1. Revivalism and Reform in Antebellum America

2. The Second Great Awakening Democratizes Salvation
A Camp Meeting
Second Great Awakening occurred in the context of great migration west and a fascination with the lifestyle of the American wilderness
Admission of new states west of the Appalachians provided opportunity for Western expansion
Thousands of people began moving west
This put considerable strain on religion
Churches needed to be more flexible due to these socio-economic upheavals
The “parish” had to be reapplied to changing times
Presbyterian preacher James McGready was instrumental in the Second Great Awakening
Hosted what became known as frontier camp meetings
Loosely organized church meetings in which preachers delivered informal sermons to large, non-affiliated congregations
Many conversions took place during camp meetings

3. Charles Finney: "What a Revival of Religion Is"
The Second Great Awakening rethought the old Calvinist doctrine of predestination
Salvation is reserved for the "elect" who are pre-chosen by God
It favored of the view that man is responsible for both his own salvation and the moral condition of society at large
Led to profound changes in the institutional structure of the church
Laypeople began to transform society in God's image through missionary, evangelical, and benevolent work
Prominent Northern evangelist Charles Finney defined revivalism as a human effort to catalyze conversion and salvation for individual souls, rather than a miracle bestowed by God
Charles Finney

4. Anti-Slavery Protestant Voices
Protestant dissent to slavery came to prominence after the Second Great Awakening
While not exclusively anti-slavery by nature, it did act as a catalyst for many anti-slavery Protestant voices to emerge
One such advocate of abolition was William Wilson
In The Great American Question, he calls for an abolitionist movement to take the 1848 election, thus linking politics and religion
Slavery, argued Wilson, goes directly against all that is taught in the Bible
John Fee wrote An Anti-Slavery Manual (1851)
Admonishes slavery providing a slightly different religious argument
Argues against slavery in terms of sin
Like Wilson, Fee felt that slavery was an affront to Christianity
Asserted that slave-holders needed to abolish slavery for fear for their souls
Hell awaited those that did not renounce slavery
An argument used by many fundamentalists within the Christian faith
John Fee

5. The Temperance Movement
A strong reformist impulse animated religious life during the Second Great Awakening
The faithful sought to remake society in God's image
This extended to civic life, as illustrated by the formation of thousands of Temperance societies
Efforts were successful in reducing the per capita consumption and encouraging stricter state regulation of alcohol
Lyman Beecher, father of Harriet Beecher Stowe, was a famous social activist
Concerned about the negative impact of alcohol on society
Abraham Lincoln, in a speech to the Washington Temperance Society, touched on the growing success and popularity of the temperance movement, and the obstacles that lay ahead
The 1846 constitution of the Daughters of Temperance illustrates such societies’ creation of a new social outlet and leadership role for women in Antebellum American society
Members of Martha Washington Salem Union No. 6 vowed to abstain from the use and sale of alcohol and promote temperance in their communities
The club governed itself democratically and used collective resources to provide a kind of life insurance for members

6. The Rise of "Disinterested Benevolence"
Evangelicals strove to prepare the world for the coming Kingdom of God by externalizing religion through the proliferation of disinterested benevolent societies
Formed voluntary organizations dedicated to various causes including temperance, slavery, female morality, missionary work, poverty, and the plight of prisoners and the insane
The 1853 article “Dedication of the Five Points’ Mission House” demonstrates the link between religion and civil society that was nurtured during the Second Great Awakening
"Letter on Prostitution" was written in 1850 by Caroline W.H. Dall following the 1850 Women's Rights Convention
Her views and work were more radical
Linked women's rights to social reform illustrating the budding notions of gender equality
Reformers began to see the feminine role as unique and invaluable to moral purity in the family and society at large
In "Memorial to the Massachusetts Legislature," prominent mental facility reformer Dorothea Dix called attention to the deplorable treatment of the commonwealth's insane
Her crusade for humane asylums for the mentally ill coincided with a movement to reform penitentiaries
These reform efforts were a broader reflection of the emerging notion that the fallen could be rehabilitated and that Christian people ought to take responsibility for alleviating society's ills
Dorothea Dix

7. Observations on Religion in Antebellum America
Alexis de Tocqueville was a French political theorist who authored Democracy in America in the 1830's after an extensive tour of the United States
Emphasized the tendency of Americans to focus on reform in this world
His observations of Americans' unabashed religiousity reflects the growing perception of the American character as inherently Christian during this time
Alexis de Tocqueville

8. Slide 2: http://www.pragmatism.org/american/second_awakening.jpg
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