The Second Great Awakening And The Making Of Modern America

Skip to main content Digital Commons @ George Fox University

• Home
• About
• FAQ
• My Account

• < Previous
• Next >

Home > HIST > HIST_FAC > 78

Faculty Publications - Department of History and Politics

The Second Great Awakening and the Making of Modern America

Authors

Kerry Irish, George Fox UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-2018

Abstract

In the decades before the Civil War which began in 1861, the Second Great Awakening was the most powerful social movement in America. It inspired the conversion of millions of Americans to faith in Jesus Christ. And that faith motivated many of those people to attempt to transform the moral habits of the nation. Slavery was ended, consumption of alcohol reduced, women’s rights, though often opposed by people of faith, were set on a path that would result in woman’s suffrage in the early Twentieth century. A host of other reforms, too many to list, were instigated. It is not too much to say that in this era the American people - though far from morally perfect - were defined by their Christianity. As Timothy Smith, an historian of American Christianity in this period has said, “Common grace, not common sense [a reference to Enlightenment thought as personified in Thomas Paine] was the keynote of the age.”

Comments

Revised 11/19/2018 to correct minor errors.

Recommended Citation

Irish, Kerry, "The Second Great Awakening and the Making of Modern America" (2018). Faculty Publications - Department of History and Politics. 78. https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/hist_fac/78

Download

DOWNLOADS

Since May 14, 2018

Included in

History of Christianity Commons, United States History Commons

Share

COinS

Browse

• Collections
• Disciplines
• Authors

Search

Enter search terms: Select context to search: in this series in this repository across all repositories

Advanced Search

• Notify me via email or RSS

Author Corner

• Why Publish in DC@George Fox?
• Author FAQ

Elsevier - Digital Commons

Home | About | FAQ | My Account | Accessibility Statement | Terms of Use

Privacy Copyright