The Second Great Awakening and American Revivalism
Between 1800 and the eve of the Civil War, the population of the United States expanded from about five to thirty million. This growth in population was accompanied by territorial expansion, particularly the purchase of the state of Louisiana from France in 1803. Some believed that this expansion would lead to a loosening of the nation’s original Christian moorings, as children sought to establish their independence from their parents, and com- munities to create new identities far removed from those of the original colonies. Yet there is abundant evidence that many sought to cope with the radical social and political change of the times by rediscovering their religious roots, and the secure sense of social location and personal identity that this entailed.
Protestant church attendance rose by a factor of ten over the period 1800–60, comfort- ably outstripping population growth. Twice as many Protestants went to church at the end of this period than at its beginning. Why? If any factor may be identified as responsible for this development, it is the “Second Great Awakening” and the new patterns of religious revivalism that this brought about. Such religious revivals not only became the defining mark of American religion but also played a central role in the nation’s developing identity, independence, and democratic principles. Although the subject of criticism at the time, revivalism became deeply enmeshed within the American Protestant consciousness.
