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Second Great Awakening Timeline

(1790s–1840s)

The Second Great Awakening was a widespread Protestant revival movement in the United States that began in the late eighteenth century and peaked during the early nineteenth century. It encouraged personal conversion, expanded church membership, and inspired reform movements such as abolitionism, temperance, and women's rights. Less

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Origins and theology

Field meetings reach America

1750 - 1760

Outdoor religious gatherings originated from field meetings and Scottish Presbyterians' Holy Fairs, which were brought to America in the mid-18th century from Ireland, Scotland, and Britain's border counties.

Image source: Camp meeting

Field meetings reach America

Second Great Awakening begins

1790 - 1840

The Second Great Awakening was a religious revival during the late 18th and early 19th century in the United States.

Image source: Second Great Awakening

Second Great Awakening begins

Postmillennialism dominates Protestantism

1800 - 1850

Postmillennialist theology dominated American Protestantism during the first half of the 19th century.

European churches appear out of place to immigrants

1800 - 1820

To immigrants in the early 19th century, the United States seemed pristine, edenic, and undefiled, while tradition-bound European churches appeared out of place in the new setting.

The term revival of religion is used contemporaneously

1800 - 1850

The term Second Great Awakening was not used by contemporaries in the first half of the 19th century; revivals were instead described as revivals of religion.

Nonconformist sects flourish in the burnt district

1800 - 1810

During the revival period, nonconformist, folk religion, and evangelical sects flourished in the region later characterized in revival language as a burnt district.

Finney describes the burnt district

1876

In his 1876 autobiography, Charles Grandison Finney described a region as a burnt district and recalled a previous wave of excitement called a revival of religion that he judged spurious.

Image source: Charles Grandison Finney

Finney describes the burnt district

The awakening is proposed as an organizing process

1969

Donald G. Mathews's 1969 article proposed interpreting the Second Great Awakening as an organizing process spanning 1780 to 1830.

The revival's regional impact is reassessed

1975 - 1999

The extent to which religious fervor actually affected the region was reassessed during the last quarter of the 20th century.

Connecticut revival interpretation is critiqued

1980

Richard D. Shiels's 1980 article offered a critique of the traditional interpretation of the Second Great Awakening in Connecticut.

The invention of the Great Awakening is studied

1991

The article “The Invention of the Great Awakening, 1795–1842” examined how the concept of the Great Awakening was constructed across the period from 1795 to 1842.

Awakening historiography is reviewed

2005

David A. Varel's historiographical study reviewed interpretations of the Second Great Awakening and the problem of historical causation from 1945 to 2005.

African-American religious life

Black preachers gain authorization

1780 - 1800

Conversions and congregations associated with the First Great Awakening led Baptist and Methodist preachers to authorize enslaved and free African Americans more than a decade before 1800.

First black sermon to a white congregation

1784

A sermon at Thomas Chapel in Chapeltown, Delaware, in 1784 was the first delivered by a black preacher directly to a white congregation.

African-American congregations seek independence

1799 - 1816

After initially submitting to oversight by established Methodist bishops, several African-American congregations moved toward independence.

Philadelphia congregation leaves Methodist church

1799 - 1816

Richard Allen's congregation of free African Americans in Philadelphia left the Methodist church because of discrimination.

Richard Allen is ordained

1799

Richard Allen, a black attendee of Methodist meetings, was ordained by the Methodists in 1799.

Image source: Richard Allen (bishop)

Richard Allen is ordained

Independent African-American congregations expand

1800 - 1830

By the early 19th century, independent African-American congregations numbered in the several hundreds in some Southern cities, including Charleston, Richmond, and Petersburg.

Gabriel Prosser's rebellion plan is devised

1800

A plan for a slave rebellion was devised in African-American revival meetings in Virginia. The rebellion was discovered and crushed before it began.

Image source: Gabriel's Rebellion

Gabriel Prosser's rebellion plan is devised

AME becomes an independent denomination

1816

Several African Methodist Episcopal congregations left Methodist oversight in 1816 to form the first independent African-American denomination in the United States.

Image source: African Methodist Episcopal Church

AME becomes an independent denomination

White control of black congregations intensifies

1831 - 1865

White attempts to control independent African-American congregations increased, especially after the Nat Turner uprising of 1831.

Independent black congregations maintain separation

1831 - 1865

Despite white attempts at control, a number of African-American congregations maintained separation as independent congregations in Baptist associations.

Revival meetings and churches

Female converts outnumber male converts

1798 - 1826

A 1932 source estimated that there were at least three female converts for every two male converts between 1798 and 1826.

The Revival of 1800 begins in Logan County

1800

The Revival of 1800 in Logan County, Kentucky, began as a traditional Presbyterian sacramental occasion.

Methodists and Baptists adopt camp meetings

1801 - 1830

Camp meetings became especially important to the expansion of Methodist and Baptist churches during the revival era.

Camp meetings spread through Stone and Campbell

1801 - 1810

Through the efforts of Barton W. Stone and Alexander Campbell, the camp meeting revival spread religious enthusiasm and became a major mode of church expansion.

Cane Ridge camp meeting

Aug 1801

An exceptionally large sacrament occasion at Cane Ridge in Bourbon County, Kentucky, is generally considered America's first camp meeting. Barton W. Stone led it, with Presbyterian, Baptist, and Methodist ministers participating.

Image source: Cane Ridge Revival

Cane Ridge camp meeting

Cumberland Presbyterians support revivalism

1810 - 1865

The Cumberland Presbyterian Church became a strong supporter of the revivalist movement.

Cumberland Presbyterian Church founded

1810

As a result of the Revival of 1800, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church was founded near Dickson, Tennessee, by Samuel McAdow, Finis Ewing, and Samuel King.

Reform and education

Publication and education societies promote Christianity

1800 - 1860

Publication and education societies promoted Christian education during the revival era.

Christian teaching addresses social problems

1800 - 1860

Efforts to apply Christian teaching to the resolution of social problems presaged the Social Gospel of the late 19th century.

Evangelical reform efforts emerge

1800 - 1860

Evangelical converts became leading figures in a variety of 19th-century reform movements.

American Bible Society founded

1816

The American Bible Society was founded in 1816 and became the most notable of the publication and education societies promoting Christian education.

Image source: American Bible Society

American Bible Society founded

Revivals and perfectionist hopes expand

1840 - 1865

Revivals and perfectionist hopes of improving individuals and society continued to increase from 1840 to 1865 across all major denominations, especially in urban areas.

Religious benevolence is analyzed

1957

Clifford S. Griffin's 1957 article, “Religious Benevolence as Social Control, 1815–1860,” analyzed benevolent activity during the revival era.

Key Facts

  1. The movement emphasized individual religious experience, personal salvation, and the possibility of spiritual improvement.
  2. Evangelical preachers used camp meetings, revivals, and emotional sermons to reach large audiences, especially in the expanding western frontier.
  3. Charles Grandison Finney became one of the movement's most influential revivalist leaders, particularly in upstate New York.
  4. The revival contributed to the growth of Methodist, Baptist, and other Protestant denominations, while also encouraging new religious groups.
  5. Its emphasis on human perfectibility helped inspire social reforms, including temperance, abolitionism, education, prison reform, and women's rights.

Source

This Second Great Awakening timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

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