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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Abe Lincoln Grows Up
by Carl Sandburg
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Abigail Adams
by Natalie S. Bober
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Abraham Lincoln
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
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$11.99
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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$17.95
Abraham Lincoln's World
by Genevieve Foster, expanded by Joanna Foster
from Beautiful Feet Books
Historical Non-fiction for 7th-10th grade
1945 Newbery Honor Book
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AIO Imagination Station Book #21
by Marianne Hering
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Al Capone Does My Shirts
by Gennifer Choldenko
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2005 Newbery Honor Book
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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
Anne Bradstreet
by Heidi L. Nichols
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Anne Bradstreet
Christian Renegades Series
by Doug Wilson
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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
Benjamin Franklin
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
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Benjamin Franklin
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
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Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin
by Marguerite Henry & Wesley Dennis
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Betty Before X
by Ilyasah Shabazz with Renee Watson
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$8.99
Black Heroes of the American Revolution
by Burke Davis
1992 Odyssey Classics edition from Clarion Books
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Bonhoeffer
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Revised and Updated from Thomas Nelson Publishers
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Bridge to the Sun
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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
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
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Candy Bomber
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Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham
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Biography for 5th-9th grade
1956 Newbery Medal winner
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Chasing Space for Young Readers
by Leland Melvin
from Amistad Press
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Christianity and the Constitution
by John Eidsmoe
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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
Clara Barton
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
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$11.99
Co. Aytch
by Sam Watkins
from Touchstone
Historical Non-fiction for 8th-Adult
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Come On, Seabiscuit!
by Ralph Moody
from University of Nebraska
Biography for 5th-9th grade
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Courage to Run
Daughters of the Faith
by Wendy G. Lawton
from Moody Press
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$8.99
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
Davy Crockett
by David Crockett
from Applewood Books
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Davy Crockett
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
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$11.99
Did You Invent The Phone All Alone, Alexander Graham Bell?
by Gilda Berger, Melvin Berger
from Scholastic Inc.
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Dietrich Bonhoeffer
by Geoff Benge, Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 5th-8th grade
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$11.99
Discoverers
by Daniel J. Boorstin
from Vintage Classics
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$22.00
Discovery of the Americas
by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
from HarperTrophy
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$9.99
Douglas MacArthur
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
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$11.99
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s I Have a Dream Speech in Translation
by Leslie J. Holland
from Capstone Press
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$7.95
Encounter
by Jane Yolen
1st edition from Voyager Paperbacks
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$8.99
Evidence Not Seen
by Darlene Deibler Rose
from HarperCollins
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Explorers News
The History News
by Michael Johnstone
from Candlewick Press
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Faithful Spy
by John Hendrix
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First Voyage to America
by Christopher Columbus
from Dover Publications
Historical Primary Sources for 10th-Adult
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$9.95
Forty-Acre Swindle
TrailBlazer Books
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Castle Rock Creative
for 3rd-7th grade
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$8.99
Four Voyages
by Christopher Columbus
from Penguin Classics
Historical Primary Sources for 9th-Adult
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$17.00
Francis Asbury
by Geoff Benge, Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
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$11.99
Francis Scott Key
Sowers Series
by David Collins
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Frederick Douglass: The Right to Dignity
from Emerald Books
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$11.99
Freedom Walkers
by Russell Freedman
from Holiday House
for 4th-6th grade
2007 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) (Location: HISA-20CIV)
$14.99
Freedom's Pen
Daughters of the Faith
by Wendy G. Lawton
New Edition from Moody Press
for 3rd-6th grade
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$7.99
George vs. George
by Rosalyn Schanzer
Reprint from National Geographic
for 3rd-6th grade
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$6.95
George Washington
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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$17.95
George Washington
