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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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Active Filters: 3rd grade (Ages 8-9), Perfectbound, Used Books & Materials
500 Facts: American History for Kids
from Rockridge Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Alvin Ailey
by Andrea Davis Pinkney; illustrated by Brian Pinkney
from Hyperion Books for Children
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
America At War: Korean War
by John Perritano
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Korean War (1950-1953) (Location: HISA-20KW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
America in the Time of Franklin Delano Roosevelt
by Sally Senzel Isaacs
from Heinemann-Raintree
for 2nd-5th grade
in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
America in the Time of Lewis and Clark
by Sally Senzel Isaacs
from Heinemann-Raintree
for 2nd-5th grade
in 19th Century America (Location: HISA-19C)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
American History: The Civil Rights Movement & Vietnam 1960-1976
from Saddleback Educational Publishing
for 3rd-5th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.: April 4, 1968
24 Hour History
by Terry Collins
from Capstone Press
for 3rd-5th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Bill of Rights
by Lucia Raatma
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in New Nation (1783-1801) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Buffalo Bird Girl
by S. D. Nelson
from Abrams Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.95 $6.00 (4 in stock)
Building the Capital City
by Marlene Targ Brill
from Children's Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Chief Joseph: Leader of Destiny
by Kate Jassem
from Troll Associates
for 3rd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Children of Native America Today
by Yvonne Wakim Dennis and Arlene Hirschfelder
from Charlesbridge
for 3rd-6th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Cowboys on the Western Trail
by Eric Oatman
from National Geographic
for 3rd-5th grade
in Cowboys & Cattlemen (Location: HISA-19CO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
D-Day: June 6, 1944
24 Hour History
by Agnieszka Biskup
from Capstone Press
for 3rd-5th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Declaration of Independence
Documenting U.S. History
by Elizabeth Raum
from Heinemann-Raintree
for 2nd-5th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Early Settler Storybook
from Crabtree Publishing
for 1st-4th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Explore Native American Cultures!
by Anita Yasuda, illustrated by Jennifer K. Keller
from Nomad Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Exploring the Titanic
by Robert D. Ballard
from Scholastic Inc.
in Titanic & 20th Century Disasters (Location: HISW-20DIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Famous Presidents
Eyes on America
by Philip Koslow
from KidsBooks, Inc.
for 2nd-4th grade
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$2.00 (4 in stock)
Farmland Innovator
Creative Minds Biographies
by Catherine A. Welch, illustrated by Jan Naimo Jones
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
George Washington You Never Knew
by James Lincoln Collier
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Happy Birthday, Dr. King!
by Kathryn Jones, Illustrated by Floyd Cooper
from Modern Curriculum Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
If You Were a Kid in the Thirteen Colonies
by Wil Mara, illustrated by Lluis Farre
from Scholastic Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Incans, Aztecs, Mayans
by John Holzmann
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$4.50 (6 in stock)
Jackie Robinson
Photo-Illustrated Biography
by Barbara Knox
from Capstone Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Jedediah Smith
by Sharlene and Ted Nelson
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
John Hancock
by Candice Ransom
from Barnes & Noble
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Lady Liberty: A Biography
by Doreen Rappaport, illustrated by Matt Tavares
from Candlewick Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Landmarks & Symbols of the United States (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Lincoln Memorial
by Deborah Kent
from Children's Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Marco Polo
by Struan Reid
from Heinemann Library
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Marian Anderson
History Maker Bios
by Jane Sutcliffe
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 3rd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Mystery of the Maya
by Peter Lourie
from Boyds Mill Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
N.C. Wyeth's Pilgrims
by Robert D. San Souci
from Scholastic Inc.
for Kindergarten-5th grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Nathan Hale
Hidden History: Spies
by Aaron Derr, Illustrated by Tami Wicinas
from Red Chair Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Nations of the Northwest Coast
by Kathryn Smithyman and Bobbie Kalman
from Crabtree Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Our National Monuments
by Eleanor Ayer
from Millbrook Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Landmarks & Symbols of the United States (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Paul and the Wolf
by Margo Lemieux, Illustrated by Bill Nelson
from Silver Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Pearl Harbor Child
by Dorinda Makanaonalani Nicholson
from Arizona Memorial Museum Association
for 3rd-6th grade
in WWII: Pacific Theater (Location: HISA-20WW2P)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Picture Book of Florence Nightingale
by David A. Adler, illustrated by John & Alexandra Wallner
Repackaged from Holiday House
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Primary Source History of the American Revolution
Fact Finders
by Sarah Powers Webb
from Capstone Press
for 3rd-5th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Reconstruction and the Aftermath of the Civil War
Understanding the Civil War
by Lisa Colozza Cocca
from Crabtree Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Gilded Age & Progressive Era (1877-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Remembering John McCrae
by Linda Granfield
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Robert Fulton
by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Robert Patterson
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for 3rd-5th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$5.00 (5 in stock)
Rosa
by Nikki Giovanni, illustrated by Bryan Collier
from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-4th grade
2006 Caldecott Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Salmon's Journey and More Northwest Coast Stories
by Robert James Challenger
from Heritage House Publishing Company
for 1st-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Sea Lion
by Ken Kesey, Illustrated by Neil Waldman
from Puffin Books
for 1st-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Secret Smithsonian Adventures #1
from Smithsonian Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$5.50 (1 in stock)
Secrets in Stone
by Laurie Coulter, illustrated by Sarah Jane English
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 3rd-8th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Smokestacks and Spinning Jennys
American History Through Primary Sources
by Sean Price
from Capstone Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Industrialization & Organized Labor (Location: HISA-19IND)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Spindle Whorl
by Nan McNutt, illustrated by Roger Fernandes and Susan Point
from Sasquatch Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Step Into the Aztec & Maya Worlds
by Fiona Macdonald
from Hermes House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Step Into the Inca World
by Philip Steele
from Hermes House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Story of the Spirit of St. Louis
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
True Book: The Constitution of the United States
by Patricia Ryon Quiri
from Children's Press
for 3rd-5th grade
in Government & Civics Resources (Location: GOV-REF)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
True Book: The Declaration of Independence
A True Book
by Elaine Landau
from Children's Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
True Book: The Oregon Trail
A True Book
by Mel Friedman
from Children's Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Oregon Trail (Location: HISA-19OR)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
True Stories of the Civil War
Graphic Library: Stories of War
by Nel Yomtov, illustrated by Carlo Molinari
from Capstone Press
for 3rd-5th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
True Stories of World War II
Graphic Library: Stories of War
by Terry Collins, illustrated by Pat Kinsella
from Capstone Press
for 3rd-5th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
What Was the Holocaust?
What Was?
by Gail Herman
1st edition from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-7th grade
in Holocaust (Location: HISW-20WW2H)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin?
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in New Nation (1783-1801) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$3.50 (2 in stock)
When Washington Crossed the Delaware
by Lynne Cheney
from Simon & Schuster Macmillan
for Preschool-3rd grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Where the Poppies Now Grow
by Hilary Robinson, illustrated by Martin Impey
from Strauss House
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Who Were the First North Americans?
Usborne Starting Point History
by Phillippa Wingate & Struan Reid
from Usborne
for 1st-6th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$2.50 (2 in stock)
Why is the White House White?
by Peter & Connie Roop
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Landmarks & Symbols of the United States (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Writing for Freedom
Creative Minds Biographies
by Erica Stux, illustrated by Mary O'Keefe Young
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
You Wouldn't Want to Be an American Colonist!
by Written by Peter Cook, Peter Hicks, Fiona Macdonald, and Jacqueline Morley, and Illustrated by David Antram
from Scholastic Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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