Sammy Dawson
Mr. Herrmann & Mr. Rutherford
AP History, period 4
1 September 2015
The Great Awakening
The Great Awakening was an emotional revival of religion in colonial America in the
1730s-1740s. Although it is often debated what the initial causes were, many can agree it was a
buildup of events from the years before. Economic booms were happening, a loss in religious
fervor, illness, war and the challenging of religious orthodoxy. Tension was building up in the
world of the colonists and it was expressed through an event that spread like wildfire to all
denominations of the time and to all of the colonies. There are many things that initiated The
Great Awakening, from things to do with religion to events that seem to have no correlation.
One devastating event that happened in the late 1720s and early 1730s was an outbreak of
disease among the colonies. Smallpox, yellow fever and diphtheria raged throughout the
colonies, killing thousands in a very short amount of time. 2-3% of variolated people died of
smallpox (in comparison to 15-40% who would die naturally of the disease (Melonie W.). With
people dying all around them, the colonists may have reached out for the thing humans reach out
for at times of crisis. Their faith and religion. This death blow through their communities may
have made them feel out of control, wanting to give their hope over to faith. The thick smell of
death in the world could have influenced Jonathan Edwards sermon, called Sinners in the
Hands of an Angry God. It would be logical for the colonists to see all the disease and death as
a punishment from God and see it as a sign to come back to him.
Religious tension was also a huge part of The Great Awakening and how it came about.
Resentment toward the Anglican Church was high, as it taxed even nonmembers and was a
growing sign of Englands authority in the colonies. The Puritans were also struggling as the
perfect society they had hoped to build with the elite group of church members, predestined
to go to heaven. But as time went on, it became too much for the newest generations, and the
orthodoxy of the religion began to fall apart. These liberal ideas were slowly pulling apart the
fundamental parts of religions. People were impatient, bored with their religions, and in turn lost
the drive the first generations once had. Thesetrends toward clerical intellectualism and lay
liberalism were sapping the spiritual vitality from denominations (Kennedy). The colonists were
starting to feel lost when it came to connecting with their faith, influenced by the world around
them.
The stresses of war also created tensions that would not naturally be there in the first
place, and can lead to different movements. Conflicts in the early 1700s had made a select group
of merchants very, very wealthy in the New England and middle colonies. They sat upon the top
of the social ladder, spending their money on fancy goods and came to be very well off
individuals. On the opposite end of the ladder was the orphans and widows that were created
from the devastating effects of war. They became dependent for their survival on charity
(Kennedy). Even children whose family no longer had enough land to give to them became
homeless. This increase of a poor social class and a need for charity and kindness to the less
fortunate may have helped revitalize some aspects of religion in people. The need and ability to
help those who need it may have once again connected them with the basic ideas of their dying
faiths.
The Great Awakening, though seemingly started by men like Johnathan Edwards, was
realistically beginning long before they came to the forefront of the movement. The economy,
social and religious pressures and the devastation of war and disease made people look around
for something to hold on. Slowly, and over time, that thing was religion. When the Awakening
burst forth in the 1730s and 1740s, it had years of influence behind it and would influence
America for years to come. It was the first time Americans were unified under one idea of
democratic freedom and religion. It would influence the Revolution to break from England, the
idea of a unified America and the democratic thought. These things would develop and
eventually break through, reverberating into the future and onto todays world.
Works Cited
Bailyn, B. (2013). Barbarous years: The peopling of British North America : The conflict of
civilizations, 1600-1675. New York: Vintage.
Kennedy, D., & Cohen, L. (2013). The American pageant: A history of the American
people (15th ed.). Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
W., Melonie. (2015, February 19). Colonial Times Smallpox and yellow fever ravage Europe
and the New World - [Link]. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
