The Great Awakening was a Key to the American Revolution

289 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: The enlighment and the great awakening influence on the american revolution

The Great Awakening was a major influence on what caused and led up to the American Revolution. The colonies’ newly -formed democratic views and religious mind set were the two main factors of the Great Awakening and the colonies’ unity to start the American Revolution. The Great Awakening prepared colonists for what was to come forty years later. The Great Awakening (1735 - 1765) formed a new government for the colonists in America and beliefs of “natural rights” conquered the minds of a large percentage of the population. Britain began to set taxes on imports of goods and all paper products, and the colonists had the idea that taxing the colonies for Britain’s own profit was unjust. The new government provided a unity or “togetherness” that William G. Mcloughlin speaks of in “Enthusiasm for Liberty”. The new government the colonies had formed promoted a form of voting (for males) and people having contribution in town meetings and some decisions. Britain contradicted the colonies’ ideas of contribution when Britain passed the taxes, thus there being bitter feelings from most colonists towards the British. The government of the colonies was not established as politics alone, therefore it not being the root cause. Government itself was based on religion in the colonies and promoted by the ministers. Ministers or preachers controlled people’s emotions and influenced what the colonists believed by stating that it was God’s purpose for them to “play a role in God’s providential plan for redemption of mankind.” After 1742, many colonists were convinced that not only were they part of God’s plan, but that the colonists could not fully do God’s purpose if they were connected with Parliament because they were not godly or

Show More
Related

  • The Significance Of The Great Awakening

    1394 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Great Awakening was a superior event in American history. The Great Awakening was a time of revivalism that expanded throughout the colonies of New England in the 1730’s through the 1740’s. It reduced the importance of church doctrine and put a larger significance on the individuals and their spiritual encounters. The core outcome of the Great Awakening was a revolt against controlling religious rule which transferred over into other areas of American life. The Great Awakening changed American life on how they thought about and praised the divine, it changed the way people viewed authority, the society, decision making, and it also the way they expressed themselves. Before the Great Awakening life was very strict and people’s minds were

    Read More

  • The British and the American Colonists: Tension Prior to Revolutionary War

    1033 Words  | 3 Pages

    Before Great Britain became more active in the colonies, they had been independent and established representative assemblies and a form of self-government. As the British tried to tax them to gain revenues, they were only angered by the lack of representation they had in the decision. No taxation became the symbol for democracy throughout the fighting of all the acts imposed, and the same idea would drive the colonists to revolt against the British and gain their independence.

    Read More

  • Apush Dbq Essay

    550 Words  | 2 Pages

    The number one reason that the colonists began protests, and boycotts, against the British was because they believed their natural rights as citizens were being violated. After the french and Indian War Great Britain was in massive debt. So the King began to tax the colonies. For example the heavy taxes in the colonies led to the Boston Massacre and to the Boston Tea Party. The British then adopted the policy of mercantilism.

    Read More

  • How Did The Great Awakening Influence American Society

    639 Words  | 2 Pages

    The English colonies greatly evolved from 1607 to 1745. England’s first permanent settlement was founded in 1607 and was named Jamestown. The colonists at Jamestown were all males, and the lack of women made it difficult for the settlers to establish any semblance of a society. After the arrival of women in the English colonies, real communities were beginning to form. The men would typically farm while the women tended to the house and children. Society revolved around religion- men and women looked to God for guidance as to how to live their lives and shape society. Many events including Bacon’s Rebellion, the Enlightenment, the Great Awakening, and the Zenger case had a great influence on the development of a democratic society in the English colonies; however, the most influential is the Enlightenment and the Zenger case.

    Read More

  • The Great Awakening: George Washington Vs. Jonathon Edwards

    1165 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Great Awakening was before the American Revolution, therefore the forefront in the minds of many colonists was religion. But, it also caused some tensions between religious ideologies. The American Revolutionary era was a period where the nation was finding an identity to unify with. Both George Washington and Jonathon Edwards, believed that religion was necessary for the stability of a nation. However, the way how Washington and Edwards accomplished their plans with religion were different. The differences between the two men show varying degrees of religious acceptance. Both men wanted religion in America, but only by their own definition of religious acceptance.

    Read More

  • Causes Of American Rebellion in 1776

    1305 Words  | 3 Pages

    Some say that the Revolution was destined to happen ever since Settlers set foot on this continent, others argue that it would not have happened if it weren't for a set of issues that finally drove the colonists to revolt. Ultimately, Britain lost control in 1765 when they gave in to the Stamp Act Congress’s boycotts against parliamentary taxation and gave them the idea that they had the power to run a country. To a lesser degree, Salutary Neglect led to the conception of a legacy of colonial religious and political ideals which set in motion an eminent conflict. During this period, England “forgot” about the colonies and gave them colonists a taste of independence and suspicions of individual political theories. Through Parliament's ruthless taxation without representation and a near opposite religious and political mindset, Britain and the colonists were heaved into a revolutionary war.

