Teaching history at home (vanity)

[ProtectOurFreedom]

I think the American experience from 1760 to 1800 is one of the most amazing periods in world history. One book I’ve always appreciated is John Galvin's "The Minute Men.” It may be appropriate after age 12, but might be enjoyed by your 11 year old depending on his maturity, reading ability, and how you can shape his interest in the founding of the nation. All of this is so important to developing an adult understanding of the US, liberty and freedom.

The book is full of excitement. The battles at Concord & Lexington then Bunker Hill are incredible stories.

Here is a good short review from Thrift Books. They have a copy for less than $5.

It is a well researched, well written, and an extremely interesting and important work on the American Revolution. In his book, Galvin, a soldier of distinction (he retired as a four-star general, having served as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe), a historian, and a native of Massachusetts debunks a number of myths surrounding the New England Minutemen. He shows that both the Minute Man concept and the alarm systems that mustered more than 14,000 men, who, marching and fighting in companies and regiments, defeated a British column of some 1,000 men at Lexington and Concord, were deeply embedded in Colonial history and culture. The authors makes a strong case that the Minute Men were better led and more experienced than their British counterparts, many of them having served in the Seven Years War alongside the British, against the French and their Indian allies. In comparison, most of the British soldiers, despite the long history of their regiments, were either new recruits or had never seen combat before. The fact that the first American volley at Concord bridge sent a British company there into headlong flight, stunning their officers, is proof of the inexperience of the red coated regulars. After Lexington and Concord, British intelligence showed that the New England colonies alone could put some 30,000 men in the field of combat, without affecting the farming ability of the colonies. By the end of the Revolutionary War, Massachusetts alone had contributed some 26 of the 80 regiments raised for the Continental Army. And the small Colony contributed more than 620 private fighting ships to the American cause. "Minute Men" is an easy and fun read and ranks among the top ten books on the American Revolution. Anyone interested in the beginnings of American independence should start here.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

I would also wholeheartedly recommend “The Leatherstocking Tales” by James Fenimore Cooper. It is a series of five historical novels depicting frontier and Native American life from the 17th to the 19th centuries. Cooper created a new and unique form of American literature. The novels are set in the eighteenth century era of development in the primarily former Iroquois areas in central New York (where Cooper was born and grew up).

Each novel features Natty Bumppo, a frontiersman known to European-American settlers as “Leatherstocking”, “The Pathfinder”, and “the trapper”. Native Americans call him “Deerslayer”, “La Longue Carabine” (”Long Rifle” in French), and “Hawkeye”.

The books were written from 1823 to 1841 and the stories take place from 1740 to 1804.

[combat_boots]

The Rush Revere series.

[HonkyTonkMan]

Avoid Barton - he was Glenn Beck's buddy if that's any indication.

Shelby Foote is fantastic. Sonlight resources are usually pretty good.

Archive.org has many texts, video, and audio. For example Great Courses US History

And finally, the Open Library has millions of History books

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Start with The American Revolution including The Bill of Rights and Constitution and work the way to current using major wars and fill in between with the advances of Society as the result of Wars. It blends quite well.

You want some really off-beat history?

1. The Americans: The Colonial Experience
2. The Americans: The National Experience
3. The Americans: The Democratic Experience

Trilogy by Daniel Boorstin. It doesn’t even mention war. It’s about how people lived. Things like, what products they made and how they got them to market. Things like, what arrangements were made to fill in the impracticalities in the Homestead Act. (People in every locale formed/joined a “Claims Club” which would attest to the date of each staked claim of a member - and sometimes enforce their “ruling” in the teeth of the law). The reason that could work was that the judge would belong to, and rely on, a Claims Club himself - and wouldn’t rule against anyone else’s “legitimate" Claims Club.

Things like “balloon construction” (never guess what that was is!).

The Americans was written for an adult (and I don’t mean adolescent) readership.

[Cariad K]

I’m old enough to remember’Johnny Tremain’ by Ester Forbes.
In elementary schools of my day, 5th grade, (in OK), the teacher held a reading/ story-time every single day. The first book she shared was Johnny Tremain. I could barely sit still knowing there would be a new chapter awaiting after the recess.

Now, I keep JT on my ipad & continue to read it again during some down time. As an older adult, I was incredibly disappointed the day I checked the hard copy out of our county library, only to see that someone had crossed through every single page where it told of the old silversmith and how he read the Bible to his three apprentices every morning.

Other deeply relevant information of how the colony’s revolution against King George began....Again, many paragraphs had been crossed out. I didn’t really understand the reason why someone would take it upon themselves to self censor the book. Now, I understand completely.

If you can ever get ahold of a copy, you will likely immediately recall the names of many of our original founders. Yes, JT was a fictional character, but, the well told & historical facts are accurate. The book is wonderful, sometimes even pretty funny, and most suitable for any age group, adult to child.

I loved the study of American history as a child, and,still, as an adult now. I wish I had been able to keep those books. Unfortunately, we always had to return them to the school when finished. I have found several good books that would work well for home schooling in old antique places. Such a shame.

[sjeann]

I visited Boston with my daughter and her Italian husband last year. She read Johnny Tremain to him throughout the trip :) It’s a great book. She was presenting a paper at Harvard related to early medieval English. Books like Johnny Tremain ignited her love for history.

[LS]

Yes, our curriculum is 9th -12th grades. A really advanced 8th grader can do it.

However, WE DO NOT HAVE A LICENSE TO EXPIRE. So if your children are, say, one or two years away, you can get it and start watching the 22 videos yourself to prep.

The same is true for the World History course.

[FreedomPoster]

See Larry’s comment in the previous post about the Wild World of History materials.

[SunkenCiv]

There are good podcasts and pages, including by FR's own Berosus.