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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100 African-Americans Who Shaped American History
by Chrisanne Beckner
from Bluewood Books
for 4th-8th grade
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1421: The Year China Discovered America
by Gavin Menzies
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1491
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1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving
by Catherine O'Neill Grace
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1861: The Civil War Awakening
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Adventures of Lewis and Clark
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Adventures of Munford: The American Revolution
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Al Capone Does My Shirts
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Alexander Hamilton
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Almost Home
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America in the Time of Abraham Lincoln
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America's Christian History
by Gary DeMar
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America's Providential History
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American Covenant
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American Milestones: World War I
by Carole Marsh
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American Passage
by Vincent J. Cannato
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American Revolution
America at War Series
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American Revolution for Kids
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American Waterways: Canal Days
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Americanization of Benjamin Franklin
by Gordon S. Wood
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Amistad Slave Revolt and American Abolition
by Karen Zeinert
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Anne Bradstreet
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Biography for 10th-Adult
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Anne Frank: Beyond the Diary
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Annie Henry and the Secret Mission
Adventures of the American Revolution
by Susan Olasky
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Atlas of North American Exploration
by Glyndwr Williams, William H. Goetzmann
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Journey Into Civilization
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Battle of the Little Bighorn
by Mark Henckel
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Beginner's American History
by D. H. Montgomery
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Beginning of the Republic
A Basic History of the United States Volume 2
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American History Reference for 9th-Adult
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Behind the Blue and Gray
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Between the Lines
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Big Annie of Calumet
by Jerry Stanley
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Bill of Rights
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Bill of Rights in Translation
by Amie Jane Leavitt
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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
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Birchbark House
by Louise Erdrich
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Bite of the Gold Bug
by Barthe DeClements
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Black & Tan
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Black Odyssey
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Monroe Family Chronicles #1
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Veritas Maritime Series #1
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Bold Journey
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Bomb
by Steve Sheinkin
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2013 Newbery Honor Book
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Borrowed House
Bethlehem Books Young Adult Bookshelf
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Boston Jane
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Boy on the Wooden Box
by Leon Leyson
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Boy's War
by David Michell
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Boys' War
by Jim Murphy
from Clarion Books
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Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
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2000 Newbery Medal winner
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Buffalo Bill
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Biography for 6th-9th grade
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Buffalo Bill and the Wild West
by Henry Blackman Sell and Victor Weybright
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Bull Run
by Paul Fleischman, David Frampton (Woodcuts)
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Butter in the Well: Historical Diary 1868-1888
by Linda K. Hubalek
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Buttons for General Washington
by Peter & Connie Roop
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By the Dawn's Early Light
by Steven Kroll
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Captured Words
The Good and the Beautiful Library Level 5
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Carolina's Courage
by Elizabeth Yates
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Seeds of America #1
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Child's Day
Historic Communities
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Children of the Earth and Sky
by Stephen Krensky, Illustrated by James Watling
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Children of the Longhouse
by Joseph Bruchac
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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
by Rick Steber
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Choppers!
Step into Reading Level 4
by Susan E. Goodman
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Christianity and the Constitution
by John Eidsmoe
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$15.00 (1 in stock)
Christopher Columbus
Sowers Series
by Bennie Rhodes
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Churchill: Walking with Destiny
by Andrew Roberts
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Civil War
by Janet Cassidy
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Civil War
by Pat Wesolowski
from Unknown Publisher
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Civil War
Step Into History
by Steven Otfinoski
from Children's Press
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Civil War Artist
by Taylor Morrison
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Civil War Days
American Kids in History
by David C. King
1st edition from John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
for 3rd-6th Grade
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Civil War for Kids
by Janis Herbert
from Chicago Review Press
Activity Guide for 4th-7th grade
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Civil War Heroines
by Jill Canon
from Bellerophon Books
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Civil War Songbook
from Dover Publications
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Civil War: 1850-1895
American History by Era Volume 5
by Auriana Ojeda, book editor
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$14.00 (1 in stock)
Civil War: A History
by Harry Hansen, Introduction by Richard S. Wheeler, Foreword by Gary Gallagher
from New American Library
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Colonial America
by Donald M. Silver, Patricia J. Wynne
from Scholastic Inc.
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in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Colonial America
for 4th-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Colonial America: An Interactive History Adventure
You Choose Books
by Allison Lassieur
from Capstone Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Series Books (Location: SER-MISC)
$5.50 (1 in stock)
Colonial Experience
A Basic History of the United States Volume 1
by Clarence B. Carson
from American Textbook Committee
American History Reference for 9th-Adult
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$17.00 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Colonial Kids
by Laurie Carlson
1st edition from Chicago Review Press
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in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$7.00 (2 in stock)
Colonial Period: 1607-1750
American History by Era Volume 2
by Brenda Stalcup (editor)
from Greenhaven Press
for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
Colonial Times 1600-1700
by Joy Masoff
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-5th grade
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$1.00 (2 in stock)
Colonial Town: Williamsburg
by Bobbie Kalman
Revised from Crabtree Publishing
for 1st-8th grade
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Columbus and the Renaissance Explorers
by Colin Hynson
from Barron's
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Come On, Seabiscuit!
by Ralph Moody
from University of Nebraska
Biography for 5th-9th grade
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Coming On Home Soon
by Jacqueline Woodson
1st edition from Scholastic Inc.
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$2.50 (1 in stock)
Courage to Run
Daughters of the Faith
by Wendy G. Lawton
from Moody Press
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$8.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Cowboys
Tales of the Wild West Volume 4
by Rick Steber
from Bonanza Publishing
for 4th-7th grade
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$2.50 (1 in stock)
Cowboys of the Wild West
by Russell Freedman
from Sandpiper Books
Non-fiction for 4th-8th grade
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$6.50 (1 in stock)
Cowboys of the Wild West
by Russell Freedman
from Scholastic Inc.
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$4.50 (1 in stock)
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