| Revivalism and Reform in Antebellum America (1801-1853) |
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Sections:- The Second Great Awakening Democratizes Salvation
- Charles Finney, "What a Revival of Religion Is"
- Anti-Slavery Protestant Voices
- The Temperance Movement
- The Rise of "Disinterested Benevolence"
- Alexis de Tocqueville's Observations on Religion in Antebellum America
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| Historical Context
The Second Great Awakening should be understood in the context of a great migration west as well as a new fascination with the rugged and solitary lifestyle of the American wilderness. The admission of many new states west of the Appalachian Mountains as American provided the opportunity for Western expansion. Seizing this opportunity, thousands of people began moving west, a phenomenon which put considerable strain on the institution of religion. Churches needed to become more flexible in response to these social and economic upheavels. The notion of the parish had to be reapplied to the changing times. Such a notion was understood fully by the Presbyterian preacher James McGready, who was instrumental in sparking the Second Great Awakening. Preaching from Logan County, Kentucky, McGready hosted what became known as frontier camp meetings, or loosely organized church meetings in which preachers delivered informal sermons to large, non-affiliated congregations. As was often the case, many conversions took place during these camp meetings.
Attached Documents
Provided below is one such account by McGready himself written in the years just before 1800. It is evident that while the meetings described by McGready were well attended and influential, the Presbyterian preacher also clearly struggled to keep the faithful interested. This was due to both rival preachers and the stubborn clinging of the frontier people to their previous ways of worship.
Questions to Consider
1) In what ways does the Second Great Awakening mirror the changes going on in America at the time?
2) How did the Protestant revivalism movement keep up with the changing times?
3) Why do you think the doctrinal upheavals of the Second Great Awakening would encourage people who were not necessarily political or social elites to take on the cause for reform in other aspects of American life? |
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| Historical Context
A major distinguishing characteristic of the Second Great Awakening is the rethinking of the old Calvinist doctrine of predestination, that salvation is reserved for the "elect" who are pre-chosen by God, in favor of the view that man is responsible for both his own salvation and the moral condition of society at large. This kind of thinking led to profound changes in the institutional structure of the church, as laypeople began to take on the challenge of transforming society in God's image through missionary, evangelical, and benevolent work.
Attached Documents
In the following excepts from the writings of prominent Northern evangelist Charles Finney defines revivalism as a human effort to catalyze conversion and salvation for individual souls, rather than a miracle bestowed by God.
Questions to Consider
1. According to Finney, why are the "excitements" of revivalism neccessary? What is God's role in religious revivals?
2. What is Finney implying by driving home the point that revivals are not miracles, but created by humans?
3. How does Finney's message about revivalism perpetuate the main doctrinal thrust of the Second Great Awakening? Focus your answer on the responsibilites Finney assigns to individuals and the Church that may not have applied under a strict Calvinist understanding of predestination.
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| Historical Context
Protestant dissent to the institution of slavery came to prominence after the Second Great Awakening. This Protestant revival, while not exclusively anti-slavery by nature, did act as a catalyst for many anti-slavery Protestant voices to emerge.
Attached Documents
One such advocate of abolition was William Wilson, Chancellor of the Protestant University of the United States. Wilson, in the "The Great American Question", calls for an abolitionist movement to take the 1848 election, thus cleverly linking politics and religion. Claiming that "slavery is irreconcilably at war", Wilson calls on his fellow Protestants to practice the basic tenets of their Christian faith. Slavery, argued Wilson, goes directly against all that is taught in the Christian Bible. His words, provided below, act as a counter to the words of slavery advocates provided above.
"An Anti-Slavery Manual", published in 1851 and written by John Fee, admonishes the institution of slavery, yet provides a slightly different religious argument. Fee, the son of slave-holders, argues against slavery in terms of sin. Like Wilson, Fee felt that slavery was an affront to Christianity, yet asserted that slave-holders need abolish the institution of slavery for fear for their souls. Hell awaits those that do not renounce slavery, an argument used by many fundamentalists within the Christian faith.
Questions to Consider
1) How do these interpretations of Christian doctrine support the anti-slavery cause?
