Second Great Awakening Essay Example

Second Great Awakening Essay The Second Great Awakening was an enormous religious revival that swept the American nation in the beginning of the 19th century. A revival is defined by Webster Dictionary as the growth of something or an increase in the activity of some hint after a long period of no growth or activity. This revival caused an unfathomable amount of permanent change to the United States. The Second Great Awakening converted millions of Americans, resulted in several new denominations of faith, changed the the way the Name Rican people viewed religion, caused a long period of reform, and connected democracy an d religion. Between years 1765 and 181 5, an era called the American Enlightenment me phased reason, education, liberty, and tolerance over any divine power. This Enlighten moment, or Age of Reason, brought the New World ideas from the Old World, such as John Locke s social contract theory, ideas concerning democracy and liberty, and a vision of a stir Eng government that protected its citizens; these radical new political ideas rejected monarchy and ultimately caused the American Revolution in 1776. The American Enlightenment also re evolved around human control rather than spiritual control. For example Deism, a philosophy hat God created the universe with set natural laws and then left it completely in humanity co intro, began to grow in the U. S. This caused the new nation to drift from religion. However, in the 1 asss The Second Great Awakening ignited in Connecticut in order to counter the domino once of reason by emphasizing the importance of religion. The revival began with Congregation annalists (Puritan descendants), Anglicans (Episcopalian), and Quakers. Revivals were dominate deed by the educated, such as Yale president Timothy Dwight. We will write a custom essay sample on Second Great Awakening specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Second Great Awakening specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Second Great Awakening specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer As the revival continued to counter the American Age of Reason, it spread to the frontier. When it arrived in states us chi as Tennessee and Kentucky, it quickly evolved into a much different movement. The most successful revivalists ceased to be educated intellectuals and scholars, rather normal farmers, artisans, etc. Who had been converted themselves, such as the Eocene trick Lorenz DOD. The revival began to give way to camp meetings. These meetings were h age prolonged gatherings of hundreds of members of several denominations. Some meeting s had attendance that reached five figures such as the popular camp meeting that o occurred in Cane Ridge, Kentucky, which reached 20,000. The meetings were conducted in pope air camps and could last days. People were housed in tents and heated with campfires. Crowds sang, shouted, praised God, and listened to revivalists proclaim that the Second Co mining of Jesus was approaching and society must be improved immediately. The meetings e encouraged moral and social order that discouraged inappropriate behavior. Sometimes strange conversion activities would occur such as men and women barking like a dog, rolling around, and contorting their bodies. Critics of the revivals attacked the meetings for a advocating desire. Also preaching the gospel in the West were missionary groups such as the American Home Missionary Society, created in 1826. Many denominations grew as a result oft he revivalists, especially Baptists and Methodists. Methodists were undoubtedly the most successful religion Of the Second Great Awakening concerning sheer numbers and popularity. In 1800, Methodists possessed around 70,000 members, and in 1844 over 1 T his is partly due to the utilization of circuit riders, such as Peter Cartridge, who preached of benevolence to all who would listen . Circuit riders were young men that rode around the n action spoke the word of the Methodist church. Another reason for Methodist success, was the r appeal to the common man. Methodists emphasized the importance of emotion over Intel genre, moral order, and a strong work ethic, which beguiled the common man with little e education. The result of the growing Methodist church was a revival that was very emotional and encouraged social activism. Due to the immense success of the revival in the frontier it WA s inevitable that it would soon diffuse eastward. 