The Great Awakening
Another milestone on America’s journey to freedom and independence was the Great Awakening that took place roughly
between 1730 and 1750. By the early seventeen hundreds religion in America had reached a low point. Churches had become
staid and services had become routine and scripted. By the second and third generation the descendents of the early settlers
had become more interested in accumulating material possessions and enjoying life than in the condition of their souls. Most
of the colonies had an established church and the people not belonging to it often had none at all. Even members of the
established churches supported them with their taxes but often felt no sense of belonging.
In 1727 Jonathan Edwards was ordained as the third minister of the Church of Christ (congregational) at Northampton,
Massachusetts succeeding his Grandfather Solomon Stoddard, who had served the church as pastor for the past sixty years.
Edwards described the condition of Northampton’s young people shortly after he became pastor.
Edwards was not a dynamic speaker. His style, as was the custom in churches of that time, was to read his sermons to the
congregation, often taking long manuscripts filled with theology and doctrine, into the pulpit with him. He suffered from poor
eyesight and held the manuscripts so close that they often obscured his face from his audience. Things started to change a
few years later, following the untimely deaths of two of the town’s youths. These deaths seemed to “contribute to render
solemn the spirits of many young persons; and there began evidently to appear more of a religious concern on people's
minds”, he wrote.
Meanwhile, England was undergoing a religious revival under the preaching of John and Charles Wesley, the two brothers
who founded the Methodist Church, and George Whitefield, who would later become an evangelical force in America. Their
message was a call for a return to the teachings of the Bible and personal salvation through Jesus Christ. Large numbers of
people professed salvation, many leaving the Church of England and joining the Methodists. Most of the other non-
conformist churches also experienced a great upsurge in church attendance and membership.
This heightened interest in the things of God soon spread to the colonies. The preaching of Dutch Reformed preacher
Theodore Frelinghuysen and Presbyterian preachers William and Gilbert Tennant were drawing large crowds with many
professions of faith in New Jersey. The effects of revival soon reached the “frolicking” youth of Northampton,
Massachusetts and the congregation of Jonathan Edwards. He relates an encounter he had with a young woman,
The changes observed by Edwards soon affected the whole town. In another place he writes,
On July 8, 1741 Edwards preached his most famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” in Enfield,
Connecticut. Although, at the time he delivered this sermon the most widespread religious revival in American history was
already well underway, it remains the defining sermon of the Great Awakening.
Other preachers, fired up by the spirit of revival soon spread its influence throughout the country. A large number of itinerant
preachers held meetings outside, in the village square or wherever they could draw a crowd. George Whitefield, who was
now preaching in America, was known for his open-air preaching. Benjamin Franklin relates the effects of Whitefield’s
preaching and the revival on the residents of Philadelphia in his autobiography.
Franklin became a supporter of Whitefield, devoting his newspaper, the Philadelphia Gazette to his sermons which were
carried on the front page in half of the editions published in 1739 and 1740. They remained close friends until Whitefield died
September 29, 1770. Although Whitefield was a great influence on Franklin for thirty years he never succeeded in converting
him.
The Great Awakening had two major consequences on the future of America. It greatly diminished the authority of the
established church clergy, paving the way for religious liberty; and it raised the literacy level of the average American
considerably. Well educated people established the early colonies. However, Colonial education was based on home
schooling, church or community schools. The emphasis on survival and taming a wilderness weakened the emphasis on
formal education. By the early 1700's male illiteracy in the colonies had reached almost 50 percent and was common among
females. However, the emphasis on the Scriptures brought about by the Great Awakening also led to a renewed commitment
to education. According to Thomas Jefferson, by the 1770's male literacy in the colonies was over 90 percent.
Another milestone on America’s journey to freedom and independence was the Great Awakening that took place roughly
between 1730 and 1750. By the early seventeen hundreds religion in America had reached a low point. Churches had become
staid and services had become routine and scripted. By the second and third generation the descendents of the early settlers
had become more interested in accumulating material possessions and enjoying life than in the condition of their souls. Most
of the colonies had an established church and the people not belonging to it often had none at all. Even members of the
established churches supported them with their taxes but often felt no sense of belonging.
In 1727 Jonathan Edwards was ordained as the third minister of the Church of Christ (congregational) at Northampton,
Massachusetts succeeding his Grandfather Solomon Stoddard, who had served the church as pastor for the past sixty years.
Edwards described the condition of Northampton’s young people shortly after he became pastor.
“The greater part seemed to be at that time very insensible of the things of religion, and engaged in other cares and
pursuits. Just after my grandfather's death, it seemed to be a time of extraordinary dullness in religion. Licentious-
ness for some years prevailed among the youth of the town; there were many of them very much addicted to night-
walking, and frequenting the tavern, and lewd practices, wherein some, by their example, exceedingly corrupted
others. It was their manner very frequently to get together, in conventions of both sexes for mirth and jollity, which
they called frolics; and they would often spend the greater part of the night in them, without regard to any order in
the families they belonged to: and indeed family government did too much fail in the town. It was become very
customary with many of our young people to be indecent in their carriage at meeting, which doubtless would not have
prevailed in such a degree, had it not been that my grandfather, through his great age (though he retained his powers
surprisingly to the last), was not so able to observe them.”
