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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48 Items found Print
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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
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$21.95
America and Vietnam
by Albert Marrin
from Beautiful Feet Books
Historical Non-Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Vietnam War (1957-1975) (Location: HISA-20VIE)
$13.95
American History in Verse
by Burton Stevenson
from Bob Jones University Press
Poetry for 3rd-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$11.00
Battle Cry of Freedom
Oxford History of the United States
by James M. McPherson
from Oxford University
for 11th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$24.95
Child's First Book of American History
by Earl Schenck Miers, James Daugherty
from Beautiful Feet Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Beautiful Feet Books (Location: HISCUR-BFB)
$32.95
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
in Basic History of the United States (Location: HISCUR-US)
$17.00
Colonial Wars
America at War Series
by Alden Carter
from Grolier Publishing
Historical Non-fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$6.95
Cuban Missile Crisis
by Karl E. Valois
from History Compass
Historical Non-Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Communism & The Cold War (Location: HISA-20CW)
$7.95
Discoverers
by Daniel J. Boorstin
from Vintage Classics
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$22.00
George Washington's World
by Genevieve Foster, expanded by Joanna Foster and edited by Rea Berg
from Beautiful Feet Books
History Reference/Biography for 7th-10th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$21.95
Great Fire
by Jim Murphy
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
1996 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
in 19th Century America (Location: HISA-19C)
$7.99
Growing Up in Coal Country
by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
from Houghton Mifflin
for 6th-9th grade
in Industrialization & Organized Labor (Location: HISA-19IND)
$7.95
History of US Book 1
History of US Book 1
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 (1 in stock)
History of US Book 10
History of US Book 10
by Joy Hakim
4th edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
in History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$15.95
History of US Book 2
History of US Book 2
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 (3 in stock)
History of US Book 3
History of US Book 3
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 (1 in stock)
History of US Book 4
History of US Book 4
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 (1 in stock)
History of US Book 5
History of US Book 5
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
History of US Book 6
History of US Book 6
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)
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)
History of US Book 8
History of US Book 8
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 (1 in stock)
History of US Book 9
History of US Book 9
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)
Land of Hope
by Wilfred M. McClay
from Encounter Books
for 10th-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$49.99
Light and the Glory for Young Readers
by Anna Wilson Fishel, David Manuel, Peter Marshall
Reprint from Revell Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Light and the Glory (Location: HISA-LG)
$18.00
Mayflower Pilgrims
by Edmund J. Carpenter
2nd edition from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$7.50
More Perfect Union
The American Story Series
by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
from HarperCollins
Historical Reference for 2nd-6th grade
in New Nation (1783-1800) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$11.99
Mountain Men and Fur Traders of the Far West
by LeRoy R. Hafen & Harvey L. Carter
from University of Nebraska
Biography for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$21.95 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Naval War of 1812
by Theodore Roosevelt
from Random House
Historical Non-fiction for 10th-Adult
in War of 1812 (Location: HISA-19WET)
$15.95
Of Courage Undaunted
by James Daugherty
from Beautiful Feet Books
Non-Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in Lewis & Clark (Location: HISA-19L&C)
$17.95
Only the Names Remain
by Alex W. Bealer
from Little, Brown & Company
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in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$8.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
Orphan Train Rider
by Andrea Warren
from Houghton Mifflin
for 3rd-6th grade
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$9.95
Profiles from History Volume 1
by Ashley M. Wiggers
from Geography Matters
for 3rd-5th grade
in Trail Guide to Learning (Location: CUR-TGL)
$16.95
Profiles from History Volume 2
by Ashley M. Wiggers
from Geography Matters
for 3rd-6th grade
in Trail Guide to Learning (Location: CUR-TGL)
$16.95
Reconstruction: Binding the Wounds
Perspectives on History Series
by Cheryl Edwards, ed.
from History Compass
Historical Non-fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$7.95
Rough Riders
by Theodore Roosevelt
from Dover Publications
Historical non-fiction for 9th-Adult
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$8.95
Stories of Young Pioneers
by Violet T. Kimball
from Mountain Press
Historical Non-fiction for 6th-11th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$14.00
Story of Liberty
by Charles Coffin
from Maranatha Publications
Historical Reference for 10th-Adult
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$19.97 $10.00 (3 in stock)
This Independent Republic
by R. J. Rushdoony
from Chalcedon / Ross House Books
American History Reference for
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$17.00
Victory in the Pacific
by Albert Marrin
from Beautiful Feet Books
Historical Non-Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in WWII: Pacific Theater (Location: HISA-20WW2P)
$13.95
Vietnam War
Perspectives on History Series
by Mitch Yamasaki, ed.
from History Compass
for 6th-9th grade
in Vietnam War (1957-1975) (Location: HISA-20VIE)
$7.95
War of 1812
Perspectives on History Series
by Mary Alice Burke Robinson, editor
from History Compass
Historical Non-fiction for 6th-9th grade
in War of 1812 (Location: HISA-19WET)
$7.95 $5.00 (1 in stock)
War to End All Wars
by Russell Freedman
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 4th-8th grade
in World War I (1914-1919) (Location: HISA-20WW1)
$11.99
World of Captain John Smith
by Genevieve Foster
from Beautiful Feet Books
Non-fiction for 7th-10th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
in Jamestown Colony (Location: HISA-17JA)
$21.95 $15.00 (1 in stock)
World of Columbus and Sons
by Genevieve Foster, edited by Rea Berg
Edited from Beautiful Feet Books
History Reference for 7th-10th grade
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$21.95
World of William Penn
by Genevieve Foster
from Beautiful Feet Books
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$14.95
Yanks Are Coming
by Albert Marrin
from Beautiful Feet Books
Non-fiction for 7th-10th grade
in World War I (1914-1919) (Location: HISA-20WW1)
$13.95 $9.50 (1 in stock)
Year of the Horseless Carriage: 1801
by Genevieve Foster
from Beautiful Feet Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in 19th Century America (Location: HISA-19C)
$10.95
You Want Women to Vote, Lizzie Stanton?
by Jean Fritz
from Penguin Putnam
for 4th-6th grade
in 19th Century America (Location: HISA-19C)
$6.99