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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Age of Fighting Sail
by C. S. Forester
1st edition from Doubleday & Company
American Naval History for 8th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
America Grows Up
A History for Peter #2
by Gerald W. Johnson
from Yesterday's Classics
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in New Nation (1783-1800) (Location: HISA-18NN)
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America is Born
A History for Peter #1
by Gerald W. Johnson (iilustrations by Leonard Everett Fisher)
from William Morrow & Company
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America's Christian History
by Gary DeMar
2nd edition from American Vision Press
for 10th-Adult
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America's Providential History
by Mark Beliles & Stephen McDowell
from Providence Foundation
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Around the World in a Hundred Years
by Jean Fritz
from Penguin Putnam
Biography for 2nd-5th grade
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Europe Finds the World
Cambridge Introduction to World History
by Trevor Cairns
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Everything You Need to Know About American History Homework
by Anne Zeman & Kate Kelly
from Scholastic Inc.
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Exploration and Conquest
by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
1st edition from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
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Exploration and Conquest
by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
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Explorers Who Got Lost
by Diane Dreher
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Explorers Who Got Lost
by Diane Sansevere-Dreher, Illustrated by Ed Renfro
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Explorers, Missionaries, and Trappers
by Kieran Doherty
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Ferdinand Magellan
by Milton Meltzer
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Ferdinand Magellan and the Discovery of the World Ocean
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Fight for Freedom
by Benson Bobrick
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For You They Signed
by Marilyn Boyer
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Forever Free
by Eric Foner, illustrations edited with commentary by Joshua Brown
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Forgotten Ellis Island
by Lorie Conway
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From Sea to Shining Sea
by Peter Marshall & David Manuel
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American History Reference for 9th-Adult
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From Sea to Shining Sea for Children
by Peter Marshall, David Manuel & Anna Fishel
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George Washington's World (pictorial hardcover)
by Genevieve Foster
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Golden Book of America
by Bruce Catton
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Great Explorers
by Joyce Grosseck & Elizabeth Attwood
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Great Fire
by Jim Murphy
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Hernando de Soto and the Exploration of Florida
by Jim Gallagher
from Chelsea House Publishing
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History of Human Society: Pioneer America
The History of Human Society
by John R. Alden
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History of the American People
by Paul Johnson
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History of the United States
by Alexander H. Stephens
1999 reproduction from American Foundation Publications
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
History of the United States and Its People
by Edward Eggleston
1st edition from Lost Classics Book Co.
for 7th-9th grade
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
History of US - 11 Volume Set (soft)
History of US
by Joy Hakim
2nd edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
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History of US - 11 Volumes (hardcover)
by Joy Hakim
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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
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History of US Book 10
History of US Book 10
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
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History of US Book 2
History of US Book 2
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3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
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History of US Book 2
by Joy Hakim
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History of US Book 3
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
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History of US Book 3
by Joy Hakim
3rd edition from Oxford University
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History of US Book 4
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History of US Book 4
by Joy Hakim
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History of US Book 6
History of US Book 6
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
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History of US Book 6
History of US Book 6
by Joy Hakim
3rd edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
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History of US Book 7
History of US Book 7
by Joy Hakim
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History of US Book 8
History of US Book 8
by Joy Hakim
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History of US Book 8
History of US Book 8
by Joy Hakim
3rd edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
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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
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History of US Book 9
by Joy Hakim
3rd edition from Oxford University
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History of US Book Concise Edition B
by Joy Hakim
Concise from K12
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History Uncovered: The U.S.A.
by Kristine Carlson Asselin
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In God We Trust
by Timothy Crater & Ranelda Hunsicker
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Incans, Aztecs, Mayans
by John Holzmann
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Incredible Journey of Lewis and Clark
by Rhoda Blumberg
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Indians of the Woodlands
by George E. Hyde
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It Happened in America
by Lila Perl
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Landmark History of the American People
by Daniel & Ruth Boorstin
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Landmark History of the American People Volume I
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Landmark History of the American People Volume II
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Liberty Bell
Primary Sources of American Symbols
by Jennifer Silate
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Light and the Glory - Study Guide
Light & the Glory
by Peter Marshall, David Manuel
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by Peter Marshall & David Manuel
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Magellan
by Michael Burgan
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Makers of the Americas
by Marion Lansing
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Making of America
by Robert D. Johnston
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Making of American California
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Many Thousand Gone
by Virginia Hamilton
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Miracle at Philadelphia
by Catherine Drinker Bowen
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Mountain Men and Fur Traders of the Far West
by LeRoy R. Hafen & Harvey L. Carter
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Nation Torn
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Never Before in History
by Gary Amos & Richard Gardiner
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On the Edge
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Only the Names Remain
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Orphan Train Rider
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Our Heritage of Freedom
by B Elane clegg, Darlene P Stoker
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Outbreak of the First World War
Studies in European History
by David Stevenson
from Palgrave MacMillan
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Overlord
by Albert Marrin
1st edition from Atheneum
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Panama Canal
by Elizabeth Mann
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People of the Century
by Various
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Pizarro, Orellana, and the Exploration of the Amazon
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Pony Express
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Portraits of African-American Heroes
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Prairie Visions
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1992 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
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Pueblo
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Rising Sun Volume 1
by John Toland
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Save Our History: National World War II Memorial - Teacher's Manual
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Scottsboro Case
Events That Shaped America
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Seeds of a Nation - Massachusetts
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Seneca Falls Women's Rights Convention
Events That Shaped America
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Sir Walter Raleigh and the Quest for El Dorado
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2001 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner
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Sounding Forth the Trumpet for Young Readers
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Statue of Liberty
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Stories of the Pilgrims (old)
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Revised Edition from Christian Liberty Press
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Story of Liberty
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Historical Reference for 10th-Adult
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Story of the Declaration of Independence
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Story of the Trail of Tears
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Struggle for Sea Power
Story of the World Series #4
by M. B. Synge
from Yesterday's Classics
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Sweet Land of Liberty
by Charles Coffin
from Maranatha Publications
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Tall Tales
Tales of the Wild West Volume 13
by Rick Steber
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Tet Offensive
by Charles Wills
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Timeline of Congress
Timelines of American History
by Lisa Modifica
1st edition from Rosen Central
for 3rd-6th grade
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Timeline of the Abolitionist Movement
Timelines of American History
by Judith Levin
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