US AP

I n f o f r o m : Fe l d m e t h , G r e g D . " A m e r i c a ' s G r e a t Aw a ke n i n g , " U . S . H i s t o r y R e s o u r c e sh t t p : / / h o m e . e a r t h l i n k . n e t/ ~ g f e l d m e t h / U S H i s t o r y. h tm l ( Re v i s e d 2 4 J u n e 2 0 0 4 ) .

THE GREAT AWAKENING

MASS MIGRATIONS Conquest by cradle

Between 1700 and 1750 population increase by more than 2 million

Average age is 16

3:1 ration between colonist and English subjects

People continuing to move westward

Other groups of people coming over

5% of population are French Huguenots, Dutch, Welsh, Danish, Swedes, Jews, Irish, Swiss, and Scottish Highlanders.

African slaves account for nearly 20% of the population, mostly in the south where there is the most racial diversity (the least being in New England)

Middle colonies (Pennsylvania) have the most diverse group of white settlers

POPULATIONS

Germans: feeling religious persecution. Mostly settle in Pennsylvania and make up about 1/3 of PA’s populationContinue speaking GermanScotch-Irish: by 1775 make up 7% of total population-Most good land is taken in PA so move in Maryland and Virginia--Make good frontiersman, they are used to fighting with the Irish, settle into Appalachia

Triangle Trade -trade benefi tting the colonies-Triangle trade was the exchange of goods between the U.S. colonies, Africa, and continental Europe-it also includes trade between the colonies, Africa, and the West IndiesGoods exchanged were alcohol, slaves, furs, molasses, lumber, tobacco, fi sh, rice

Ministry the most important profess ion. Doctors were unrel iable and lawyers were cons idered windbags. Col leges begin emerging to educate ministers : Ya le, Harvard, Wi l l iam and Mary,

EDUCATION

•- -Religious Revivalism, preachers gave sermons to large groups, highly emotional: weeping, fainting

-Transition from the service being a discussion on theology to an emotional experience.

-Pastors want to i l l icit an emotional response and have the parishioner leaving service thinking about their soul

-Salvation comes from prayer, not rituals

-All can have religious experiences

-Lessened signifi cance of denominations

• Challenges religious authority• -Arminianism: free wil l not not

predestination determine a person’s fate

THE GREAT AWAKENING1730S AND 1740S

• Salvation is achieved through prayer

• The individual is the best judge of one’s own religious behavior, which is based on the individual's personal understanding of God

• Personal Piety-starting fresh• Resulted in decreased card

playing, gambling, drunkenness, more people attend church services

Individual Revival-People beginning to think with the heart rather than the head (rejection of cold Puritan beliefs

MESSAGE

•Founder of Revivalist movement, Northampton, MA•From puritan/ Calvinist roots BUT…stressed the importance of immediate and personal religious experiences. •Powerful sermons and he spoke “solemn, with a distinct and careful enunciation, and a slow cadence.”•Most famous sermon: “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”•Fire and Brimstone

THE GREAT AWAKENING

Jonathan Edwards

•"Come poor, lost, undone sinner, come just as you are to Christ.”•From England, moves to the colonies•Known as a great orator•Message: God was merciful, people can save themselves. Not predestined for damnation•Espoused the wonder of salvation and the evils of hell •Ben Franklin was a fan: not a believer in his words, but was glad he promoted good deeds as the worship of God •Promotes slavery in Georgia. He claimed the area would never be prosperous without it.

•In 1751 when Georgia reviewed legislation, his words helped legalize slavery. He promptly bought slaves to run his orphanage. To raise money for the orphanage he employed slaves at a plantation

THE GREAT AWAKENING

George Whitfield

IMPACT OF THE GREAT AWAKENING

•Creation of new Colleges to train new types of ministers: Princeton, Brown, and Rutgers•Divisions in denominations” “the old way” and “the new way”•Questioning religious authority leads to questioning political authority