CHAPTER 8 SECTION 1 RELIGION SPARKS REFORM VOCABULARY

CHAPTER: 8 SECTION: 1 RELIGION SPARKS REFORM

VOCABULARY • Revival- A religious gathering designed to reawaken faith through impassioned preaching • Second Great Awakening- a 19 th century religious movement in which individual responsibility for seeking salvation was emphasized, along with the need for personal and social improvement. • Transcendentalism- a philosophical and literary movement of the 1800 s that emphasized living a simple life and celebrated the truth found in nature and in personal emotion and imagination. • Civil Disobedience- the refusal to obey those laws which are seen as unjust in an effort to bring about a change in government policy. • Utopian Communities- an experimental community designed to be a perfect society, in which its members could live together in harmony.

KEY FIGURES • Charles Grandison Finney- American minister and leader in the Second Great Awakening in the US. Another name for him is Father of Modern Revivalism. • Ralph Waldo Emerson- American essayist, lecturer and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid- 19 th century. • Henry David Thoreau- American essayist, poet, abolitionist, historian and philosopher among other professions. • Dorothea Dix- American activist on behalf of the indigent insane who created the first generation of American mental asylums.

SECOND GREAT AWAKENING • Religious movement, swept U. S. after 1790 • Organizing process that helped to give meaning and direction to people suffering in various degrees from the social strains of a nation on the move into new political, economic and geographical areas. • Evangelical movement • Dramatic religious conversions • Focus on individual salvation and social reform

SECOND GREAT AWAKENING Revivalism: -Roving preachers set up revival camps -Proacted meetings -Charles Finney: “Father of modern revivalism” -Increase in church membership -Revival—gathering to awaken religious faith; lasts 4 to 5 days • Revivalism greatly increases church membership

TRANSCENDENTALISM • Led by Emerson and Thoreau • Truth found in nature, emotion, and imagination • Dignity of the individual • Promoted self-reliance, optimism, freedom • Civil Disobedience • Henry David Thoreau puts self-reliance into practice, writes Walden • Thoreau urges civil disobedience, peaceful refusal to obey laws

AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHURCH • Camp meetings, Baptist, Methodist churches open to blacks and whites • Southern slaves interpret Christian message as promise of freedom • In East, free African Americans have own churches • African Methodist Episcopal Church —political, cultural, social place

SUMMARY • To sum it up The second Great Awakening was a period of religious revivals. The Methodist and Baptist grew significantly. The overall purpose was to bring back commitment of faith and renew the importance of religion. This gave Christians a greater sense of unity.