The Second Great Awakening was this period of religious revival that was kind of at its hot point in 1820 to 1840 and in the last couple of videos, we've been talking about just the nature of this society that produced The Second Great Awakening, particularly how they responded to changes in how people related to each other in business and also just broader social changes like the expansion of American … [14] Upon their return home, most converts joined or created small local churches, which grew rapidly. Johnson, Charles A. The Fourth Great Awakening was a Christian awakening that some scholars – most notably economic historian Robert Fogel – say took place in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s, while others look at the era following World War II. The First Great Awakening was a period when spirituality and religious devotion were revived. Often these produced strange physical manifestations - some people fainted and fell to the ground (were "slain in the spirit") or suffered uncontrollable shaking ("the jerks"). 3 Reasons Why Racial Reconciliation Should Be a Church Priority, Don't Think of Church as Your Own Spiritual Power Bar. The Great Awakening was a religious movement that taught the people to love God and have a relationship with Him. The Awakening, Kate Chopins masterpiece, is a psychologically realistic portrait of a fin de siècle womans search for her identity. scientific] result of the right use of the constituted means." [17], As a result of the Revival of 1800, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church emerged in Kentucky and became a strong support of the revivalist movement. The First Great Awakening: APUSH Topics to Study for Test Day. What historians call “the first Great Awakening” can best be described as a revitalization of religious piety that swept through the American colonies between the 1730s and the 1770s. "The Historiography of the Second Great Awakening and the Problem of Historical Causation, 1945–2005". The Methodist Church used circuit riders to reach people in frontier locations. Newer denominations, such as Methodists and Baptists, grew quickly. The outpouring of religious fervor and revival began in Kentucky and Tennessee in the 1790s and early 1800s among the Presbyterians, Methodists and Baptists. [19][20], The converts during the Second Great Awakening were predominantly female. The novel, which chronicles Louisiana society woman Edna Pontelliers quiet rebellion against the strictures of a male-dominated society, shocked contemporary readers with its theme and its frank presentation of womens sexuality, but its compelling presentation of the quest for self-fulfillment has ea… The Second and Third Awakenings were part of a much larger Romantic religious movement that was sweeping across England, Scotland, and Germany.[1]. These often provided the first encounter for some settlers with organized religion, and they were important as social venues. [24]:368 While the leaders of one of the two primary groups making up this movement, Thomas Campbell and Alexander Campbell, resisted what they saw as the spiritual manipulation of the camp meetings, the revivals contributed to the development of the other major branch, led by Barton W. All three of these congregations were under the ministry of James McGready. Baptists and Methodists in the South preached to slaveholders and slaves alike. Varel, David A. Ordinary people were encouraged to make a personal connection with God, instead of relying on a minister. [37] Through women's positions in these organizations, women gained influence outside of the private sphere. The Second Great Awakening led to a period of antebellum social reform and an emphasis on salvation by institutions. [42] In the midst of shifts in theology and church polity, American Christians began progressive movements to reform society during this period. Church membership and religious activity gave women peer support and place for meaningful activity outside the home, providing many women with communal identity and shared experiences. Many physically collapsed at what they called conviction of sin. There were also societies that broadened their focus from traditional religious concerns to larger societal ones. The noise of the meetings was so great that some said: "the noise was like the roar of Niagara." Shiels, Richard D. "The Second Great Awakening in Connecticut: Critique of the Traditional Interpretation". The terminology is controversial, with many historians believing the religious changes that took place in the US during these years were not equivalent to … The Great Awakening was a Christian religious revival in America. [36], The greatest change in women's roles stemmed from participation in newly formalized missionary and reform societies. The Second Great Awakening served as an "organizing process" that created "a religious and educational infrastructure" across the western frontier that encompassed social networks, a religious journalism that provided mass communication, and church-related colleges. Religiosity had been declining for decades, in part due to the Enlightenment and to the negative publicity resulting from the Salem witch trials. [citation needed] Another key component of the revivalists' techniques was the camp meeting. Stephen Meardon, "From Religious Revivals to Tariff Rancor: Preaching Free Trade and Protection during the Second American Party System,". Women