The Second Great Awakening

Tehsa Grafals

• The Second great awakening was a period of great religious revival that continued into the antebellum period of the U.S.

• It was the beginning of many conversions to the Christian Evangelism religion

• Because of Evangelism prison reform, abolitionism, and temperance changed.

• Revivalist meetings, known as “Camp Meetings”, were held in little towns and great cities.

• 1801, The most famous Camp Meeting was held at Cane Ridge, Kentucky and was led by Barton W. Stone who before was a Presbyterian minister .

• This Camp Meeting lasted a week with over 23,000 people attending and people stating that they sensed God’s presence.

• In New York, Restorationism was very encouraged and other different spiritual movements, above all the Mormons and Holiness Movement.

• 1821, Charles G. Finney made a religious speech about Christianity and how if people made the right choices they would find salvation.

The Unitarian Movement

• Disparaging the revivals for their communal emotionalism, the Unitarian Movement shared with revivalism a reliance in ones self.

• Instead of satisfying emotions Unitarians emphasized reason and your conscience which to them was the path to perfection.

• Unitarians attracted the wealthy and educated in New England.

The African American Church

• In this Church the enslaved African Americans did everything in their church that their slave owners did.

• The only difference was the message they believed they were receiving at church which was a promise for freedom for their people.

Transcendentalism

• Ralph Waldo Emerson developed a belief in transcendentalism which is a philosophical and literary movement which emphasized living a straightforward life and celebrated the truth found in nature and in your emotions and imagination.

Woman’s Christian Temperance Union

• The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League rapidly became active.

• As their political power grew, they changed from moral influence to making the government to control liquor.

• In fact, they succeeded in getting many liquor laws passed with help from churches and factories who saw poor efficiency from drunken workers.

• Some eminent figures are Susan B Anthony, Frances E. Willard, and Carry Nation.

• In the South Western Regions like Kentucky and Tennessee, the revival mainly supported the growth of Methodists and Baptists.

• Many planters and slaves joined these congregations.

• Women also played an important role in the revivalist movement and organizations that benefitted from that were the YMCA( Young Man’s Christian Association).

• October 22, 1844 was the date the second advent of Jesus Christ was supposedly supposed to occur. This was predicted by William Miller. Christ’s failure to appear was known as the Great Disappointment.

Effects of the Second Great Awakening

• It increased concern over slavery, which eventually led to the Civil War which ended it.

• Government regulation, instruction on alcoholism in schools, study of alcoholism.

Reference

• http://encyclopedia.farlex.com• www.u-s-history.com• www.america.gov