The Great Awakening

I have often contemplated the old adage, “The day you stop learning is the day you die”. From an Earthly perspective this seems to be absolute; for what can be more terminal for our minds than death itself? However, when viewed from the eternal perspective one can surely see that there is much more that is yet to be revealed and no one is exempt from this Biblical certainty. I undoubtedly being a Christian concur with the latter. While the eternal perspective is one that will far surpass anything we can wrap our minds around here on Earth and worthy of reflection, I would like to entertain the Earthly perspective. From birth to death, life seems to possess a constant state of learning. The learning process commences from the moment sensory functions are developed and extends throughout our entire lifetime. For years society has introduced the educational process early in life which in turn just equips us for the next phase of learning to not only survive, but succeed. In the last 9 years of my career, I can attest this notion of a daily flow of new data. Whether it is relative to my occupation, or my location, every day has produced something different or inexperienced. I have discovered through the years that with age, wisdom, and maturity, the more I am aware of the unknown. From this I deduce that learning is a journey; it has no destination. I don’t know of any better catalyst for the comprehension of this life-long process than examining the past. History itself paints the perfect picture of this long arduous process of learning how to survive. We as a culture have learned and can still gain from previous feats and failures in our country and world. I recently made the decision to go back to college and history, like many other adolescents, was furthest from my favorite subjects in school. It still didn’t really grasp my interest two weeks ago and as you probably guessed, I am taking the class now. Now this may be premature thinking being only into chapter four, but I am experiencing history in a whole different light. There is something inexplicable, maybe enlightening about seeing where you came from or how your countrymen came to existence that just doesn’t quite reach the forefront of your mind during the adolescent years. With that said, I have included a little segment of history that was an assignment given to me for summation. Hope you too experience your own Great Awakening! Pun is intended!


The Great Awakening, later given its name by minister and historian Joseph Tracy in 1842, first showed signs of birth in New England in the 1730s. It wasn’t until the 1750s that this outbreak of Protestant spiritual revivals proceeded to impact the lives of the early colonists. Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Virginia were among the most effected by the religious revivals. The older generation Congregational churches were more concerned with religious training and rational thinking than the salvation of souls. This coupled with a lack of ordained ministers in the South brought forth a new group of preachers. Among this group of “New Lights” were Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield. These Calvinist preachers evangelized with emotional rhetoric and captured the minds and hearts of people from all Protestant denominations. Whitefield traveled from colonies in New Hampshire down to Georgia with his new style evangelism. Preaching that scripture teaches that all men were created equal and that a man’s value is in his moral beliefs rather than his class challenged previous conceptions of social order. This widespread revival created many positive changes to the colonial society which in turn even effects modern day. Baptist preachers were arrested in VA and were defended by a young lawyer named James Madison. This later would later spur the inclusion of religious freedom into the Constitution. The New Lights founded many schools of higher learning. Presbyterians established the College of New Jersey which is now modern day Princeton University. Dartmouth, Brown, and Rutgers are other examples that were established. African Americans were also a part of this evangelism and thousands were converted. With politics and religion so closely intertwined, this movement gave colonists a new outlook on life. The new idea that every man and woman no longer had to rely on ministers or authority for their own salvation, but rather, one stood alone before God instilled a sense of courage in people to stand up for themselves. Due to the widespread changes in religious thinking, a sense of unity was established beyond the local towns and throughout the colonies. People shared a common excitement about the future progression of America. Through the Great Awakening, one can begin to see the dawning of a democratic mindset and a unified nation under God which would only be obtainable by a Revolution.