1790-1840’s

The Second Great Awakening

The Second Great Awakening• Period of Religious revival following the American Revolution.• Mainly started in the Northeast and Midwest.• “Camp Meetings” were held instead of having people meet

under one building. The camp meetings would last for many days; roughly around 25,000 people attended the camp meetings.

• Women played a big role during The Second Great Awakening.

• Expressed Arminian Theology which meant that people could be saved through revival.

• It was a reform to resolve the evils of society before the second coming of Jesus Christ.

• Formed new denominations.• Denomination- subgroup within a religion that functions under

a certain name, tradition, and identity.

» Ex: Christian denominations would be Eastern Orthodox and Anglicanism.

Camp meeting

Women’s Role

• Women’s role drastically changed between the 17th century and the 19th century.

• Women did Christian work due to the fact that they were excluded from political involvement.

• As a result, women were leaders in spreading the teachings of the Awakening to others.

Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, Women, active in camp meetings, early 1800’s

Peter Cartwright (1785-1872)“…and then and there I promised the lord

that if he would spare me, I would seek and serve him; and I never fully broke the promise.”

• American Methodist revivalist and politician in Illinois.

• Helped start The Second Great Awakening.• Baptized 12,000 people.• Peter Cartwright lost to Abraham Lincoln for a

United States Congress seat in 1846.• Preached Benevolence- design to do good to

others; an act of kindness.

Charles Grandison Finney (1792-1875)

“A revival is nothing else than a new beginning of obedience to God.”—Charles Grandison Finney

• Presbyterian minister• Also known as “The Father Of Modern

Revivalism”• Finney was involved with the abolitionist

movement.• Made significant innovations in

preaching and religious meetings.• Author of Lectures of Religious Revivals

and other publications.• Finney was very opinionated and a

passionate criticizer of other Christian teachings.

• His message:• Individuals are responsible for their

salvation.• Sin was avoidable.• Demonstrate faith by doing good deeds.

Richard Allen (1760-1831)

• Minister, educator, writer.

• Allen had first started out as a Methodist Preacher but wanted to create a black congregation that would cease control of whites in the church.

• Founder in 1816 of the African Methodist Episcopal. (AME)

– First independent black denomination of the United States.

– The AME is the oldest denomination of independent African American Churches.

Political Groups that started due to the Second Great Awakening

Abolitionist Movement Temperance Movements Women’s Rights

Denominations that formed during the Second Great Awakening

• Methodist • Presbyterian • Baptist• Mormons• Shakers• African Methodist Episcopal• Anglicans• Reformed

• Congregationalists

African Methodist Episcopal

Anglicans

Methodist

Reformed

Effects of the Second Great Awakening

• Transformed many souls• The Second Great Awakening was a

reason for churches to fall apart or to either reorganize into more modern churches.

• Books were written to attack other religions.

• Blacks also began to preach.