made up a large part of these voluntary societies. They believed in the perfectibility of people and were highly moralistic in their endeavors. The … Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, Elizabeth J.Clapp, and Julie Roy Jeffrey, ed., Women, Dissent and Anti-slavery in Britain and America, 1790–1865, (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2011): 13–14, Barbara Welter, "The Feminization of American Religion: 1800–1860," in Clio's Consciousness Raised, edited by Mary S. Hartman and Lois Banner. This duty extended beyond American borders to include Christian Restorationism. [34], Despite the predominance of women in the movement, they were not formally indoctrinated or given leading ministerial positions. "The Communion Sermons of James Mcgready: Sacramental Theology and Scots-Irish Piety on the Kentucky Frontier", Meyer, Neil. “The voice of the sea is seductive, never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander in abysses of solitude.” ― Kate Chopin, The Awakening [24]:368 The Southern phase of the Awakening "was an important matrix of Barton Stone's reform movement" and shaped the evangelistic techniques used by both Stone and the Campbells. Conforti, Joseph. It is a purely philosophic [i.e. [32] With the growth in congregations and churches, Baptist associations formed in Virginia, for instance, as well as Kentucky and other states. These organizations were primarily sponsored by affluent women. . The first informal camp meeting began in June, when people began camping on the grounds of the Red River Meeting House. Baptists and Methodist revivals were successful in some parts of the Tidewater South, where an increasing number of common planters, plain folk, and slaves were converted. The movement began around 1790 and gained momentum by 1800; after 1820, membership rose rapidly among Baptist and Methodist congregations, whose preachers led the movement. . Finally, in 1801, after seven years of preaching, revival came to Yale. The Great Awakening may also be interpreted as the last major expression of the religious ideals on which the New England colonies were founded. "Falling for the Lord: Shame, Revivalism, and the Origins of the Second Great Awakening.". On the American frontier, camp meetings came to characterize revivals. Against a prevailing view that eighteenth-century Americans had not perpetuated the first settlers' passionate commitment to their faith, scholars now identify a high level of religious energy in colonies after 1700. Early Baptist congregations were formed by slaves and free African Americans in South Carolina and Virginia. Revivals were a key part of the movement and attracted hundreds of converts to new Protestant denominations. The Great Awakening was a spiritual renewal that swept the American Colonies, particularly New England, during the first half of the 18th Century. Christians thus had a duty to purify society in preparation for that return. The revivals also followed an arc of great emotional power, with an emphasis on the individual's sins and need to turn to Christ, and a sense of restoring personal salvation. To immigrants in the early 19th century, the land in the United States seemed pristine, edenic and undefiled – "the perfect place to recover pure, uncorrupted and original Christianity" – and the tradition-bound European churches seemed out of place in this new setting. The Second Great Awakening generated this battle. In the middle of the 18th century, a series of evangelical religious revival movements swept across colonial America. Evangelists often directly addressed issues such as slavery, greed, and poverty, laying the groundwork for later reform movements. They, in turn, spread the message to their elders. Pietism was sweeping Germanic countries[4] and evangelicalism was waxing strong in England.[5]. It was caused by the Church of England being in control. [25], Congregationalists set up missionary societies to evangelize the western territory of the northern tier. He and his followers worked to make the United States a Christian nation. The Great Awakening was sparked by Protestant ministers. The Great Awakening was a religious revival that impacted the English colonies in America during the 1730s and 1740s. Griffin, Clifford S. "Religious Benevolence as Social Control, 1815–1860". Learn more about the Second Great Awakening and its impact on American Protestantism. The Second Great Awakening (1790–1840) was a time of evangelical fervor and revival in the newly formed nation of America. Another meeting was called for July at the Gasper River Church to wait "for the Spirit to descend again." "The Invention of the Great Awakening, 1795–1842". One was the Great Awakening. Bratt, James D. "Religious Anti-revivalism in Antebellum America", Carwardine, Richard J. To a lesser extent the Presbyterians also gained members, particularly with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in sparsely settled areas. In reaction to the secularism of the age, a religious revival spread westward in the first half of the 19th century. The British colonies were settled by many individuals who were looking for a place to worship their Christian religion free from persecution. The name refers to belief in the soon Second Advent of Jesus (popularly known as the Second coming) and resulted in several major religious denominations, including Seventh-day Adventists and Advent Christians.