The Great Awakening – American History to 1877

February 12, 2014

Witchcraft in New England

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I think “Witchcraft in the Anglo-American Colonies” hit the nail on the head when it stated that the meaning of the witch trials in Salem and much of New England gets lost now do to pop culture characters like the Wicked Witch of the West or Sabrina the Teenage Witch. But what the article goes on to argue is that the witch trials were an important illustration of society and its faults. Living in such close quarters, there were more property disputes and neighborhood fighting, and it was easy to win the fight if you accused your nemesis of being a witch. Also without a clear understanding of the sciences, weather and illness at inopportune times did not have a better explanation that the workings of a witch. Because if the Puritans were God’s people, then only the devil would be the one harming them.

It also illustrates gender roles in New England Society. It goes all the way back to Eve eating the forbidden fruit, during that time society thought women were more prone to making deals with the devil. And these women would admit to it more often than you would think. The punishment for admitting it was rarely death, because they still thought you were strong enough to kick the devil out, where denying it could be a sign the devil has taken over. Women would also admit it because they honestly thought they were a witch, confusing there everyday sin with the devil’s work.

Walter Woodward’s article makes the point of how this problem wasn’t isolated to Salem, but a New England Problem. Witchcraft was deeply entrenched in the culture, and the ministers and magistrates in power were believers. For instance, Governor John Winthrop led his own witch trials in Connecticut. There were also the natives who practiced witchcraft, and had a strong belief in spells and curses. However the natives did not have a gender bias when it came to witchcraft, which I thought was an interesting societal difference that I did not really expect.

As Kurt points out in his post, this kind of crazy fundamentalism made people disillusioned with sects like Puritanism and led to more religious toleration and the “Great Awakening Movement.” I also agree with Thomas, that the use of things like witchcraft were ways to keep the current power structure in line, and keep the ministers and magistrates at the top of the hierarchy.

February 12, 2014

Religious Awakening in the Colonies

Current day thoughts about religious motivation in the colonies can be far from the truth. When most students learn early on about the pilgrims, the mayflower, and thanksgiving, they automatically view the pilgrims as a group who came to escape religious persecution and develop a place where everyone was free to worship as they please. However, Taylor describes that this is not the case with most colonial settlers. As Taylor states “Not all colonists had felt persecuted at home, and few wanted to live in a society that tolerated a plurality of religions”(339). The early colonists did not practice the freedom of religion as it is known today, and this lead to spiritual divide between differing regions of the colonies. This divide also went deeper to inter-faith divide, with the the New Lights and the Old Lights differing on the correct ways to practice religion. This divides played a large role in the events known as the The Great Awakening.

Taylor paints a clear picture of the different types of religious beliefs throughout the colonies. He makes this clear by giving the number of churches each specific religion has and the region it is in. Although the church numbers were high, as were the attendance rates, Taylor explains that in many places Church was drifting from place a deep worship to a more social gathering. That along with the emergence rationalists, who Taylor describes as people who “instead found guidance in the science that depicted nature as orderly and predictable operation of fundamental and discernible laws”(344), made the reality that strong christian faith was a thing of the past.

This set the stage for key revivalists to bring the fundamental core of Christian beliefs back to the people of the Colonies. This all started with Reverend Jonathan Edwards, who was taught deep religious ideals by his Grandfather Solomon Stoddard. Edward set out on a tour and preached to thousands of how people and churches must get back to their strong fundamental faith. This effort by him sparked the great awakening and inspired the “most extensive and synchronized set of revivals in colonial experience”(346). His work also inspired Whitefield to come across the Atlantic from England and make a nation wide tour, enthusiastically preaching his message of deep religious faith and the work of God, further contributing to the Great Awakening.

As one of my classmates points out in “Religious Revival in the American Colonies” the main divide of the old lights vs. new lights serves as the main conflict throughout the Great Awakening. While the old lights preferred carefully planned out sermons and scriptures, the new lights preached spontaneously and emotionally to demonstrate the holy spirit inside them.

Taylor clearly portrays the events and feeling feeling throughout the Great Awakening. He speaks of specific examples and people who played a key role in the process. My main critique would be for him to go into more detail on the overall effects that the Great Awakening had on the Colonists.

February 10, 2014

Religious Revival in the American Colonies

Thursday’s reading in Taylor covers the tensions that led to, shaped, and perpetuated the Great Awakening of the 1730s. Up until this chapter, Taylor has not given religion more than the necessary coverage, and so the first conflict he introduces—evangelists vs. rationalists—precedes the Great Awakening. Yet, the tension between those who prefer a more logical approach to religion and those who seek an emotional experience clearly translates into the main divide of the Great Awakening: the Old Lights vs. the New Lights.

Fundamentally, the New Lights, who “believed in new dispensations of divine grace,” and the Old Lights, who “defended venerable institutions and scriptural traditions,” divided on the issue of religion. However, it is important to note that such a difference was the manifestation of other important distinctions, namely wealth, influence, and age. These are not the first time we’ve seen issues divide the colonies. Recall, for example, Bacon’s Rebellion, where the disillusioned frontiersmen violently protested against the aristocratic regime of Governor Berkeley. Therefore, the Great Awakening cannot be seen as purely a religious movement, but rather as an amalgamation of religious and social tensions. Taylor should have certainly made this clearer.

This does not mean, however, that Taylor ignores the role that societal conflicts played in the Great Awakening. To show their extent, he points out that the evangelists were themselves split between moderates and radicals. While the moderates wanted to reconcile existing authority with evangelical preaching, the radicals rejected any prior establishment, choosing to focus on the individual. As Taylor says, such notions had “radical implications” for a society “that demanded a social hierarchy in which…deference” was key.

The result of such unprecedentedly large religious/social movement was both revivalism and diversification. Churches, some of which had almost twice the amount of full female members as full male members before 1740, were flooded again as people sought to hear a new, electric breed of preachers. The emotion was so high that several leaders from different branches of Christianity, from Presbyterian to Lutheran, cooperated “across denominational lines.” At the same time, differences between the North and South became more pronounced. Due to a less centralized society, worse roads, and inferior printing infrastructure, the South experienced a later and less pronounced religious revival.

In compliment to Taylor, the essays regarding witchcraft in New England help illustrate other colonial tensions that manifested themselves in religious movements. Elizabeth Reis’ essay, for example, points to the different, more stringent standard of morality that women were held to. Considering Kurt’s post about President Obama’s State of the Union, we can see that different standards for men and women are still an issue. Also, I share Kurt’s hesitation to call English colonial society more equal to women, as Reis’ essay clearly illustrates a disparity in treatment. Another interesting contrast to Taylor can be found from Walter Woodward, who asserts that the social elite was some of the most zealous instigators of emotional witch trials. Taylor, on the other hand, notes that the social elite was staunchly rationalist, detesting any possible threat to the existing power structure.