Edwards was not a dynamic speaker. His style, as was the custom in churches of that time, was to read his sermons to the
congregation, often taking long manuscripts filled with theology and doctrine, into the pulpit with him. He suffered from poor
eyesight and held the manuscripts so close that they often obscured his face from his audience. Things started to change a
few years later, following the untimely deaths of two of the town’s youths. These deaths seemed to “contribute to render
solemn the spirits of many young persons; and there began evidently to appear more of a religious concern on people's
minds”, he wrote.
Meanwhile, England was undergoing a religious revival under the preaching of John and Charles Wesley, the two brothers
who founded the Methodist Church, and George Whitefield, who would later become an evangelical force in America. Their
message was a call for a return to the teachings of the Bible and personal salvation through Jesus Christ. Large numbers of
people professed salvation, many leaving the Church of England and joining the Methodists. Most of the other non-
conformist churches also experienced a great upsurge in church attendance and membership.
This heightened interest in the things of God soon spread to the colonies. The preaching of Dutch Reformed preacher
Theodore Frelinghuysen and Presbyterian preachers William and Gilbert Tennant were drawing large crowds with many
professions of faith in New Jersey. The effects of revival soon reached the “frolicking” youth of Northampton,
Massachusetts and the congregation of Jonathan Edwards. He relates an encounter he had with a young woman,
- “Who had been one of the greatest company-keepers in the whole town. When she came to me, I had never heard that
she was become in any wise serious, but by the conversation I then had with her, it appeared to me, that what she
gave an account of, was a glorious work of God's infinite power and sovereign grace; and that God had given her a
new heart, truly broken and sanctified. I could not then doubt of it, and have seen much in my acquaintance with her
since to confirm it.”
The changes observed by Edwards soon affected the whole town. In another place he writes,
- “Presently upon this, a great and earnest concern about the great things of religion and the eternal world, became
universal in all parts of the town, and among persons of all degrees, and all ages. The noise amongst the dry bones
waxed louder and louder; all other talk but about spiritual and eternal things, was soon thrown by; all the
conversation, in all compan-ies and upon all occasions, was upon these things only, unless so much as was necessary
for people carrying on their ordinary secular business.”
On July 8, 1741 Edwards preached his most famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” in Enfield,
Connecticut. Although, at the time he delivered this sermon the most widespread religious revival in American history was
already well underway, it remains the defining sermon of the Great Awakening.
Other preachers, fired up by the spirit of revival soon spread its influence throughout the country. A large number of itinerant
preachers held meetings outside, in the village square or wherever they could draw a crowd. George Whitefield, who was
now preaching in America, was known for his open-air preaching. Benjamin Franklin relates the effects of Whitefield’s
preaching and the revival on the residents of Philadelphia in his autobiography.
- “In 1739 [there] arrived among us from Ireland the Reverend Mr. Whitefield, who had made himself remarkable
there as an itinerant preacher. He was at first permitted to preach in some of our churches; but the clergy, taking a
dislike to him, soon refus'd him their pulpits, and he was oblig'd to preach in the fields. The multitudes of all sects
and denominations that attended his sermons were enormous, and it was a matter of speculation to me, who was one
of the number, to observe the extraordinary influence of his oratory on his hearers, and how much they admir'd and
respected him, notwithstanding his common abuse of them, by assuring them that they were naturally half beasts and
half devils. It was wonderful to see the change soon made in the manners of our inhabitants. From being thoughtless
or indifferent about religion, it seem'd as if all the world were growing religious, so that one could not walk thro' the
town in an evening without hearing psalms sung in different families of every street.” (Emphasis Added)
Franklin became a supporter of Whitefield, devoting his newspaper, the Philadelphia Gazette to his sermons which were
carried on the front page in half of the editions published in 1739 and 1740. They remained close friends until Whitefield died
September 29, 1770. Although Whitefield was a great influence on Franklin for thirty years he never succeeded in converting
him.
The Great Awakening had two major consequences on the future of America. It greatly diminished the authority of the
established church clergy, paving the way for religious liberty; and it raised the literacy level of the average American
considerably. Well educated people established the early colonies. However, Colonial education was based on home
schooling, church or community schools. The emphasis on survival and taming a wilderness weakened the emphasis on
formal education. By the early 1700's male illiteracy in the colonies had reached almost 50 percent and was common among
females. However, the emphasis on the Scriptures brought about by the Great Awakening also led to a renewed commitment
to education. According to Thomas Jefferson, by the 1770's male literacy in the colonies was over 90 percent.
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E-mail address
jfm@illinoisconservative.com
jfm@illinoisconservative.com
| Philosophy of Evil Socialism in America "The struggle of History is not between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat; it is between government and the governed." Jerry McDaniel |
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