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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401 Items found Print
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Abe Lincoln Goes to Washington
by Cheryl Harness
from National Geographic
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Abe Lincoln Grows Up
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Abigail Adams
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Abraham Lincoln
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
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Abraham Lincoln
by Clara Ingram Judson
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Biography for 3rd-7th grade
1951 Newbery Honor Book
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Abraham Lincoln
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
75th Anniversary Edition from Beautiful Feet Books
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1940 Caldecott Medal winner
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Abraham Lincoln's World
by Genevieve Foster, expanded by Joanna Foster
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Historical Non-fiction for 7th-10th grade
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Abraham Lincoln: The Man & His Faith
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AIO Imagination Station Book #21
by Marianne Hering
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Al Capone Does My Shirts
by Gennifer Choldenko
Reprint from Puffin Books
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2005 Newbery Honor Book
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$8.99
Alexander Graham Bell
by Elizabeth MacLeod
from Kids Can Press
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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Alexander Hamilton
by Ron Chernow
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All That Glitters
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by Phyllis Raybin Emert
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America's Paul Revere
by Esther Forbes
from Sandpiper Books
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$12.99
America's War Heroes
by Marilyn Boyer
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$10.39
Americanization of Benjamin Franklin
by Gordon S. Wood
from Penguin Books
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Andrew Jackson
Getting to Know the U.S. Presidents
by Mike Venezia
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Anne Bradstreet
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Anne Bradstreet
Christian Renegades Series
by Doug Wilson
3rd edition from Canon Press
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Anne Bradstreet
by Faith Cook
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Anne Frank's Story
by Carol Ann Lee
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Anne Frank: Beyond the Diary
by Ruud van der Rol & Rian Verhoeven
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Anne Frank: Beyond the Diary
by Ruud van der Rol & Rian Verhoeven
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Arctic Explorer
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Around the World in a Hundred Years
by Jean Fritz
from Penguin Putnam
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$6.00 (2 in stock)
Autobiography of Josiah Henson
by Josiah Henson
from Dover Publications
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Band of Brothers
by Stephen Ambrose, Foreword by Tom Hanks
25th anniversary from Simon and Schuster
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$18.99
Ben Franklin
Sterling Point Books
by Thomas Fleming
from Sterling Publishing Co.
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Benjamin Franklin
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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$17.95
Benjamin Franklin
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
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Biography for 4th-7th grade
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$11.99
Benjamin Franklin, American Genius
by Brandon Marie Miller
from Chicago Review Press
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Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin
by Marguerite Henry & Wesley Dennis
Reprint from Aladdin Paperbacks
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$6.39
Betty Before X
by Ilyasah Shabazz with Renee Watson
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$8.99
Biography of Benjamin Franklin
Sons of Liberty Series
by William M. Thayer
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Biography of George Washington
Sons of Liberty Series
by William M. Thayer
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in A Beka Book Report books (Location: REA-ABK)
Biography of James A. Garfield
Sons of Liberty Series
by William Thayer
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$9.50 (1 in stock)
Black Boy (American Hunger)
by Richard Wright, Foreword by John Edgar Wideman, Afterworld by Malcolm Wright
Modern Classics 75th Anniversary from Harper Perennial
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Black Heroes of the American Revolution
by Burke Davis
1992 Odyssey Classics edition from Clarion Books
for 5th-8th grade
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Bonhoeffer
by Eric Metaxas, foreword by Timothy J. Keller
Revised and Updated from Thomas Nelson Publishers
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$24.99
Bonhoeffer on the Christian Life
Theologians on the Christian Life
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Book About Christopher Columbus
by Ruth Belov Gross, Illustrated by Syd Hoff
from Scholastic Inc.
