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