
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Amethyst Ring
by Scott O'Dell
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Amistad Slave Revolt and American Abolition
by Karen Zeinert
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Anne Frank: Beyond the Diary
by Ruud van der Rol & Rian Verhoeven
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Apache Land
by Ross Santee
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Art of Keeping Cool
by Janet Taylor Lisle
from Scholastic Inc.
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2001 Scott O'Dell Award
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Atlas of North American Exploration
by Glyndwr Williams, William H. Goetzmann
Oklahoma Paperbacks Ed from University of Oklahoma Press
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Aztec and Maya Myths
by Karl Taube
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Aztecs
Journey Into Civilization
by Robert Nicholson and Claire Watts
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B. Franklin, Printer
by David A. Adler
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Bad News for Outlaws
by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
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Battle of the Little Bighorn
by Mark Henckel
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Before Columbus
by Charles C. Mann
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Before Columbus
by Charles C. Mann
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Behind the Blue and Gray
by Delia Ray
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Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia
Landmark Series
by Margaret Cousins
from Random House
Biography for 5th-8th grade
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Big Annie of Calumet
by Jerry Stanley
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Big Annie of Calumet
by Jerry Stanley
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Big Book of the Civil War
by Joanne Mattern
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Billy Yank - Coloring Book
by Alan Archambault
from Bellerophon Books
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Biography of Benjamin Franklin
Sons of Liberty Series
by William M. Thayer
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Biography of James A. Garfield
Sons of Liberty Series
by William Thayer
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Black Hawk, Sac Rebel
from Chelsea House Publishing
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Black Man in America
from Franklin Watts
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Blue Willow
Puffin Newbery Library
by Doris Gates
from Puffin Books
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1941 Newbery Honor Book
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Bold Journey
by Charles Bohner
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Bomb
by Steve Sheinkin
from Scholastic Inc.
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2013 Newbery Honor Book
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Bonanza Girl
by Patricia Beatty
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Book of Discovery
by M. B. Synge
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Borrowed House
Bethlehem Books Young Adult Bookshelf
by Hilda Van Stockum
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Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
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Boston
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Boston Jane
by Jennifer L. Holm
from Scholastic Reference
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Bound for America
Great Journeys
by Milton Meltzer
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Bound for Oregon
by Jean Van Leeuwen
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
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Boy on the Wooden Box
by Leon Leyson
Reprint from Atheneum
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Christopher Award
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Boy's War
by David Michell
1st edition from OMF
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Boys' War
by Jim Murphy
from Clarion Books
Historical Non-fiction for 5th-8th grade
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Buffalo Bill
by Helen Cody Wetmore
from University of Nebraska
Biography for 6th-9th grade
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Bull Run
by Paul Fleischman
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Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
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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
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
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By Right of Conquest
by G. A. Henty
from Preston Speed
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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$14.00 (1 in stock)
Caddie Woodlawn
by Carol Ryrie Brink
from Aladdin Paperbacks
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
for 6th-10th grade
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Captive
by Scott O'Dell
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 5th-8th grade
Hans Christian Anderson Award
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham, illustrated by John O'Hara Cosgrave II
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1956 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
Carver: A Life In Poems
by Marilyn Nelson
1st edition from Scholastic Inc.
for 6th-10th grade
2002 Newbery Honor Book
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Chains
Seeds of America #1
by Laurie Halse Anderson
from Atheneum
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Character for Life
by Don Hawkinson
for 7th-12th grade
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Charles A. Lindbergh
by James Cross Giblin
from Clarion Books
Biography for 5th-8th grade
1998 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Child Star
by Lydia Weaver
from Viking Press
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in Great Depression (1929-1939) (Location: HISA-20GD)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Day
Historic Communities
by Bobbie Kalman & Tammy Everts
from Crabtree Publishing
for 1st-7th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Children of the Wild West
by Russell Freedman
from Clarion Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$4.00 (3 in stock)
Children of the Wild West
by Russell Freedman
from Clarion Books
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in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Children's Stories
Tales of the Wild West Volume 6
by Rick Steber
from Bonanza Publishing
for 4th-7th grade
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
$2.50 (3 in stock)
Citizen's Handbook
by Bethany Poore
from Notgrass Company
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in Notgrass Uncle Sam and You (Location: GOV-CURNG)
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Civil War
by Janet Cassidy
from Scholastic Inc.
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$7.00 (1 in stock)
Civil War
by Pat Wesolowski
from Unknown Publisher
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in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Civil War
by John & Patty Carratello
from Teacher Created Materials, Inc.
for 6th-8th grade
in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Civil War
Step Into History
by Steven Otfinoski
from Children's Press
for 5th-8th grade
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Civil War Battles
by Curt Johnson
1st edition from Crescent Books
for 7th-12th grade
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Civil War Book of Facts
by Frank Burd
from Americana Souvenirs & Gifts
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in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Civil War for Kids
by Janis Herbert
from Chicago Review Press
Activity Guide for 4th-7th grade
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$16.95 $12.00 (2 in stock)
Classical Acts and Facts History Cards: New World
from Classical Conversations
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Claudette Colvin
by Philip Hoose
from Square Fish Publishing
for 6th-9th grade
2010 Newbery Honor Book, 2010 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book, National Book Award
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$7.50 (1 in stock)
Cobblestone Magazine: Thomas Jefferson
from Cobblestone Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
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$1.25 (1 in stock)
Colonial American Home Life
by John F. Warner
from Franklin Watts
for 6th-10th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Colonial Governor
by J.G.E. Hopkins, illustrated by William Wilson
from P.J. Kenedy & Sons
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Colonial Town: Williamsburg
by Bobbie Kalman
Revised from Crabtree Publishing
for 1st-8th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$4.00 (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)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Columbus and the Renaissance Explorers
by Colin Hynson
from Barron's
for 4th-8th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Columbus and the Renaissance Explorers
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-7th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
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