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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 in the Boat
by Daniel James Brown
Reprint from Penguin Putnam
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Boys in the Boat adapted for Young Readers
by Daniel James Brown, adapted by Gregory Mone
from Penguin Putnam
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Brendan the Navigator
by Jean Fritz
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Bridge to the Sun
by Gwen Terasaki
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Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
2000 Newbery Medal winner
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Buffalo Bill
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
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$17.95
Buffalo Bill
by Helen Cody Wetmore
from University of Nebraska
Biography for 6th-9th grade
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Buffalo Bill and the Wild West
by Henry Blackman Sell and Victor Weybright
Reprint from International Cody Family Assoc.
for Adult
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$15.00 (1 in stock)
Bulletproof George Washington
by David Barton
2nd edition from WallBuilder Press
Biography for 9th-adult
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Bulletproof George Washington
by David Barton
3rd edition from WallBuilder Press
Biography for 9th-adult
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Candy Bomber
by Michael O. Tunnell
from Charlesbridge
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$9.95
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1956 Newbery Medal winner
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$9.99
Chasing Space for Young Readers
by Leland Melvin
from Amistad Press
for 3rd-6th grade
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$7.99
Children of Mount Vernon
by Miriam Anne Bourne, illustrated by Gloria Kamen
from Doubleday & Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Landmarks & Symbols of the United States (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Christianity and the Constitution
by John Eidsmoe
from Baker Academics
for Adult
in Christianity and the State (Location: XWV-STA)
$25.00 $15.00 (1 in stock)
Christopher Columbus
by John Abbott
from A Beka Books
for 7th-10th grade
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Christopher Columbus
Sowers Series
by Bennie Rhodes
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Churchill
by Paul Johnson
Reprint from Penguin Putnam
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$17.00
Churchill: Walking with Destiny
by Andrew Roberts
from Penguin Books
for Adult
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
Clara Barton
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
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$11.99
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)
Co. Aytch
by Sam Watkins
from Touchstone
Historical Non-fiction for 8th-Adult
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$17.00
Columbus
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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$17.95
Columbus and Cortez, Conquerors for Christ
by John Eidsmoe
from New Leaf Press
Biography for Adult
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Come On, Seabiscuit!
by Ralph Moody
from University of Nebraska
Biography for 5th-9th grade
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$14.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Coming On Home Soon
by Jacqueline Woodson
1st edition from Scholastic Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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$2.50 (1 in stock)
Coolidge
by Amity Shlaes
from Harper Perennial
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
Courage to Run
Daughters of the Faith
by Wendy G. Lawton
from Moody Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Daughters of the Faith (Location: SER-DAU)
$8.99
Cup of Cold Water
by Christine Farenhorst
from P&R Publishing
for 4th-6th grades
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Danger in the Desert
by Roger Cohen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 5th-9th grade
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
Daniel Boone
by Daniel Boone
from Applewood Books
Biography for 4th-8th grade
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Daniel Boone
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Daniel Boone
Sterling Point Books
by John Mason Brown
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Biography for 3rd-7th
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Daniel Boone
by Carol Greene
from Children's Press
for Preschool-3rd Grade
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Davy Crockett
by David Crockett
from Applewood Books
Biography for 4th-8th grade
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$14.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Davy Crockett
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank
from Anchor Books
for 7th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Did You Invent The Phone All Alone, Alexander Graham Bell?
by Gilda Berger, Melvin Berger
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.99
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
Discoverers
by Daniel J. Boorstin
from Vintage Classics
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$22.00
Discovery of the Americas
by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
from HarperTrophy
for 3rd-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$9.99
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
Douglas Macarthur: American Hero
Book Report Biographies
by Barbara Silberdick Feinberg
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s I Have a Dream Speech in Translation
by Leslie J. Holland
from Capstone Press
in Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) (Location: HISA-20CIV)
$7.95
Eagle and the Fort
by Dorothy Morrison
from Oregon Historical Society Press
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Eleanor's Story
by Eleanor Ramrath Garner
from Peachtree Publishers, Ltd.
for 7th-9th grade
in WWII: European Theater (Location: HISA-20WW2E)
Encounter
by Jane Yolen
1st edition from Voyager Paperbacks
for 1st-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$8.99
Eric the Red & Leif the Lucky
by Barbara Schiller
from Avyx, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$4.50 (3 in stock)
Evidence Not Seen
by Darlene Deibler Rose
from HarperCollins
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.99
Explorers News
The History News
by Michael Johnstone
from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$6.99 $4.50 (4 in stock)
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
for 4th-8th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Eyewitnesses at the Battle of Franklin
by David R. Logsdon
4th edition
for 9th-Adult
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Fabulous Opal Whiteley
by Elbert Bede
from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 8th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
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
in Church History (Location: XCH-HIS)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Faithful Spy
by John Hendrix
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 8th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$18.99
Falcons of France
by Charles Nordhoff & James Norman Hall
from Little, Brown & Company
for 7th-Adult
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