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| Historical Context
A strong reformist impulse animated religious life during the Second Great Awakening, as the faithful sought to remake society in God's image. This sentiment extended to civic life, as illustrated by the formation of thousands of Temperance societies. These efforts were successful in reducing the per capita consumption and encouraging stricter state regulation of alcohol.
Attached Documents
These two speeches relate to the increasing movement to ban the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages in the U.S. during the 19th century. Lyman Beecher, the father of Harriet Beecher Stowe, was a famous social activist of the day who was particularly concerned about the negative impact of alcohol on society. Here, in one of his most cited orations, he argues strongly against intemperance and asserts that it is one of the most destructive vices of mankind.
The second speech was delivered by Abraham Lincoln before the Springfield, IL Washington Temperance Society. It touches on the growing success and popularity of the temperance movement, and discusses the obstacles that lay ahead.
This page from the 1846 constitution of the Daughters of Temperance illustrates the importance of such societies in creating a new social outlet and leadership role for women in Antebellum American society. Members of Martha Washington Salem Union No. 6 vowed to abstain from the use and sale of alcohol and promote temperance in their communities. The club governed itself democratically and used collective resources to provide a kind of life insurance for members.
Questions to Consider
1. Why would the cause of temperance be an appropriate extension of the spirit of the Second Great Awakening?
2. According to Beecher, what are the ill effects of alcohol on the individual, society, and the family?
3. Why does Lincoln praise the Washington Temperance Society (the "Washingtonians") as a more effective temperance promotion agency than the old establishment of preachers and lawyers?
4. Why do you think temperance societies were appealing to Christian, especially evangelical, women? What benefits did women derive from membership in such an organization? |
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| Historical Context
Evangelicals strove to prepare the world for the coming Kingdom of God (and sometimes to demonstrate their own state of grace) by externalizing religion through the profliferation of disinterested benevolent societies. Reformers addressed the pressing issues of the day by forming voluntary organizations dedicated to various causes including temperence, slavery, female morality, missionary work, poverty, and the plight of prisoners and the insane.
Attached Documents
The 1853 article “Dedication of the Five Points’ Mission House” demonstrates the link between religion and civil society that was nutured during the Second Great Awakening. This article focuses on the opening ceremonies for a Methodist mission in an inpoverised and, significantly, predominently Catholic, New York City ghetto.
The "Letter on Prostitution" was written in 1850 by author Caroline W.H. Dall following the 1850 Women's Rights Convention. Though her view and her work were more radical than mainstream, this letter linking women's rights to social reform illustrates the budding notions of gender equality that were coming to fruition as women began to take on substantive roles in a reform-minded society. In Antebellum America, reformers began to see the feminine role as unique and invaluable to moral purity in the family and society at large.
In her "Memorial to the Massachusetts Legislature," prominent mental facility reformer Dorothea Dix called attention to the deplorable treatment of the commonwealth's insane. Her crusade for humane asylums for the mentally ill coincided with a movement to reform penitentiaries. These reform efforts were a broader reflection of the emerging notion that the fallen could be rehabilitated and that Christian people ought to take responsibility for allieviating society's ills.
Questions to Consider
1. What kinds of attitudes motivated the erection of the Five Points Mission House?
2. In her letter, Caroline Dall asserts that women, "the more intelligent and religious they themselves become," should realize that they have a special role in reforming those of their sex who are forced into prostitution. Trace Dall's logic that increasing education and autonomy for women will lead to the decline of the sex trade. How is this argument linked to both the early women's movement and the principles of the Second Great Awakening?
3. Do you think that the reformist impulse that arose from the externalizing of religion is still alive in modern churches? Why or why not? |
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| Historical Context
Alexis de Tocqueville was a French political theorist who authored Democracy in America in the 1830's after an extensive tour of the United States.
Attached Documents
In this excerpt from his famous work, de Tocqueville emphasizes the tendency of Americans to focus on reform in this world. His observations of Americans' unabashed religiousity reflects the growing perception of the American character as inherently Christian during this time.
Questions to Consider
1. How do de Tocqueville's observations confirm the break with Calvinist doctrine that American churches experienced in the early nineteenth century? |
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