Transcript Document
The Great Awakening was a spiritual renewal that swept the American Colonies, particularly New England, during the first half of the 18th Century. It began in England before catching fire across the Atlantic. Unlike the somber, largely Puritan spirituality of the early 1700s, the revivalism ushered in by the Awakening brought people back to "spiritual life" as they felt a greater intimacy with God. The Great Awakening • Began in Mass. with Jonathan Edwards (regarded as greatest American theologian) Jonathan Edwards – Rejected salvation by works, affirmed need for complete dependence on grace of God (“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”) • Orator George Whitefield followed, touring colonies, led revivals, countless conversions, inspired imitators George Whitefield Background Great Awakening New Denominations Political & social implications • Puritan ministers lost authority (Visible Saints) • Decay of family (Halfway Covenant) • Deism, God existed/created the world, but afterwards left it to run by natural laws. Denied God communicated to man or in any way influenced his life…get to heaven if you are good. (Old Lights) • 1740s, Puritanism declined by the 1730s and people were upset about the decline in religious piety. (devotion to God) • “New Lights”: Heaven by salvation by grace through Jesus Christ. Formed: Baptist, Methodists • Led to founding of colleges • Crossed class barriers; emphasized equality of all • Unified Americans as a single people • Missionaries for Blacks and Indians Half-Way Covenant • 1st generation’s Puritan zeal diluted over time • Problem of declining church membership • 1662: Half-Way Covenant – partial membership to those not yet converted (usually children/ grandchildren of members) • Eventually all welcomed to church, erased distinction of “elect” Higher Education Harvard, 1636—First colonial college; trained candidates for ministry College of William and Mary, 1694 (Anglican) Yale, 1701 (Congregational) Great Awakening influences creation of 5 new colleges in mid-1700s College of New Jersey (Princeton), 1746 (Presbyterian) King’s College (Columbia), 1754 (Anglican) Rhode Island College (Brown), 1764 (Baptist) Queens College (Rutgers), 1766 (Dutch Reformed) Dartmouth College, 1769, (Congregational) New colleges founded after the Great Awakening. The Awakening's biggest significance was the way it prepared America for its War of Independence. In the decades before the war, revivalism taught people that they could be bold when confronting religious authority, and that when churches weren't living up to the believers' expectations, the people could break off and form new ones. Through the Awakening, the Colonists realized that religious power resided in their own hands, rather than in the hands of the Church of England, or any other religious authority. After a generation or two passed with this kind of mindset, the Colonists came to realize that political power did not reside in the hands of the English monarch, but in their own will for selfgovernance F/I War 1750 English-French rivalry worldwide would erupt into a world war. FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR OR SEVEN YEARS OF WAR War begins over land disputes in the Ohio Valley British want part of fur trade and the 2 openings into North America FOUGHT FOR THE CONTROL OF NORTH AMERICA England and the 13 Colonies fight together to defend their empire. Against the French, Indian allies and Spanish George Washington starts this war F/I War Ohio •Ohio Valley river systems important to England and France…. •Both countries claimed these areas which were disputed…. •Both countries built forts to defend their land claims…. •British concerned about French forts in Virginia territory. •Send Washington, a major in the Virginia militia, to the Allegheny River Valley. •Washington leads 300 men against the French at Fort Duquesne and kills over a 100 French. •Along the way, Washington builds Fort Necessity. The fort falls to the French in a skirmish that will lead to the French and Indian War. •A British statesman later wrote about Washington’s first skirmish: “The volley fired by a young Virginian in the backwoods of America set the world on fire.” Albany Plan •1754: Albany Congress – convened by British, led by Franklin ~ 1st attempt at colonial unity ~ only 7 of 13 colonies there •Purpose: keep Iroquois loyal, bolster defense against France through colonial unity •Franklin sponsored plan for colonial home rule, unanimously adopted by delegates •Colonies rejected: not enough independence •London rejected: too much independence Seven Years of War 1755 Br. Decides to Eliminate Fr. Presence in No. Amer. Gen. Edward Braddock --> evict the French from the OH Valley & Canada (Newfoundland & Nova Scotia) Attacks OH Valley, Mohawk Valley, & Acadia. Killed 10 mi. from Ft. Duquesne by 1500 French and Indian forces. Only Br. Success --> expelled France from Louisiana. British-American Colonial Tensions Colonials Methods of Fighting: British • Indian-style guerilla • March in formation tactics. or bayonet charge. Military • Col. militias served • Br. officers wanted Organization: under own captains. to control colonials. Military Discipline: • No mil. deference or • Drills & tough protocols observed. discipline. Finances: • Resistance to rising • Colonists should pay for own defense. taxes. Demeanor: • Casual, non-professionals. • Prima Donna Br. officers with servants & tea settings. French lose war and all land in North America FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR OR SEVEN YEARS OF WAR English inherit vast new land holdings in North America Great Britain accumulates huge war debts FOUGHT FOR THE CONTROL OF NORTH AMERICA Colonists realize British are not invincible seek independence. England sees responsibility to defend empire in North America King George and Parliament tax the Colonies 1763 Treaty of Paris France --> lost her Canadian possessions, most of her empire in India, and claims to lands east of the Mississippi River. Spain --> got all French lands west of the Mississippi River, New Orleans, but lost Florida to England. England --> got all French lands in Canada, exclusive rights to Caribbean slave trade, and commercial dominance in India. Treaty of Paris 1763 •England gains French land from Canada to Florida and Appalachians to the Mississippi River. •England gains Florida from Spain. F/I War 1763 Effects of the War on Britain? 1. It increased her colonial empire in the Americas. 2. It greatly enlarged England’s debt. 3. Britain’s contempt for the colonials created bitter feelings. Therefore, England felt that a major reorganization of her American Empire was necessary! Effects of the War on the American Colonials 1. It united them against a common enemy for the first time. 2. It created a socializing experience for all the colonials who participated. 3. It created bitter feelings towards the British that would only intensify.