The Great AwakeningChapter 5, Section 4

Key Terms:

revivals Great Awakening

A Revival of Faith• 1730’s ministers tried to renew

enthusiasm for religion through emotional and inspiring sermons

• Began holding revivals - public church gatherings where masses of people came to hear a sermon, usually in open fields

• Great Awakening - 1730’3 - 1740’s - unorganized and widespread movement of evangelical Christian sermons and church meetings.

Jonathan Edwards•Important leader of

Great Awakening•Dramatic sermons

emphasized that sinners must ask forgiveness for their sins.

George Whitefield• British minister came to

America in 1738• Began a series of revivals in

Georgia and Virginia• Toured seven times through

the South and New England• Revivals drew crowds of

thousands

• Inspired many to join new evangelical movement

Words of the Great Awakening• Salvation could only be gained

through the acceptance of God’s grace and confession

• Jonathan Edward’s 1741 sermon, “Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God”

• All people were born sinners, no matter what social status

• Whitefield - explained that everyone has an equal chance to be saved

New Beliefs• “Old Lights” - Charles Chauncy- did not

think the Great Awakening could awaken one’s spirituality and was an inappropriate way to gain salvation

• “New Lights” -Gilbert Tennet -published The Danger of an Unconverted Ministry - attacked the traditional “Old Lights”

• Presbyterian Church split into two groups

• Middle and Southern colonies tremendous growth

Faith on the Frontier

• Great Awakening swept west - itinerant preachers took message to small communities

• Few established churches - important to settlers

• Conflict continued in the west

Great Awakening and Society• Attracted many classes and

races• Poor and women frequently

participated• African Americans-acceptance

and spiritual equality appealing• Politics - ministers

communicated with one another and started to trade

• Large outdoor meetings place to discuss politics and social issues

Outcome of Great Awakening

•Questioning church practices encouraged colonists to demand greater political equality.

Focus Questions

• What was the message of the Great Awakening?

• How did the colonists respond to the Great Awakening?

• How did the Great Awakening help bring colonists together?

Student Presentations

Conflicts that Created ChangeIn Colonial America

By Angela Daley