    Read More

  • British Rule In Britain During The 1700s

    567 Words  | 2 Pages

    The British rule that was established in the colonies was oppressive and unfair. The British rule was immoral because Parliament contained a totality of British politicians who only cared about Britain’s wants and needs. The Colonists, “wanted the right to vote about their own taxes, like the people living in Britain. But no colonists were permitted to serve in the British Parliament.” (Ember) This unfairness led to many unwanted laws such as the Intolerable Acts and the Stamp Act. These laws did not benefit the colonists in any way, but the acts significantly helped the British. Laws and acts were forced

    Read More

  • Taking a Look at the Great Awakening

    550 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Great Awakening was a spiritual movement that began in the 1730’s in the middle colonies. It was mostly led by these people; Jonathan Edwards, a congregational pastor in Massachusetts, Theodore J. Frelinghuysen, a Dutch Byterian Pastor in New Jersey; Gilbert Tennent, a Presbyterian Pastor in New Jersey; and George Whitefield, a traveling Methodist Preacher from New England. The most widely known leader was George Whitefield. At the beginning of the very first Great Awakening appeared mostly among Presbyterians in Pennsylvania and in New Jersey. The Presbyterians initiated religious revivals during these times. During this time, they also started a seminary to train clergyman. The seminary’s original name was Log College, now it is known as Princeton University. In the 1740s the clergymen of these churches were conducting revivals throughout that area. The Great Awakening spread from the Presbyterians of the middle colonies to the Congregationalist (puritans) and Baptist of New England.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between The Enlightenment And Great Awakening

    1091 Words  | 3 Pages

    Before the American Revolution there was the Enlightenment and Great Awakening period. The Enlightenment and Great Awakening period were different from each other but in similarities they both challenged the way society thoughts of situations in life. They both had a big impact leading towards the American Revolution and how the colonist were thinking differently from before. They were able to think outside the box and become more of a personality than a group. The Enlightenment was a philosophical, social movement that challenged the ideals of reality. They wanted reasons over faith, to establish an authoritative system. The Enlightenment gave a way for a new perspective into the world and take a scientific approach to questioning situations.

    Read More

  • The Sense of Identity and Unity of the Colonists

    707 Words  | 2 Pages

    After the Great War for Empire, the British parliament began carrying out taxes on the colonists to help pay for the war. It was not long from the war that salutary neglect was brought on the colonies for an amount of time that gave the colonists a sense of independence and identity. A farmer had even wrote once: “Here individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men, whose labours and posterity will one day cause great changes in the world” (Doc H). They recognized themselves as different than the British, so when parliament began passing bills to tax without representation there was an outcry of mistreatment. Edmund Burke, a man from parliament, sympathized with the colonists: “Govern America as you govern an English town which happens not to be represented in Parl...

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The American Revolution And The Enlightenment

    703 Words  | 2 Pages

    The American revolution was a reaction to unfavorable tax policies from the King of England. When the King of England began to infringe on the colonists’ liberties, leaders inspired by the enlightenment grouped together to defend the rights of the American colonies. As Thomas Jefferson writes in the Declaration of Independence, “History of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries ad usurpations,

    Read More

  • The Start of US Revolution

    1902 Words  | 4 Pages

    The demand for no taxation without representation was the primary force motivating the American revolutionary movement, and for many it became a symbol for democracy. Throughout the late 18th century, the British colony of America was oppressed by Parliament from "across the pond". This oppression included unequal rights compared to English citizens that lived on the mainland, unneeded taxation, and no representation in Parliament, which resulted in many laws that were unfavorable to the American colonists. It was this "taxation without representation" that was a powerful catalyst in firing up the American revolutionary movement. America was "all grown up", and no longer needed to be monitored on by Britain.

    Read More

  • The Great Awakening and the American Revolution

    924 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the early 1700's spiritual revivalism spread rapidly through the colonies. This led to colonists changing their beliefs on religion. The great awakening was the level to which the revivalism spread through the colonists. Even with this, there was still religious revivalism in the colonies. One major reason for the Great Awakening was that it was not too long before the revolution. The great awakening is reason to believe that William G Mcloughlin's opinion and this shows that there was a cause to the American Revolution.

    Read More

  • British Imperial Policies and Colonial Resistance

    788 Words  | 2 Pages

    A new era was dawning on the American colonies and its mother country Britain, an era of revolution. The American colonists were subjected to many cruel acts of the British Parliament in order to benefit England itself. These British policies were forcing the Americans to rebellious feelings as their rights were constantly being violated by the British Crown. The colonies wanted to have an independent government and economy so they could create their own laws and stipulations. The British imperial policies affected the colonies economic, political, and geographic situation which intensified colonists’ resistance to British rule and intensified commitment to their republican values.

    Read More

  • The Second Great Awakening

    542 Words  | 2 Pages

    In essence, the Great Awakening was a religious awakening. It started in the South. Tent camps were set up that revolve around high spirited meetings that would last for days. These camp meetings were highly emotional and multitudes of people were filled with the Spirit of God. These meeting, were sponsored mainly by Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterians, and met social needs as well as spiritual needs on the frontier. Since it was hard for the Baptist and Methodist to sustain local churches, they solved the problem by recruiting the non educated to spread the word of God to their neighbors. The camp meetings eventually favored "protracted meetings" in local churches.

    Read More

More about The Great Awakening was a Key to the American Revolution

Open Document