[22]. The Presbyterians and Methodists sponsored similar gatherings on a regular basis after the Revolution. The Second Great Awakening, which spread religion through revivals and emotional preaching, sparked a number of reform movements. Christianity was almost nonexistent then at Yale, the campus church almost extinct. Each of these "Great Awakenings" was characterized by widespread revivals led by evangelical Protestant ministers, a sharp increase of … Women's prayer groups were an early and socially acceptable form of women's organization. The Second Great Awakening, which spread religion through revivals and emotional preaching, sparked a number of reform movements. At least half of the student body was converted to Christianity under Dwight's Presidency. State legislatures[which?] [16][17] Presbyterians and Methodists initially worked together to host the early camp meetings, but the Presbyterians eventually became less involved because of the noise and often raucous activities that occurred during the protracted sessions. The movement came at a time when the idea of secular rationalism was being emphasized, and passion for religion had grown stale. George Fredrickson argues that Postmillennial theology "was an impetus to the promotion of Progressive reforms, as historians have frequently pointed out. In an effort to give sermons that would resonate with the congregation, ministers stressed Christ's humility and forgiveness, in what the historian Barbara Welter calls a "feminization" of Christianity. [13], In the newly settled frontier regions, the revival was implemented through camp meetings. passed laws requiring them always to have a white man present at their worship meetings. The first camp meeting revival was in south-central Kentucky. Second Great Awakening, Protestant religious revival in the United States from about 1795 to 1835. The Second Great Awakening By the end of the 18th century, many educated Americans no longer professed traditional Christian beliefs. [19], The Methodist circuit riders and local Baptist preachers made enormous gains in increasing church membership. [12], The denominations that encouraged the revivals were based on an interpretation of man's spiritual equality before God, which led them to recruit members and preachers from a wide range of classes and all races. [29] His sermon at Thomas Chapel in Chapeltown, Delaware, in 1784 was the first to be delivered by a black preacher directly to a white congregation.[30]. Stone. Barbara Leslie Epstein, The Politics of Domesticity. The Great Awakening of 1720-1745 was a period of intense religious revivalism that spread throughout the American colonies. Why So Many Churches Hear So Little of the Bible. For four years Dwight preached a series of weekly sermons on Christian belief; when he finished the series, he started over again. Among the new denominations that grew from the religious ferment of the Second Great Awakening are the Churches of Christ, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada. The congregations of these denomination were committed to individuals' achieving a personal relationship with Christ. Finney was to bring in new methods and a new attitude towards revival. Especially in the Baptist Church, African Americans were welcomed as members and as preachers. During the first half of the 1800's The Second Great Awakening had a tremendous effect on American society by spawning a large number of social reform movements. It led to the founding of several well known colleges, seminaries and mission societies. In the series of revivals Finney held from 1824-1837 (during what some call the Third Awakening), Finney instituted a number of new measures which later evangelists would continue. At the same time thinkers like John Locke were rethinking the relationship between rulers and the ruled. The early rays of the Great Awakening began with Theodore Frelinghuysen of the Dutch Reformed Church in New Jersey. The common people were deeply affected, and, as at the Gasper River meeting, strong emotional responses were considered proofs of conversion. [41] The influence of the Awakening continued in the form of more secular movements. They founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) in Philadelphia. The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the United States. The movement deemphasized the higher authority of church doctrine and instead put greater importance on the individual and his or her spiritual experience. The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the United States. The Second Great Awakening occurred in several episodes and over different denominations; however, the revivals were very similar. [41], George M. Fredrickson, "The Coming of the Lord: The Northern Protestant Clergy and the Civil War Crisis," in. Converts were taught that to achieve salvation they needed not just to repent personal sin but also work for the moral perfection of society, which meant eradicating sin in all its forms. Subsequent meetings followed at the nearby Gasper River and Muddy River congregations. The large numbers of Christian workers for social reform became so influential they and the organizations they founded became known as the Benevolent Empire. The awakening brought comfort in the face of uncertainty as a result of the socio-political changes in America. There was dancing, running and singing - all of which Stone said were manifestations of God's