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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18 Penny Goose
An I Can Read Book Level 3
by Sally M. Walker
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Amazing Mind of Granville Woods
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Amelia Earhart - Coloring Book
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Childhood of Famous Americans
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American Family of the Colonial Era - Paper Dolls
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And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?
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And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?
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Annie Oakley: Young Marksman
Childhood of Famous Americans
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Arrow Over the Door
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Ben and Me
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Benjamin Franklin: Young Printer
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Betsy Ross: Designer of our Flag
Childhood of Famous Americans
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Blazing West: The Journal of Augustus Pelletier
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Buffalo Bill: Frontier Daredevil
Childhood of Famous Americans
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Civil War Paper Soldiers in Full Color
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Colonial Fashions - Paper Dolls
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Columbus and the Renaissance Explorers
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Concise Illustrated History of the American Revolution
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Courage of Sarah Noble
by Alice Dalgliesh
Reissue from Aladdin Paperbacks
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1955 Newbery Honor Book
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Crazy Horse: Young War Chief
Childhood of Famous Americans
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Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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Crispus Attucks: Black Leader of Colonial Patriots
Childhood of Famous Americans
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Daniel Boone: Young Hunter and Tracker
Childhood of Famous Americans
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Childhood of Famous Americans
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Defenders, The
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George S. Paton: War Hero
Childhood of Famous Americans
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George Washington's Breakfast
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George Washington, Spymaster
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George Washington: Our First Leader
Childhood of Famous Americans
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Geronimo: Young Warrior
Childhood of Famous Americans
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Going West
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Gonna Sing My Head Off
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Harriet Tubman: Freedom's Trailblazer
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Harry Houdini: Master of Magic
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House on Walenska Street
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Hundred Penny Box
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Hundred Penny Box
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Realistic Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
1976 Newbery Honor Book
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In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson
by Bette Bao Lord
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Immigration for 2nd-6th grade
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In Their Own Words: Abraham Lincoln
In Their Own Words
by George Sullivan
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Jackie Robinson: Young Sports Trailblazer
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Herb Dunn
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Jesse Owens: Young Record Breaker
Childhood of Famous Americans
by M. M. Eboch
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Jimmy Spoon and the Pony Express
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Josefina Story Quilt
An I Can Read Book Level 3
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Journey to America
Journey to America Saga #1
by Sonia Levitin
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Justin Morgan Had a Horse
by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Wesley Dennis
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Animal Stories for 3rd-6th grade
1946 Newbery Honor Book
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Letter to Mrs. Roosevelt
by C. Coco De Young
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Letters from Rifka
by Karen Hesse
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Lion to Guard Us
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Little Farm in the Ozarks
Rocky Ridge Years Book 2
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Little House - Softcover Boxed Set
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
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$79.91
Long Way to a New Land
An I Can Read Book Level 3
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Long Way Westward
An I Can Read Book Level 3
by Joan Sandin
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Mark Twain: Young Writer
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Mariam E. Mason
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Martin Luther King, Jr.: Young Man with a Dream
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Dharathula H. Millender
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Matchlock Gun
by Walter Edmonds
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Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
1942 Newbery Medal winner
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Meet Abraham Lincoln
Second Series Landmark / Step Up reprints
by Barbara Cary
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Meet Christopher Columbus
Second Series Landmark / Step Up reprints
by James de Kay
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Meet George Washington
Second Series Landmark / Step Up reprints
by Joan Heilbroner
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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Meet George Washington
by Joan Heilbroner
First Scholastic Printing 2001 from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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$2.50 (1 in stock)
Molly Pitcher: Young Patriot
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Augusta Stevenson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
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$8.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Molly's Pilgrim
A Bantam First Skylark
by Barbara Cohen, illustrated by Daniel Mark Duffy
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$2.00 (5 in stock)
Mr. Revere and I
by Robert Lawson
from Little, Brown & Company
Humor/historical fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Mr. Revere and I
by Robert Lawson
from Little, Brown & Company
Humor/historical fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
On the Banks of Plum Creek
Little House Series #4
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
1938 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Paul Revere's Ride
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, illustrated by Ted Rand
from Puffin Books
American Poetry for 2nd-6th grade
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$8.99
Paul Revere: Boston Patriot
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Augusta Stevenson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99
Philip Hall Likes Me, I Reckon Maybe.
by Bette Greene
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-5th grade
1975 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
Planet of Junior Brown
by Virginia Hamilton
from Aladdin Paperbacks
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in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Planet of Junior Brown
by Virginia Hamilton
Aladdin Paperbacks: May.2006 from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-5th grade
1972 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Pocahontas and the Strangers
by Clyde Robert Bulla
from Scholastic Inc.
Biographies for 3rd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Pocahontas: Young Peacemaker
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Leslie Gourse
from Aladdin Paperbacks
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$7.99
Prairie School
An I Can Read Book Level 4
by Avi
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$4.99
Ray Charles: Young Musician
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Susan Sloate
from Aladdin Paperbacks
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$6.99
Robert E. Lee: Young Confederate
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Helen Albee Monsell
Reprint from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99
Sacagawea: American Pathfinder
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Meryl Henderson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
Sam the Minuteman
An I Can Read Book Level 3
by Nathaniel Benchley & Arnold Lobel
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
San Domingo
by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Robert Lougheed
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-7th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$7.19
Sarah Morton's Day
by Kate Waters
from Scholastic Inc.
Non-fiction for Nursery-3rd grade
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$7.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Sarah, Plain and Tall
by Patricia MacLachlan
30th Anniversary from HarperCollins
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
1986 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $3.50 (1 in stock)
Serpent Never Sleeps
by Scott O'Dell
from Fawcett Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Shark Lady
by Ann McGovern
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Shh! We're Writing the Constitution!
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in New Nation (1783-1800) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$8.99
Sign of the Beaver
by Elizabeth George Speare
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
1984 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Sitting Bull: Dakota Boy
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Augusta Stevenson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
Sky at Our Feet
by Nadia Hashimi
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
Skylark
by Patricia MacLachlan
from HarperCollins
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
Snowshoe Thompson
An I Can Read Book Level 3
by Nancy Smiler Levinson & Joan Sandin
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$4.99
Soft Rain
by Cornelia Cornelissen
from Yearling
Historical fiction for 3rd-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.99
Sojourner Truth: Voice for Freedom
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Kathleen V. Kudlinski
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99
Sounder
by William H. Armstrong
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade
1970 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
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