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The Great Awakening. Path to the American Revolution. The Colonies had little in Common. Formed differently due to geography, exploration and settlement Few roads in the colonies England constantly at war with France and thus let the colonies develop by themselves.
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The Great Awakening Path to the American Revolution
The Colonies had little in Common • Formed differently due to geography, exploration and settlement • Few roads in the colonies • England constantly at war with France and thus let the colonies develop by themselves
What kind of corruption by government leaders will tend to corrupt society as a whole?
Beyond terrorism, are their internal threats to our society that could, in the future, bring our country down?
Corruption • Corrupt British officials • Colonial governor had a lot of power • Colonial offices were sold for bribes or to reward incompetent men who were down on their luck • Shallow belief in God, especially within the Church of England. Anglican ministers were often appointed as a perk of the governor.
Edward Hyde, the Lord Cornbury • Appointed governor of New York in 1700 • Owed large gambling debts • Dressed up as Queen Anne when drunk • Embezzled money meant for defense of colony • Recalled in 1709
Revival • A reawakening of interest in religion after a period of decline.
Jonathan Edwards • A 1741 sermon helped increase the revival known as the Great Awakening. • The sermon is known as “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”
George Whitefield • Anglican priest • He had a very powerful voice. • His 1739-1741 preaching tour of the colonies spread the Great Awakening. • He was extremely popular.
Outdoor Preaching • He didn’t care what church a Christian went to as long as he was a Christian. • Due to this, he was not allowed to speak in many Anglican churches. • He began to speak outside in fields.
Some suspected Whitefield was preaching for the money but Benjamin Franklin said it was not true
Impact of the Great Awakening • It was a shared experience that helped begin to bring the colonies together.
It helped different religious viewpoints to be tolerated in America.
Education • It led to the emergence of many schools and colleges such as Princeton, Rutgers and Brown Universities
Literacy became so common that by the time of the Revolution, 95% of Americans could read and write.
Opposition to Corruption • Over time, American preachers began to preach against the moral problems of English leaders.
It was a small step from leaving a corrupt church to leaving a corrupt nation. The preachers would be the first to call for Revolution a generation later. • Peter Muhlenberg >>
There would have been no American Revolution without the Great Awakening.
Homework Assignment Do a double Bar graph on the increase in churches from 1700 to 1780
Lutheran 1700 7 1780 240 Presbyterian 1700 28 1780 495 German Reformed 1700 0 1780 201 Dutch Reformed 1700 26 1780 127
Roman Catholic 1700 22 1780 56 Baptist 1700 33 1780 457 Congregational 1700 146 1780 749 Church of England (Anglican) 1700 111 1780 406