Finney's career post-1835. "Falling for the Lord: Shame, Revivalism, and the Origins of the Second Great Awakening.". New York: Octagon Books, 1976, 139, Barbara Welter, "The Feminization of American Religion: 1800–1860," in. During this revival, meetings were held in small towns and the large cities throughout the country, and the unique frontier institution known as the camp meeting began. The First Great Awakening did run into problems, and the Second Awakening in the West, on America’s turbulent frontier, has been a favorite of skeptics for illustrations of fanaticism. They founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) in Philadelphia. The Second and Third Awakenings were part of a much larger Romantic religious movement that was sweeping across England, Scotland, and Germany.[1]. 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. The awakening brought comfort in the face of uncertainty as a result of the socio-political changes in America. Second Great Awakening As a result of the Second Great Awakening (a series of revivals in the 1790s-early 1800s), the dominant form of Christianity in America became evangelical Protestantism Membership in the major Protestant churches—Congregational, Presbyterian, Baptist, and Methodist—soared Barbara Leslie Epstein, The Politics of Domesticity. Stone. The idea of restoring a "primitive" form of Christianity grew in popularity in the U.S. after the American Revolution. While it occurred in all parts of the United States, it was especially strong in the Northeast and the Midwest. Its central figure, George Whitefield , was a traveling Anglican preacher from England who cooperated with Protestants of every sort to gain converts. Many churches experienced a great increase in membership, particularly among Methodist and Baptist churches. It emphasized emotion and enthusiasm, but also democracy: new religious denominations emerged that restructured churches to allow for more people involved in leadership, an emphasis on man's equality before god, and personal relationships with Christ (meaning less authority on the part of … [23]:89 Several factors made the restoration sentiment particularly appealing during this time period:[23]:90–94, The Restoration Movement began during, and was greatly influenced by, the Second Great Awakening. [13], In the newly settled frontier regions, the revival was implemented through camp meetings. During these revivals Baptists and Methodists converted large numbers of blacks. Leaders such as Charles Finney saw women's public prayer as a crucial aspect in preparing a community for revival and improving their efficacy in conversion. Knowledge of the "First Great Awakening" in the 18th Century with men such as Count von Zinzendorf, John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield, and then the "Second Great Awakening… 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. Bratt, James D. "Religious Anti-revivalism in Antebellum America", Carwardine, Richard J. 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. The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the United States. Omissions? 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. The congregations of these denomination were committed to individuals' achieving a personal relationship with Christ. [21], The Advent Movement emerged in the 1830s and 1840s in North America, and was preached by ministers such as William Miller, whose followers became known as Millerites. A revival known as the Second Great Awakening began in New England in the 1790s. In 1800, out of African-American revival meetings in Virginia, a plan for slave rebellion was devised by Gabriel Prosser, although the rebellion was discovered and crushed before it started. The Second Great Awakening was a religious revival movement in the first half of the 19th century. passed laws requiring them always to have a white man present at their worship meetings. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Moreover, under Finney’s aegis a rationale for carefully contrived revival techniques evolved. [6] The movement quickly spread throughout Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, and southern Ohio, as well as other regions of the United States and Canada. The Second Great Awakening (sometimes known simply as "the Great Awakening") was a religious revival that occurred in the United States beginning in the late eighteenth century and lasting until the middle of the nineteenth century. 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. [8][9] Charles Finney, a leading revivalist active in the area, coined the term. Corrections? An age of reform. Generally considered less emotional than the Great Awakening of the early 18th century, the second wave of evangelical revivalism led to the founding of numerous colleges and seminaries and to the organization of mission societies across the country. Conversion was compelled by a set ofclear ideas about the innate sinfulness of humans after Adam'sfall, the omnipotence of God--his awful power and his mercy--and,finally, the promise of salvation for fallen humankindthrough Christ's death on the cross as the atonement forhuman sin. A primitive faith based on the Bible alone promised a way to sidestep the competing claims of the many denominations available and for congregations to find assurance of being right without the security of an established national church. [33] Despite white attempts to control independent African-American congregations, especially after the Nat Turner uprising of 1831, a number of African-American congregations managed to maintain their separation as independent congregations in Baptist associations. The Second Great Awakening occurred in several episodes and over different denominations; however, the revivals were very similar. [19][20], The converts during the Second Great Awakening were predominantly female. Young people (those under 25) also converted in greater numbers, and were the first to convert. (A Second Great Awakening would take place in the 1800s.) Practice: Second Great Awakening. The social impact of the Second Great Awakening may be gauged by reviewing several main thrusts of the scholarly literature. The spirit of evangelical humanitarian reforms was carried on in the antebellum Whig party. C)It affected all sections of the country. [37] Through women's positions in these organizations, women gained influence outside of the private sphere. As a result, the numerical strength of the Baptists and Methodists rose relative to that of the denominations dominant in the colonial period—the Anglicans, Presbyterians, Congregationalists. Evangelists often directly addressed issues such as slavery, greed, and poverty, laying the groundwork for later reform movements. Various scholarly theories attribute the discrepancy to a reaction to the perceived sinfulness of youthful frivolity, an inherent greater sense of religiosity in women, a communal reaction to economic insecurity, or an assertion of the self in the face of patriarchal rule. Toward the end of the 18th century another revival, known as the Second Great Awakening ( c. 1795–1835), began in the United States. [38][39], Changing demographics of gender also affected religious doctrine. This is the currently selected item. There would be more Great Awakenings. There’s the First Great Awakening in the 1740s, followed by the Second Great Awakening in the 1800s–1820s, and so on. "The Historiography of the Second Great Awakening and the Problem of Historical Causation, 1945–2005". Both the First and Second Great Awakenings were transatlantic. [24]:368 Publication and education societies promoted Christian education; most notable among them was the American Bible Society, founded in 1816. Despite being called the "greatest orator in America" by Benjamin Rush[31] and one of the best in the world by Bishop Thomas Coke,[30] Hosier was repeatedly passed over for ordination and permitted no vote during his attendance at the Christmas Conference that formally established American Methodism. During the first half of the 1800's Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Hand-coloured woodcut of a Methodist camp meeting in Eastham, Massachusetts, c. 1850. Though its roots are in the First Great Awakening and earlier, a re-emphasis on Wesleyan teachings on sanctification emerged during the Second Great Awakening, leading to a distinction between Mainline Methodism and Holiness churches. During this revival, meetings were held in small towns and large cities throughout the country, and the unique frontier institution known as the camp meeting began. 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]. Revivalism is a strand within the evangelical tradition. "[7] During the Second Great Awakening of the 1830s, some diviners expected the millennium to arrive in a few years. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. [42] In the midst of shifts in theology and church polity, American Christians began progressive movements to reform society during this period.