2 This inevitable advance occurred in the sass in western New York. The area where revival was most popular was nicknamed Vote Overburden District. This regime on was situated ear the new Erie Canal, which had attracted numerous people in search of w lath. This area was additionally home to many Americans Of Puritan descent. A man by the n name of Charles G. Finned, better known as the father of modern revivalism, quit his studies to become a lawyer in 1821 after he underwent a religious conversion. He then became a Presbyterian minister and began preaching along the new canal, New York City, and Boost n. Finned used new techniques to increase the rate of conversions. Such techniques include t he anxious seat and the protracted meeting. These techniques were put into place at t e citywide revival of the canal city Rochester in 1 83031. This revival was Fineness largest, and was a primary source of his reputation. Adding to Fineness reputation was the coop aeration among different denominations during his revivals. Fineness utilization of the above d extinguish him from other revivalists of his time, and those of the First Great Awakening beef re him. Also distinguishing Finned from First Great Awakening revivalists such as Jonathan Edwards was his view on revivals and sin. Finned believed revivals were human creation who areas Edwards would argue they were Gods creations. Furthermore, Finned believed human s chose to sin and had the power to . He also rejected the Calvinist idea that God chooses who may enter heaven. Fineness ideas were labeled as evangelical Protestantism. S denomination focused on emotional conversions and the idea that humans a re in control of their own destinies. This appealed to most Americans because this was the ere a of the factory worker. Factory workers had miniscule control over the economy or the direct ion of their lives so Fineness promise of control that came with the Second Great Awakening en courage them to participate in the revival. US citizens wanted to hear that they were in count roll and could make anything of themselves. The last thing that set Finned apart from other revivalists was 3 his use of women. This contributed to his success because women outnumber red men 2 to 1. Finned often used mens daughters and wives to convert them. For example, a wife of a Rochester physician by the name of Melanie Smith, was converted and convince cede her religiously inactive husband to join a Presbyterian church. The American nation n had exploded with religious activism. Despite the popularity Of the overwhelmingly protestant Second Great Awake inning, it drew many critics. Many critics disliked the lack of tradition and sheer amount of change that emerged from the revivals. One group of critics called the Unitarians believed that Jesus was not the son of God, but a perfect, yet human, role model that man should stir eve to imitate. Unitarians, such as Unitarian leader William Chancing rejected the emotional encouragement of the Second Great Awakening and instead endorsed knowledge. Unitarians believed that character should be built over time and could not be received in a camp meet inning over the course of a few days or less. The critics were also composed of mainly wealth y and educated citizens, which sharply contrasted the typical convert in the Second Great Away kenning revivals. Unitarians did however share the belief with the revivalists that society can be perfected by the hands of humanity. In addition to critics, the Second Great Awakening pro educed Utopia communities due to the spirit of perfectionism. Utopian communities separate deed from society and attempted to create a perfect community. One of the most famous and s successful Utopian communities was the Shaker community. Founded by English Mother Ann Lee, the Shakers believed in close knit communities, a good work ethic, and celibacy. To expel temptations of sexual relations, Shakers Often danced, hence their name. At t heir peak, they had over 6,000 members. Another new religion resulting from the Second Greg at Awakening was the Church of Latterly Saints or Morons. Joseph Smith founded the re logion in 1827, in New York. The Book of Mormon states Jesus actually arrived in the New Woo RL and was 4 forgotten by the time Columbus arrived. These radical ideas caused the Peres auction of Morons and eventually led to their journey west to Utah, where they could e free of persecution. Today, the Mormon faith continues to grow. Despite the imports once of these new religions, this was only one outcome of the Second Great Awakening. Other effects of the the Second Great Awakening were vast and permanent. R elisions participation grew as shown by the Methodists increase in number by 15 fold, the 20,000 member attendance at Cane Ridge and the 12,000 baptized solely by Peter Ca airtight. God and religion became a bigger part of the common mans life. The Second Great t Awakening revolutionized the way the gospel was preached. Before the revivals, settled ministers in fixed arises was the standard of religion in America. After the revivals, people tray veiled place to place searching for people to preach to. The revivals resulted in several new d nominations, such as the Morons and the Shakers. The Second Great Awakening was also a significant cause of the Antebellum Reform, the period of social change that occurred thro ought the 19th century. The Second Great Awakening not only directly preached the neck assist of moral and social order, but also stated that the power of change is In humanity