The Great Awakening: A Detailed History

The Great Awakening refers to a series of religious revivals that swept through the British American colonies in the 18th century, revitalizing Protestant Christianity and countering the growing influence of secular rationalism and Enlightenment ideas. Historians primarily identify the First Great Awakening (roughly 1720–1740s) as the core event, with a Second Great Awakening following in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. These movements emphasized personal conversion, emotional worship, and the "new birth" in faith, leading to widespread conversions, denominational growth, and long-term social changes. While the term "Great Awakening" is sometimes used broadly to encompass multiple waves of revivalism up to the 20th century, this history focuses on the First and Second, drawing from key scholarly accounts.

Origins and Background

The roots of the First Great Awakening trace back to the late 17th and early 18th centuries, amid a broader European religious ferment known as Pietism and Quietism on the continent and Evangelicalism in England, led by figures like John Wesley. In the American colonies, Puritan fervor had declined by the end of the 1600s, giving way to secularization, materialistic church structures, and a focus on rationalism influenced by the Enlightenment. Conditions ripe for revival included "arid rationalism" in New England, liturgical formalism in the Middle Colonies (e.g., among Dutch Reformed), and pastoral neglect in the South. Church attendance waned as Enlightenment ideas promoted scientific reasoning over religious dogma, fostering complacency in worship.

Early stirrings appeared in the 1720s, with pockets of revivalism under ministers like Solomon Stoddard (Jonathan Edwards's grandfather) in New England. By the 1730s, revivals gained momentum in Pennsylvania and New Jersey among Presbyterians, influenced by Dutch Reformed preacher Theodore Frelinghuysen and Scottish-Irish Presbyterians like Gilbert Tennent. The movement primarily affected Calvinist denominations: Dutch Reformed, Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Baptists, and some Anglicans. It reacted against established churches' corporate nature and worldliness, emphasizing personal sinfulness and the need for conversion.

Key Figures

Several charismatic leaders drove the Awakening, blending fiery preaching with theological depth.

- **Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758)**: Often called the intellectual father of the revival, Edwards was a Congregational pastor in Northampton, Massachusetts. He preached justification by faith alone, drawing on John Locke and Isaac Newton to rationalize religious experience while opposing pure Enlightenment thought. His famous 1741 sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," vividly depicted humanity's peril: "The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider... abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked." Edwards documented conversions in works like *A Faithful Narrative of the Surprizing Work of God* (1737), helping discern true spiritual experiences from emotional excesses.

- **George Whitefield (1714–1770)**: A British Anglican priest and Calvinist influenced by Wesley, Whitefield became the movement's most famous itinerant preacher. Arriving in America in 1739–1740, he toured extensively, preaching over 350 times and covering 5,000 miles in one year. His theatrical style—shouting, trembling, and weeping—attracted massive outdoor crowds (up to 30,000), including slaves, Native Americans, and skeptics like Benjamin Franklin. Whitefield emphasized salvation for all through confession and grace, but faced criticism for invading parishes uninvited and stirring "enthusiasm."

- **Other Notable Leaders**: Gilbert Tennent, a Presbyterian, delivered sermons like "The Danger of an Unconverted Ministry" (1740), attacking complacent clergy. Samuel Davies advanced revivals in Virginia among Presbyterians and Baptists. Theodore Frelinghuysen sparked early revivals in New Jersey, while David Brainerd worked among Native Americans. Opponents like Charles Chauncy, a Boston liberal, criticized the revivals as "extravagant emotion."

Major Events and Phases

The First Great Awakening unfolded in phases, peaking in the 1740s.

- **Early Phase (1720s–1730s)**: Localized revivals began in New Jersey under Frelinghuysen and in Northampton under Edwards, where hundreds converted in 1734–1735. Edwards's narrative spread news of these "surprising conversions."

- **Peak (1739–1742)**: Whitefield's tours ignited mass enthusiasm. In 1740, he preached across colonies, drawing unprecedented crowds. Revivals spread to the South, with figures like Davies in Virginia. Emotional scenes included outcries, visions, and "spirit journeys," leading to camp-meeting styles that later influenced frontier revivals.

- **Decline and Divisions (1740s)**: By mid-1740s, fervor waned, partly due to excesses and criticisms. Denominations split into "New Lights" (revival supporters) and "Old Lights" (traditionalists). In New England, clergy divided; in the Middle Colonies, Presbyterians fragmented.

The movement extended to Kentucky by the 1790s, blending with the Second Great Awakening.

Theological Aspects

The Awakening stressed Calvinist doctrines with an evangelical twist: predestination, God's unmerited grace, and the "terrors of the law" to inspire fear of hell. Preachers promoted the "new birth"—a personal conversion experience open to all sinners, democratizing theology. This contradicted strict predestination by implying voluntary faith could lead to salvation. Themes included: all are born sinners; sin leads to damnation without grace; direct, emotional connections with God over formal rituals. It protested sacramentalism, aligning with Anabaptist, Puritan, and Pietist traditions.

 Significance and Effects

The First Great Awakening stemmed Enlightenment rationalism, increasing religious diversity and toleration. It boosted Baptist and Methodist growth, unified colonies through shared experiences, and fueled educational institutions like Princeton (1746), Brown, Rutgers, and Dartmouth. Socially, it promoted equality by reaching slaves and Native Americans, influencing abolitionist sentiments and the American Revolution through ideas of individual rights and nationalism. In Virginia, it challenged the Anglican establishment, aiding disestablishment in 1786.

The Second Great Awakening

Emerging in the 1790s in New England, this revival was less emotional, focusing on moral reform. It led to seminaries, mission societies, and colleges, extending to the frontier with camp meetings. Key figures included Charles Finney; it emphasized free will over predestination, spurring social movements like abolition and temperance. It peaked around 1800–1830s and is seen as continuing the evangelical tradition birthed in the First Awakening.

The Great Awakenings profoundly shaped American evangelicalism, emphasizing personal faith and emotional piety that endure in modern Christianity. For further reading, explore Edwards's sermons or Whitefield's journals for primary insights.