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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1812: The War and the World
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A is for Abigail
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Abe Lincoln Gets His Chance
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Dear America
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America Begins
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Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin
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Childhood of Famous Americans
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1953 Newbery Honor Book
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Buffalo Bill
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California Gold Days
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Capital
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Captain Cook: Pacific Explorer
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Chief Seattle
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Child's First Book of American History (hardcover)
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Sonia Bleeker's Tribes of the Americas
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Choosing Brave
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2023 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
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Christopher Columbus
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Christopher Columbus and His Brothers
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Circle of Seasons
by Ann Nolan Clark; illustrated by W. T. Mars
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Coal Miner's Bride
Dear America
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Cold War Correspondent
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Columbus: The Triumphant Failure
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Coming on Home Soon
by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by E. B. Lewis
1st edition from G.P. Putnam's Sons
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2005 Caldecott Honor Book
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Coming to America
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Complete Book of Indian Crafts and Lore
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Conquest of the Atlantic
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Cornstalks and Cannonballs
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Corrie Ten Boom: Shining in the Darkness
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Cowboy Sam and the Indians
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Cowboys
Usborne Beginners Level 1
by Catriona Clarke
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Crispus Attucks: Boy of Valor
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Dharathula H. Millender
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Crossing
by Jim Murphy
from Scholastic Press
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$7.00 (2 in stock)
Cruise of Mr. Christopher Columbus
A Really Truly Story
by Sadyebeth & Anson Lowitz
from Lerner Publishing Group
Biography for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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Daily Life in the Pilgrim Colony 1636
by Paul Erickson
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Davy Crockett
by George Edward Stanley
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Delaware Indians
Sonia Bleeker's Tribes of the Americas
by Sonia Bleeker, illustrated by Patricia Boodell
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Drawing America: Sacajawea
Drawing America
by Elaine Raphael & Don Bolognese
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 1st-3rd grade
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Early Sunday Morning
Dear America
by Barry Denenberg
from Scholastic Inc.
Fictional historical journal for 3rd-6th grade
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Elin's Amerika
by Marguerite de Angeli
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Enchanted Schoolhouse
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Enemies of Slavery
from Holiday House
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Exploration and Conquest
by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
1st edition from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
Exploration and Conquest
by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
1st edition from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
Farmer Boy
Little House Series #3
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
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$19.99
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