ha ends and it is humanity obligation to try and spiritually and morally perfect society. Men a ND women alike used religion to justify change to better their society. Complementing the Sec nod Great Awakening in its endeavor towards reform was a philosophy called Transcend mentalist. Transcendentalists, led by Ralph Wald Emerson, stated all humans were boor n good and all wrong stemmed from society. This philosophy encouraged people that they c loud perfect the world by perfecting society. Together, the Second Great Awakening and Trans sentimentalism initiated reform in the 19th century. For example, the war on liquor, known by many as the temperance movement, ensued in the 1 sass. In the movements beginning, re formers only spoke of moderation. At the time, annual alcohol consumption was relatively high; in 1825 it was a staggering 7 gallons for an adult male, which is three and a half times g rater than todays consumption. In 1825 Lyman Beechen abandoned moderation and De announced all use of alcohol beverages. In 1 826 the American Temperance Society was created. This was a group that completely rejected the use of alcohol and in 1834 5000 other socio ties supported them. Temperance leaders stated drunkenness was a sin and God disapprove d of the amazing evil. In order to support their cause, temperance revivalists spoke o f the sinfulness of domestic violence induced by alcohol. The religious revival also gave people e the confidence to change the sobriety of their society. The temperance movement t had great success. By 1840, alcohol consumption had dropped to less than half. Maine prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcohol in 1 851 and factories in Massachusetts stoop deed selling liquor to workers. This reform set the foundation for the Prohibition Era in 1 920, hi chi links the Second Great Awakening and the national ban on alcohol in the 20th century. Another reform resulting from the Second Great Awakening is abolition. Inspired by the feeling g control over society and the moral obligation encouraged by the Second Great Awakening men such as the white radical William Lloyd Garrison took a stand against slavery. Garrison viewed slavery as morally outrageous, even satanic. He once burned a copy of the U. S. Consist tuition saying it was a pact with the devil. Abolitionists used similar tactics as revivalists in the e Second Great Awakening such as large public speeches or pamphleteer, in order to con next religion and abolition. With this connection, abolitionists conveyed the idea that slavery w as a sin. After undergoing a massive religious revival, America depended more heavily on reel going, therefore the message hit home on many Americans. However, not all Protestant reform mere supported the abolition cause; Beechen himself attempted to suppress abolition activity i n 1 834 as the Cincinnati Lane Theological Seminary president As more and more northern earners supported the emancipation of all slaves, tension between the North and South grew ova ere the touchy 6 subject. By 1 843, 100,000 northerners were part of the American Antislavery Society. These tensions ultimately led to the civil war between the halves of the U. S. , hi chi connects the Second Great Awakening to the American Civil War. The final main reform ins paired by the Second Great Awakening was the Womens Rights movement. Womens paretic pupation in the revivals and the previously discussed reforms, eventually led to a reform Of the Eire own. During the Second Great Awakening women participation outnumbered mens two t o one. Finned and other revivalists spoke of empowerment and how one was in control of t heir own body and destiny. Women as a result were encouraged to participate in society. HTH is also the result of the social activism the Second Great Awakening caused. Both the Am Rican Temperance Society, one third to one half women, and the American Initials ere Society utilized substantial women participation. Women such as Angelina and Sarah Grime lectured men and women alike all over New England about the abolition cause in 1 837 , and when they were criticized for their gender, they responded by creating two essential word KS of feminism. These works were to explain the sisters desire for equal rights and are called Letters on the Condition of Women and the Equality of the Sexes and Letters to Catherine E. Beechen. Women became to become increasingly discontent lack of rights despite their participation in their community, encouraged by the Second Great Awakening, This movement t resulted in the Seneca Falls Convention, the first convention held concerning womens rights, in New York and set the quest for woman suffrage that lasted until 1 920 when the goal WA s accomplished. Women owe much of their success to the Second Great Awakening. On a political subject, the Second Great Awakening furthered Americas soups art Of Democracy. Since Finned repetitively and definitively established that humanity y is in control of he world and not a divine power.