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
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$11.99
George Washington
by Cheryl Harness
from National Geographic
for 3rd-6th grade
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$8.99
George Washington Carver
Sowers Series
by David Collins
from Mott Media
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$8.99
George Washington Carver
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
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$11.99
George Whitefield
by Arnold A. Dallimore
from Crossway Books
for 9th-Adult
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$14.50
Gettysburg Address in Translation
by Kay M., Olson
from Capstone Press
for 3rd-6th grade
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$7.95
Go Free or Die
by Jeri Ferris
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
Biography for 4th-6th grade
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$9.99
God and Ronald Reagan
by Paul Kengor
Reprint from Harper Perennial
for 9th-Adult
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$17.99
God's Samurai
by Gordon Prange, with Donald Goldstein & Katherine Dillon
from Potomoc Books
for 10th-Adult
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$21.95
Going Solo
by Roald Dahl
from Puffin Books
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$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Gold Cadillac
by Mildred D. Taylor
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
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Harriet Tubman
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Heart Strangely Warmed
by Louise A. Vernon
from Herald Press
for 4th-8th grade
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$9.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Hidden Figures: Young Reader's Edition
from Harper
for 3rd-6th grade
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$9.99
Hiding Place
by Corrie Ten Boom
35th Anniversary Edition from Chosen Books
Biography for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.99
History of US Book 7
History of US Book 7
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
in History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$15.95 $11.00 (2 in stock)
Hitler
by Albert Marrin
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.95
Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War
by Joseph Loconte
from Tyndale House
for Adult
in The Inklings (Location: LIR-INK)
$18.99
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
by Harriet Jacobs
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.00 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Invisible Man
by Ralph Ellison
2nd edition from Vintage Classics
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.00
Jason Lee
Sowers Series
by Charles Ludwig
from Mott Media
Biography for 7th-9th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Jed Smith
by Frank Latham
from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 4th-8th grade
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Jessie Benton Fremont
by Marguerite Higgins
from Beautiful Feet Books
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$13.95
John Adams
by David McCullough
from Simon and Schuster
for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.00
John Flynn
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Jonathan Edwards
by Stephen J. Nichols
from P&R Publishing
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.99
Journey and Ordeal of Cabeza de Vaca
Dover editions
by Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca
from Dover Publications
for 5th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$10.95
Journey That Saved Curious George
by Louise W. Borden
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 3rd-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.99
Just a Few Words, Mr. Lincoln
An All Aboard Reading Reader Level 4
by Jean Fritz
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Step into Reading (Location: EAR-STEP)
$4.99
Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie
by Peter & Connie Roop
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
Historical Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
King of the Mound
by Wes Tooke
Reprint from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-7th grade
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Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Biography
by William Anderson
from HarperTrophy
for 4th-10th grade
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$9.99
Let the Circle Be Unbroken
by Mildred R. Taylor
Reissue from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99
Life and Death of Adolf Hitler
by James Cross Giblin
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 5th-8th grade
2003 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.99
Life and Diary of David Brainerd
by David Brainerd
from Baker Books
Biography for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.00 $9.00 (2 in stock)
Life of General Stonewall Jackson
by Mary Williamson
from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
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$11.75 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Life of George Washington
by Mary Williamson
from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.75
Life of J.E.B. Stuart
by Mary Williamson
2nd edition from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.75
Life of Washington
by Josephine Pollard
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 3rd-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.95 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Lincoln: A Photobiography
by Russell Freedman
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1988 Newbery Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.99 $7.50 (5 in stock)
Listen for the Whippoorwill
Trailblazer Books
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Castle Rock Creative
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
$8.99
Lost City
by Ted Lewin
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Latin & South America (Location: HISMC-LAT)
$8.99
Mahalia Jackson
Sowers Series
by Evelyn Witter
from Mott Media
for 4th-6th grade
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$8.99 $5.00 (3 in stock)
Make Way for Sam Houston
by Jean Fritz
from Penguin Putnam
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99
Making It Go: The Life and Work of Robert Fulton
by Don Herweck
from Teacher Created Materials, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.00
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