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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393 Items found Print
Active Filters: 7th grade (Ages 12-13), Trade Paperback, In-Stock Books & Materials
20th Century Wars
by Robert W. Smith
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Abe Lincoln Grows Up
by Carl Sandburg
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Abigail Adams
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Abraham Lincoln
Heroes of History
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Abraham Lincoln's World
by Genevieve Foster, expanded by Joanna Foster
from Beautiful Feet Books
Historical Non-fiction for 7th-10th grade
1945 Newbery Honor Book
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Across America on an Emigrant Train
by Jim Murphy
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1994 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
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Adopted by Indians
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Al Capone Does My Shirts
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2005 Newbery Honor Book
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America and Vietnam
by Albert Marrin
from Beautiful Feet Books
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America from the Beginning - Student Manual
by Joshua Franklin, Debbie Lawrence
from Answers in Genesis
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$29.00 (1 in stock)
America's War Heroes
by Marilyn Boyer
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$10.39
American History in Verse
by Burton Stevenson
from Bob Jones University Press
Poetry for 3rd-Adult
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$11.00
American Waterways: Canal Days
by Jeanne Munn Bracken, ed.
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Amistad Slave Revolt and American Abolition
by Karen Zeinert
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Amistad: A Long Road to Freedom
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Anne Frank: Beyond the Diary
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Anne Frank: Beyond the Diary
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Anpao
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1978 Newbery Honor Book
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Atlas of North American Exploration
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Oklahoma Paperbacks Ed from University of Oklahoma Press
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Avion My Uncle Flew
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1947 Newbery Honor Book
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Balloon Boy of San Francisco
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Battle of the Little Bighorn
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Behind Enemy Lines
Sterling Point Books
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Behind the Bedroom Wall
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Behind the Blue and Gray
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Benjamin Franklin
Heroes of History
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Biography for 4th-7th grade
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Big Annie of Calumet
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Biography of James A. Garfield
Sons of Liberty Series
by William Thayer
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Black Heroes of the American Revolution
by Burke Davis
1992 Odyssey Classics edition from Clarion Books
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Blood on the River: James Town, 1607
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Blue Birds
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Bold Journey
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Bold Journey
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Boris
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Boston Jane
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Boy in the Alamo
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Boy in the Alamo
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Boy's War
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Boys' War
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Buffalo Bill
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Bull Run
by Paul Fleischman, David Frampton (Woodcuts)
2nd edition from Scholastic Inc.
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Calico Captive
by Elizabeth George Speare
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Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham
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1956 Newbery Medal winner
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Children of the Wild West
by Russell Freedman
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Children's Stories
Tales of the Wild West Volume 6
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Civil War
by Janet Cassidy
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Civil War
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Civil War for Kids
by Janis Herbert
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Activity Guide for 4th-7th grade
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$16.95
Clara Barton
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
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Biography for 4th-7th grade
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$11.99
Claudette Colvin
by Philip Hoose
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2010 Newbery Honor Book, 2010 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book, National Book Award
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Colonial Town: Williamsburg
by Bobbie Kalman
Revised from Crabtree Publishing
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Colonial Triangular Trade: An Economy Based on Human Misery
by Phyllis Raybin Emert, ed.
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Come On, Seabiscuit!
by Ralph Moody
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Coolies
by Yin, illustrated by Chris Soentpiet
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Cowboys
Tales of the Wild West Volume 4
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Cowboys of the Wild West
by Russell Freedman
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Cowboys of the Wild West
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Cuban Missile Crisis
by Karl E. Valois
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Historical Non-Fiction for 6th-9th grade
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Curious World of Calpurnia Tate
by Jacqueline Kelly
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2010 Newbery Honor
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Daniel Boone
by Daniel Boone
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Daniel Boone
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
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Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural
by Patricia C. McKissack, illustrated by Brian Pinkney
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1993 Newbery Honor Book
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Darkness Over Denmark
by Ellen Levine
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Davy Crockett
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Davy Crockett
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
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Day of Pleasure
by Isaac Bashevis Singer
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Day the World Stopped Turning
by Michael Morpurgo
from Square Fish Publishing
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$8.99
Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank
from Anchor Books
for 7th-Adult
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$6.50 (1 in stock)
Diary of an Early American Boy
by Eric Sloane
from Dover Publications
American History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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$14.95
Diary of an Early American Boy
by Eric Sloane
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
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$4.00 (2 in stock)
Diary of an Early American Boy
by Eric Sloane
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
by Geoff Benge, Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
DK Eyewitness: American Revolution
by Stuart Murray
from DK Publishing
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$4.50 (1 in stock)
Don't You Know There's a War On?
by Avi
Reprint from HarperCollins
for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Douglas MacArthur
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Draw 50 Boats, Ships, Trucks, and Trains
by Lee Ames
from Watson-Guptill Publications
for 3rd-8th grade
in Draw 50 (Location: ELE-ARTD50)
$9.99
Drive Thru History America with Dave Stotts: Foundations of Character - Book Only
by David Barton
from Tyndale House
for 6th-10th grade
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$6.50 (1 in stock)
Early Thunder
by Jean Fritz
from Puffin Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.99
Eating the Plates
by Lucille Recht Penner
from Aladdin Paperbacks
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in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Echoes of the White Giraffe
by Sook Nyul Choi
Reprint from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.95
Education of Little Tree
by Forrest Carter
from University of New Mexico Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Elephant in the Garden
by Michael Morpurgo
from Feiwel & Friends
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$8.99
Elephant Run
by Roland Smith
Reprint from Disney-Hyperion
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Enemy Brothers
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
by Constance Savery
from Bethlehem Books
Historical fiction for 5th-8th grade
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$15.95
Era of Modernization Through the 1930s
by Kathy Sammis
from Walch Publishing
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in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Europe Finds the World
Cambridge Introduction to World History
by Trevor Cairns
from Cambridge University
for 6th-9th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
by Jacqueline Kelly
Reprint from Square Fish Publishing
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2010 Newbery Honor
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$8.99
Exiled to the Red River
Trailblazer Books
by Dave and Neta Jackson
from Castle Rock Creative
for 3rd-7th grade
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$8.99
Explorers Who Got Lost
by Diane Dreher
from Tor Classic
Non-fiction for 4th-8th grade
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Explorers Who Got Lost
by Diane Sansevere-Dreher, Illustrated by Ed Renfro
from Starscape
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Eyewitness: Civil War
by John Stanchack
from DK Children
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Faith and Freedom Trilogy
Faith and Freedom
by Douglas Bond
from P&R Publishing
for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$33.97
Faith of Our Fathers: Scenes from American Church History
by Mark Sidwell, editor
from Bob Jones University Press
Church History Reference for 7th-12th grade
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$7.50 (1 in stock)
Faith Unfurled
from History Compass
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$7.95 $5.57 (1 in stock)
Fall of Quebec
by George Ochoa
from Silver Burdett Press
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$4.50 (1 in stock)
Farewell to Manzanar
by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
from Houghton Mifflin
for 7th-11th grade
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$10.99
Father's Promise
by Donna Hess
from Bob Jones University Press
Historical fiction for 5th-8th grade
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