The Great Awakening Season 2 | Episode 2
America as a nation was sought after
initially by those fleeing religious persecution in Europe.
Yet, upon arriving in the New World,
many people slipped into religious lethargy
as the pressures and opportunities of the New World enveloped their lives.
In the 17- and 1800s, two revivals would take place
known as the Great Awakening.
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An integral individual in the First Great Awakening
was George Whitfield.
George Whitfield attended Oxford University
and was a member of the 'Holy Club',
along with John and Charles Wesley,
that sought to lead practical and spiritual revival
in their lives and communities.
Upon graduating, he didn't settle in a church
but became a popular outdoor itinerant preacher
and traveled to America eight times during his life.
He died here in America,
and is buried here in this church in Newburyport, Massachusetts.
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In the 1740s it's likely that apart from the King of England,
George Whitefield was the most well-known Englishman in America.
His captivating sermons thrilled large audiences
all up and down the eastern seaboard
and led to a revival amongst all denominations,
in particular the Baptists.
He is the first preacher who preached to the enslaved in the south
and this Great Awakening was the first time that African Americans
had embraced Christianity in large numbers.
This First Great Awakening led to a multiplication of churches
and greater respect and cooperation between all denominations.
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Some say that this period had an impact
on the changes America was soon to undergo.
Some scholars argue
that the evangelical movement of the 1740s
played a key role in the development of democratic thought
as well as the belief in the Free Press
and that information should be shared unbiased and uncontrolled.
The American War of Independence and the Declaration of Independence
would happen a few decades later.
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The Second Great Awakening
began around 1800 and continued until the 1830s.
One name that is associated with this revival at this time in America
is Charles Finney.
He brought the campmeeting to town
and established a revival formula
that became copied in many other churches at the time.
This included praying for people in public by name,
allowing women to testify and pray in public to mixed audiences,
appointing a pew at the front of the church as the 'Anxious Bench',
having a room where you could meet and pray with people,
and the meetings would be protracted over several weeks in town.
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In small chapels all across the East Coast
and as well as in large cities the revival took place.
It was especially strong in the northeasterly states in America,
and it marked a significant shift
where it moved beyond the educated elite
to those less educated and less wealthy.
A byproduct of this revival
were the other reform movements that it encouraged,
such as the temperance movement,
the abolition of slavery, and women's rights.
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Structures were being broken down and the gospel was spreading.
God was using the ordained clergy and laymen alike
to share the message and bring revival.
This would pave the way for people to accept the messages
that humble, often unlearned men and women
would share in the years ahead.
God has never been restricted academically,
structurally, or by social class.
He has used and He will continue to use humble servants to preach His message.
Another revival will come to this world before the return of Jesus,
a revival such as this world has never seen before;
and God is looking for people, men and women, young and old,
who will be willing to be used by Him.