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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100 African-Americans Who Shaped American History
by Chrisanne Beckner
from Bluewood Books
for 4th-8th grade
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
13 Colonies: Georgia
by Roberta Wiener and James R. Arnold
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1421: The Year China Discovered America
by Gavin Menzies
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1491
by Charles C. Mann
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1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving
by Catherine O'Neill Grace
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1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving
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1846 - Portrait of the Nation
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1861: The Civil War Awakening
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1944: FDR and the Year That Changed History
by Jay Winik
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500 Facts: American History for Kids
from Rockridge Press
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
500 Nations
by Alvin M. Josephy, Jr.
1st edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
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$20.00 (1 in stock)
55 Men: The Story of the Constitution
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Abe Lincoln Gets His Chance
by Frances Cavanah
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Abe's Honest Words
by Doreen Rappaport, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
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Abigail Adams Package (FACE)
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Abraham Lincoln
A Rookie Biography
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Abraham Lincoln in Peace and War
by Earl Schenck Miers
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Acadia National Park
Road Trip: National Parks
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Across America
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Across America, I Love You
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Across Five Aprils
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1965 Newbery Honor Book
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Adventures of Davy Crockett
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Adventures of Lewis and Clark
by John Bakeless
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Adventures of Munford: The American Revolution
by Jamie Aramini
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Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain
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Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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Adventures with the Santa Fe Trail
by Dave Webb, illustrated by Phillip R. Buntin
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Africa Is My Home
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After the Dancing Days
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After the War
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Age of Fighting Sail
by C. S. Forester
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Air Forces of the World
by Sue Butterworth, editor
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Akavak
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Al Capone Does My Shirts
by Gennifer Choldenko
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2005 Newbery Honor Book
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Alexander Hamilton
by Ron Chernow
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by Natalie M. Rosinsky
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Almost Home
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Alone Yet Not Alone
by Tracy Leininger Craven
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Alvin Ailey
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by Quentin Reynolds
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Amelia Earhart
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America and Its People
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America At War: Korean War
by John Perritano
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America In Korean War
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America in the Time of Abraham Lincoln
by Sally Senzell Isaacs
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America is Born
A History for Peter #1
by Gerald W. Johnson (iilustrations by Leonard Everett Fisher)
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America is....
by Louise W. Borden, illustrated by Stacey Schuett
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America the Beautiful
by Katharine Lee Bates, illustrated by Chris Gall
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America the Beautiful/ A Man of Destiny
by the editors of Country Beautiful Magazine
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America's Christian History
by Gary DeMar
2nd edition from American Vision Press
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America's Fascinating Indian Heritage
by James A. Maxwell
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America's Lost Dream
by Tom Dooley
from Master Books
American History for 4th-6th grade
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America's Providential History
by Mark Beliles & Stephen McDowell
from Providence Foundation
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America: A Patriotic Primer
by Lynne Cheney
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America: A Patriotic Primer
by Lynne Cheney
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American Adventures Part 1
by Morrie Greenberg
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American Adventures Part 2
by Morrie Greenberg
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American Barns and Covered Bridges
by Eric Sloane
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American Children Through Their Books
by Sister Monica Kiefer
1970 printing from University of Pennsylvania Press
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American Civil War
by Robert K. Krick
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American Covenant
by Marshall Foster
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American Dream
by Stephen K. McDowell & Mark Beliles
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American Faith
by Kevin Swanson with Joshua Schwisow, Daniel Noor, and Peter Bringe
2nd edition from Generations
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 1
from Dell Publishing
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 10
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 2
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 4
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 5
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 6
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 7
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 8
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 9
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American Heritage History of the American Revolution
by Bruce Lancaster
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American Heritage History of the Indian Wars
by Robert M. Utley, Wilcomb E. Washburn
Revised from American Heritage Publishing Co.
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American History for Young Students I
by Michelle Miller
from TruthQuest History
History Curriculum for 1st-5th grade
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$17.50 (1 in stock)
American History for Young Students II
by Michelle Miller
from TruthQuest History
History Curriculum for 1st-5th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
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$17.50 (1 in stock)
American History: Globalization 1977-2008
from Saddleback Educational Publishing
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American History: The Civil Rights Movement & Vietnam 1960-1976
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American Indian Dances
by John L. Squires & Robert E. McLean
from The Ronald Press Co.
for 10th-Adult
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
American Indian in Words and Pictures
by Sydney Fletcher
from Grosset & Dunlap
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American Indian Prayer Guide
by Danette Maloof, Dean Cozzens
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
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$4.50 (2 in stock)
American Indian Tales and Legends
by Vladimir Hulpach, illustrated by Miloslav Troup
from Paul Hamlyn
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
American Milestones: The U. S. Constitution (September 17, 1787)
by Carole Marsh
from Gallopade International
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American Milestones: World War I
by Carole Marsh
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American Milestones: World War II (1939-1945)
by Carole Marsh
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American Passage
by Vincent J. Cannato
from Harper Perennial
for Adult
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
American President
by Philip Kunhardt, Jr., Philip Kunhardt III, Peter Kunhardt
from Riverhead Books
for Adult
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
American Presidents & Presidential First Ladies Notebooking Pages
from Notebooking Pages
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
American Revolution
America at War Series
by Alden Carter
from Grolier Publishing
Historical Non-fiction for 4th-6th grade
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$6.95 $5.00 (1 in stock)
American Revolution
Revolution!
by R. G. Grant
from Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishing
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
American Revolution for Kids
by Janis Herbert
1st edition from Chicago Review Press
for 2nd-6th grade
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
American Story: The Revolutionaries
Time-Life: The American Story
from Time-Life Books
for Adult
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
American Waterways: Canal Days
by Jeanne Munn Bracken, ed.
from History Compass
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$5.50 (1 in stock)
American Yesterday
by Eric Sloane
15th Printing from Funk & Wagnalls
for 5th-Adult
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
Americanization of Benjamin Franklin
by Gordon S. Wood
from Penguin Books
for Adult
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Amethyst Ring
by Scott O'Dell
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Amistad Slave Revolt and American Abolition
by Karen Zeinert
from Linnet Books
for 7th-10th grade
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Among the Plains Indians
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 3rd-6th grade
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient Maya
by Lila Perl
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?
by Jean Fritz & Margot Tomes
from PaperStar Books
Biography for 2nd-4th grade
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$8.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
Andersonville
by MacKinlay Kantor
from World Publishing Company
for 9th-Adult
1955 Pulitzer Prize Winner
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
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