presence. [8][9] Charles Finney, a leading revivalist active in the area, coined the term. Mathews, Donald G. "The Second Great Awakening as an organizing process, 1780–1830: An hypothesis". [11], On the American frontier, evangelical denominations, especially Methodists and Baptists, sent missionary preachers and exhorters to meet the people in the backcountry in an effort to support the growth of church membership and the formation of new congregations. [40], Revivals and perfectionist hopes of improving individuals and society continued to increase from 1840 to 1865 across all major denominations, especially in urban areas. The preaching was simple, lively, and persuasive, with preachers from different denominations sharing the platform. Jonathan Edwards had viewed the 1735 revival in Northampton as "a very extraordinary dispensation of Providence" a "surprising work of God." Settlers in thinly populated areas gathered at the camp meeting for fellowship as well as worship. The Great Awakening refers to a number of periods of religious revival in American Christian history. These included the inquiry room for counseling seekers, the anxious or mourners' bench for those responding to the public invitation to Christ, preaching for an immediate decision, emotional prayers which addressed God in a very familiar, informal language, organized choirs and music, advertising and advanced preparation for the revival meeting. Why Doesn’t the Bible Say Much about Jesus’ Childhood? Known commonly as antebellum reform, this phenomenon included reforms against the consumption of alcohol, for women's rights and abolition of slavery, and a multitude of other issues faced by society. When a great wave of emotional conversions occurred, the people were convinced this was of God. 5 Powerful Verses for When You’re Struggling with Fear. [35] Women also took crucial roles in the conversion and religious upbringing of children. Finney believed the gospel did not just get people saved, but it was also a means of cleaning up society. Husbands, especially in the South, sometimes disapproved of their wives' conversion, forcing women to choose between submission to God or their spouses. Charles Finney, however, believed that "a revival is not a miracle . According to one expert, religion was in the \"ascension rather than the declension\"; another sees a \"rising vitality in religious life\" from 1700 onward; a third finds religion in many parts of the colonies in a state of \"feve… [7], In the early days of the nineteenth century, western New York State was called the "burned-over district" because of the highly publicized revivals that crisscrossed the region. [23]:89–94 This desire to restore a purer form of Christianity without an elaborate hierarchy contributed to the development of many groups during the Second Great Awakening, including the Latter Day Saints, Baptists and Shakers. Like the First Great Awakening a half century earlier, the Second Great Awakening in North America reflected Romanticism characterized by enthusiasm, emotion, and an appeal to the supernatural. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ethnocultural politics in the United States, "Backcountry Religious Ways: The North British Field-Meeting Style", "Religious Transformation and the Second Great Awakening", Introducing Black Harry Hoosier: The History Behind Indiana's Namesake, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Second_Great_Awakening&oldid=1010247709, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. 4 (March 1991), p. 1218 and 1237. However, women took other public roles; for example, relaying testimonials about their conversion experience, or assisting sinners (both male and female) through the conversion process. [28] Social activism influenced abolition groups and supporters of the Temperance movement. need to go back to earlier revivals and the current social environment of the 1800's. [32], Women, who made up the majority of converts during the Awakening, played a crucial role in its development and focus. Due to the efforts of such leaders as Stone and Alexander Campbell (1788–1866), the camp meeting revival spread religious enthusiasm and became a major mode of church expansion, especially for the Methodists and Baptists. The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant revival movement during the early nineteenth century. [43], The religious enthusiasm of the Second Great Awakening was echoed by the new political enthusiasm of the Second Party System. The Great Awakening notably altered the religious climate in the American colonies. [18] Cane Ridge was also instrumental in fostering what became known as the Restoration Movement, which consisted of non-denominational churches committed to what they viewed as the original, fundamental Christianity of the New Testament. Each denomination had assets that allowed it to thrive on the frontier. The Second Great Awakening was a religious revival movement during the 19th century that was challenging women’s traditional roles in religion. Thus, evangelical converts were leading figures in a variety of 19th century reform movements. A year later, in August 1801, an even larger sacrament occasion that is generally considered to be America's first camp meeting was held at Cane Ridge in Bourbon County, Kentucky, under Barton W. Stone (1772–1844) with numerous Presbyterian, Baptist, and Methodist ministers participating in the services.