The main differences between the Great Awakening and the Enlightenment is that the Enlightenment was a movement started by the philosophers and scientists centered on scientific spirit and reasoning. However, the Great Awakening was a religious and spiritual movement. For example, Document A states, ”You have sown the harmful seeds of separation and disorder among us”. This shows that George Whitefield was a dangerous man and was spreading harmful ideas. Also, in Document A, the test explains “You have stopped the spread of the Gospel, and hurt the Peace and good Order”.
The Central Ideas of the First Great Awakening The colonial American society witnessed innumerable revolutions and renewals during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The revolutions had different thematic focuses including protests against slavery and racial segregation among others. One of such revolutions was the Great Awakening, which involved the spiritual revival that swept the colonial American communities. In particular, the Great Awakening was intense in the New England colony during the first five decades of the 18th century.
The Great Awakening and Enlightenment were two very different cultural phenomena that happened during the 1700s but they both had a similar effect on colonial society. The Enlightenment was based on reason, science, rationality and progress. Benjamin Franklin, an Enlightenment thinker from Pennsylvania, believed that science could benefit society. Other Enlightenment thinkers had rational views of God and viewed him as a clockmaker that controlled the universe.
European politics, philosophy, and science were radically changed during the 17th and 18th centuries during a period called the Enlightenment. Enlightenment thinkers throughout Europe questioned cultural norms and embraced the notion that humanity could be improved through rational change. Science had been mostly a male field of study during this age. It was extremely rare for women to enter this field, but during the Enlightenment, the idea that the minds of women can equal that of men became more popular. Many people believed that women did not have the intelligence to be involved in science, while some others believed that even if women could be held on the same intellectual level as men, it was socially unacceptable; on the other hand,
When Thomas Jefferson wrote that we were ‘dissolving the bands’ between Britain and the United States, he was putting into practice the political philosophies born from centuries of people being mistreated and ignored by tyrants, and stating unalienable rights given by God. The free-thinking sparked by The Enlightenment and The Great Awakening helped change society’s thinking about the power of government and people’s own power over political, religious and personal freedoms.[1] This all culminated in a bloody family feud, and two separate but equal nations. The Enlightenment was an intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The American Enlightenment and the Great Awakening were two very important motivators that changed the colonial society in America through religious beliefs, educational values, and the right to live one’s life according to each individual’s preference. The Great Awakening and the American Enlightenment movements were two events in history that signaled a grand distinction to the teachings among religious believers. New beliefs of how a person should worship in order to be considered in “God’s good graces” soon became an enormous discussion among colonists across the land. “Men of the cloth,” such as George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards were well respected and closely followed when preaching about the love of God and damnation.
Ralph Waldo Emerson was a Transcendentalist, a person, according to the week 10 powerpoint, who rejected the thought of organized religion and had a deep skepticism of government. He embraced individualism and rugged self-reliance. He, and other Transcendentalists, focused primarily on the mind and on nature. Charles Finney, according to the week 10 powerpoint and Charles Finney on revivals, was apparently the most successful revivalist of the Second Great Awakening. The revival movement was, after admitting your sins, to dedicate the rest of your life to the church and the morals the church taught.
"How Ideologies Can Cause a Revolution in the Enlightenment" Revolt, power, despotism, government, and equality are words that can be used against each other and for each other, but all of them can be described in relation to a revolution. Revolution is a revolt against a higher power for a change in the economy, social structure, or government. The Enlightenment was a time period in which new ideas and intellectual movements arose to change society. Ideologies of the Enlightenment can cause a revolution because of the changes they bring to the economy, social structure, and government. "Economy is a huge part of a revolution.
The Anglo-American Puritanism, Continental Pietism, and Scots-Irish Presbyterianism created the context for the Great Awakening. Puritans emphasized conversion and believed in witnessing visible sign of joining the Covenant. One needed to have a conversion experience by publicly declaring their faith and commitment. They also introduced to the Awakening Covenant renewal a process of rededicating one’s life. Continental Pietism sprung from German out of the Lutheran church.
The First and Second Great Awakening brought forth religious and social movements that impacted the American culture, appealing to the individual. Occurring in the early 18th century, the First Great Awakening was born within the 13 British Colonies with the Revolutionary War on the horizon. Decades later, the Second Great Awakening flourished under revivals and reforms, impacting the 19th century and years to follow. Despite being born out of different climates, The First and Second Great Awakening was characterized by the rejection of rational thinking for emotional preaching that reached the heart and soul, inspiring change in the negative perception of reason and positive perception of emotion and individualism in religion as well as the
In America today, we have many ideals and societal norms that we interact with on a daily basis, and yet we never stop to think where they might have come from. As it turns out, many most likely began to form in a period of new ideas and thinking in the colonies called the Great Awakening. The great awakening began around the 1730’s and lasted until around the 1770’s. During the great awakening, preachers traveled the colonies, preaching new ideas of equality and individualism. These preachers believed that the church and the clergy had too much power, and that people should begin taking their religiousness into their own hands.
First Great Awakening A religious uprising known as the First Great Awakening swept through the American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. It was marked by passionate prayer, emotive preaching, and an emphasis on individual redemption. The American colonies experienced a time of religious revival that rekindled interest in Christianity and energized the local churches. By advancing ideals like democracy, equality, and religious tolerance, this event was crucial in forming the American identity.
“Independence, free will, and personal effort are considered primary virtues that contribute not only to personal achievement but also to the success and well-being of the nation.” This quote, stated by Charles Finney, means that people must be able to choose for themselves and make their own decisions in order for the country to become better than it is. The Second Great Awakening began for several different reasons, consisted of many different church revivals and leaders, and ultimately had a lasting impact for several more years after the end of the Second Great Awakening. There were several different factors that led up to the Second Great Awakening. Some such factors are listed by Richard Kaplan in his article titled, The Second Great
In the late 1800’s several Americans was not regularly attending Church, and God did not play a important role in the citizens daily life. Slavery at this time was getting worse with harsh punishments and cruel treatment. Women were controlled by the men and had no opinion in decisions. Theses problems led to the Second Great Awakening, which attempted to resolve these issues. The Second Great Awakening occurred during the 1800’s and included several social movements involving religion, abolitionist, and women’s rights; which encouraged people to go to Church again and stand up for what they believe in.
The Second Great Awakening, beginning in about 1790, influenced a reform movement that encouraged mandatory, free, public education. In 1805, the New York Public School Society was created by wealthy businessmen and was intended to provide education for poor children. In 1817, a town meeting in Boston, Massachusetts called for establishment of free public primary schools. Many wage earners opposed this proposal. Josiah Quincy, mayor of Boston, supported the idea that education should be a priority by saying, “(By) 1820, an English classical school is established, having for its object to enable the mercantile and mechanical classes to obtain an education adapted for those children whom their parents wished to qualify for active life, and thus
