Second Great Awakening Dbq Analysis

In 1787, the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution to establish a new, stronger government for the United States. During George Washington’s presidency in the 1790s, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson argued over the role of the government as dictated by the Constitution. As a result, a two party system consisting of the Hamiltonian Federalists and the Jeffersonian Republicans emerged. To some extent, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson reflected the policies and beliefs of the Federalist Hamilton.

With the changes seen in the economy, war & leaders, the Glorious Revolution of 1688 can be considered a part of the Enlightenment. Evidence shown through historical documents proves this stance. Although some historical events during the Glorious Revolution refute my stance, the Glorious Revolution was indeed a part of the Enlightenment because of the major shifts England had during and after this time period: Influencers, Religious tolerance and changes in governmental policies. Stated in the English Bill of Rights which were passed by Parliament and ratified by William III-King of England. “That the pretended power of suspending the laws or the execution of laws by royal authority without consent of Parliament is illegal”(Doc.3)

An influential reform movement of the 19th century is the temperance movement. The temperance movement took place during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was started with the intent to lower the intake of alcohol. The movement was mainly led by women and their children, who were victims of their drunken husbands and fathers and their actions at home. Alcohol was sort of a taboo, because it was considered to be the reason for the bad in society, like health problems, destitution, crime, etc.

In an essay on the subject of religious revivals, Nathan O. Hatch, among other remarks on the empowerment and different directions of the revival time, states that, “the wave of popular religious movements that broke upon the United States in the half century after independence did more to Christianize America society than anything before or since.” Collectively, these revivals are often referred to as the Second Great Awakening. Revivalists across the country called upon others to renounce “evil” things, such as drinking and using swear words. They hoped such positive behavioral changes would bring about Christ’s Second Coming and the millennium of peace to follow it. When one such revivalist, Charles Finney, arrived in Rochester, he found a relatively young town bursting with men of the working class and a government aimed toward outlawing sinful activities.

The style of preaching brought about by the awakening would transition into modern times, taking on many forms, but still holding the dynamic style that excited large crowds and called for a close knit church group that would be supported by tithes and offerings. A modern day example of a preacher along the lines of Jonathan Edwards would be the evangelist Billy Graham. While Jonathan Edwards used a fiery preaching style warning against the fire and brimstone of Hell, Billy Graham focused on God’s love and compassion for humans. Their preaching style differed in their words and approach, they both had fiery voices that used vivid imagery in order to excite the masses, bringing messages that changed many hearts and revitalized churches. An example of the excitement Billy Graham created in the country through religion is in his sermon Christ’s Answer to the World.

During the eighteenth century, an “immense religious revival swept across the Protestant world” (Murrin, p. 131), led by men such as George Whitefield, Solomon Stoddard, and Jonathan Edwards. These men as well as many others used new preaching styles in order to stir up the emotions of those listening. Their sermons used very specific detail regarding one’s salvation and unity with God. For some, the intense imagery would prompt a revelation, but for others it would generate fear. The sermons “replaced old, prepared homily with a spontaneous exhortation delivered by an untrained preacher, who now employed a mode of persuasion” (Cortes, Sept 21).

In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s reformers in the United States were trying different methods to advance the country. The reformers had different goals such as earning women suffrage and assisting the poor. The reformers had their methods to help bring about change in society. Reformers had different goals and methods to help change the society.

January 21,1793 began a year long of pandemonium now known as the Reign of Terror caused by King Louis XVI’s poor ruling that landed the country in debt and starvation. Fueled by the need for change, Maximilien de Robespierre started a grand revolution that would demolish absolute monarchy in 1789. The execution of the aforementioned king marked the beginning of a period where public execution was standard and tranquility vanished, or the Reign of Terror. Threats against the country were insinuated which brought about malicious methods in an effort to exterminate the threats, which, like the country itself, revolutionized the French’s ideals. The Reign of Terror was not justified.

The purpose of the sermon was because of the Great Awakening. During this period, the church in Connecticut

In times of fear and hysteria in the U.S. it is mass chaos and it only gets worse and worse. During the time of both the witch-hunt eras, whether for communist or actual witches, they prove to have many similarities between them. Both of these times were full of confusion and lying which lead to the temporary downfall of the authority at that time. Joseph McCarthy proved to be a factor in this time and add on to the chaos that was America. Arthur Miller wrote about these times in a book called The Crucible, based on the witch trial era.

The more people realised that they had a say in the laws and that the government wasn’t the only people who could make the laws. “where a people are gathered together the word of God requires that to maintain the peace and union of such a people there should be an orderly and decent government established according to God. . . do therefore associate . . . ourselves to be as one public state or commonwealth; and do for ourselves and our successors. . .” The statement shows that people realised that God is with people making their own laws for the public state and not only the government.

Richard Kaplan also said, “the theological belief in the potential mutability, indeed perfectibility, of people also encouraged a reforming attitude toward social institutions. Humanity and earthly society were not inherently sinful and, thus, could and should be reformed.” With the new quantity of religious people, the belief that there should no longer be sinful or unjust things grew tremendously. With this belief, people began to believe that things that needed to be reformed, should be reformed. The Second Great Awakening sparked a nationwide wave of reform movements that had a huge impact on American society throughout the 19th century.

In the wake of the second Great Awakening in the early 1800’s, societal morals regarding slavery, lack of rights for women, the prison system, education, and other institutions were questioned. Unitarianism stressed salvation through good works, and both religious converts and transcendentalists initiated social reform movements in an attempt to improve the moral state of America. Two of these movements that included perhaps the most controversy and struggle included abolitionism and women’s rights. Although both the abolitionist and women’s rights movements were able to eventually create lasting societal and political change, the fact that only a small portion of the population had any democratic rights showed the initial weaknesses of American democracy.

Followers, who had once felt unfulfilled and disheartened during sermons, suddenly felt and experienced the spiritual connection to God that they had each been longing for after attending preachings from these two men. The Great Awakening brought about religious freedom and free will (Smith, 2011) that would grant all

The market revolution produced new technological advances which brought America into a new era. However, with this powerful new change reform was inevitable. The roads, canals, and trains of the new revolution changed the producers’ market into a large pool of buyers rather than only aiming to be self-sufficient. The Second Great Awakening revived many Americans in order to save them from the evils of greed centered market society. The protestant revival movement also served the purpose of reuniting split communities and saving those who could not manipulate the market for their own fortune.