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Jamestown
Coming from England and being named after the king, this was the start of a new country, the United States. Even though 38 of 120 people survived, the Virginia Company sent more people to support the colonization and push out the Indians. The people were apart of the church of England then later, after the protestant reformation, puritans would flee to America as a refuge and eventually split the new society. These pilgrims were known as separatists- puritans who had left the church of England. -
Puritan "Exodus" and John Winthrop
Protestants who did not separate from the church of England but simply wanted to to purify it of its hierarchy, later fleeing to New England and becoming one of the dominant faiths. A wealthy group of Puritans formed the Massachusetts Bay Company to get a land grant between two rivers, Merrimack and Charles River. John Winthrop, was in charge of this expedition and next the entire colony once mainly settled. This migration did not happen all in one year, but overall ~20,000 people migrated. -
Roger Williams
Disagreeing with the Puritan faith for being too strong/oppressive , he was kicked out of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, but however he later then established Rhode Island which had more religious toleration than the Colony. Arrived in America Feb. 5, 1631, but kicked out of the Colony in 1635. -
Anne Hutchinson
Convicted like Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson disagreed with the Puritan beliefs and believed that God did not solely speak only to the elder but to everyone. The Massachusetts Colony saw here as a threat and claimed that she committed heresy and banished her. She then started a new colony called New Hampshire. -
Maryland Toleration Act of 1649
This act, even though it did not sanction much religious tolerance to all Christians, it helped pave the road towards religious freedom in the new world. (1st Amendment) -
Praying Towns
Being a type of assimilation, the Native Americans would have been gathered in these towns by the new settlers in order to learn the Puritan faith and were supposed to adopt the English customs. -
Pietism
Happened during the 17th and 18th centuries in the evangelical christian faith that stressed personal piety and devotion. This also promoted more independent thinking in different ways which was along the lines of the Enlightenment movement. -
William Penn
William was offered a land grant from King Charles and then established Pennsylvania or Penn’s woods as a refuge for Quakers, and also religious freedom for mostly all faiths. -
Enlightenment
Also known as the age of reason, this era was a time of western philosophy and was tempered by the need of major reforms. movement that advocated the use of reason and rationality to establish a system of ethics and knowledge. This time led people to question traditional institutions, customs, and morals. Got people to think more independently and was the framework for the rise of capitalism. (1685-1815) -
Salem Witch Trials
Even though this was all a hoax, this involved mass hysteria and in result many innocent people were hung for being convicted as witches. Afterwards, the people involved admitted that they had made a terrible mistake. The process of blaming other people without proof would have been exactly like the Red Scares, later to come. -
Ben Franklin
Contributor to the Enlightenment. One of the most considered man in the Enlightenment. He was all sorts of things including a writer, great thinker or inventor, politician, and even published the Poor Richards Almanac. Had affiliations with deism. -
John Wesley
The original founder of the Methodist faith, along with the help of his brother, he not only did this but led the evangelical awakening in England. -
The First Great Awakening
Was a more religious movement concerning the mass attendance. This basically fired up the homilies in mass/church and got more people back into the faith as a result of the enlightenment. -
old/new lights
Basically the preaching ways of faiths, being that the “old lights” (reserved) were a lot more traditional and boring, also condemned the “new lights” who changed and spoke sermons with great enthusiasm. The “new lights” also founded roughly 125 baptist churches which consisted of preachers that risked imprisonment. Happened during the 1st Great Awakening, even thought the old lights rejected it. -
Deism
Type of religion that believed that God does not interfere or intervene with our lives but simply just made the universe in which it is run by natural laws. -
George Whitfield
One of the preachers during the great awakening and apart of the “new lights.” Gave upbeat and loud sermons to enthuse the churchgoers. Also involved as one of the leaders in the Methodist movement, bringing Methodism to America. During 1739 to 1741, he went on a preaching tour to spread the word. -
Presbyterian revival
In 1743, Samuel Morris led a group of Virginia Anglicans out the church, and invited New Light Presbyterian ministers to leader their prayer meetings. This new religion challenged the dominance of both the Anglican church and the planter elite and the Virginia governor denounced them as false teachings. But to halt the spread of new light ideas, Virginia closed Presbyterian churches. -
The Baptist Insurgency
The Baptists' vigorous preaching and democratic message converted thousands of white farm families, even welcoming slaves into the faith. Baptists main ritual was adult baptism, which had accomplished converting large numbers of people generally from Virginia into their faith. Able to appeal to most people because of their main teaching that every man was created equal. -
Jonathan Edwards
Famous for the sermon, “Sinners in the hands of an angry god,” which got people to cry and twist and turn in their seats, scared of what God might do next. The sermon emphasized the fair wrath of God against sin and contrasted it with the provision of God for salvation. Apart of Calvinism, another faith which went against traditional beliefs. -
Sentimentalism
Went directly against the traditional parents of two lovers, who decided who to love and did not let their parents decide for them. Was one of the effects of the romantic period in Europe. Stressed upon the feeling of love. -
Mother Ann and the Shakers
Mother Ann or also known as Ann Lee Stanley, believed that she was the incarnation of Christ. A couple years after this vision, her and several others that believed in her, established a church near Albany, New York. Apart of their worship they performed, they would dance and shake, which coined the term “Shakers”. -
Virginia Statute - Creation of religious freedom
Written by both Jefferson and Madison, it argued that the concept of forcing the practice of a specific religious faith is wrong and no discrimination on account of his opinions or belief but free to believe what they wish, which called for a complete separation of church and state. These rights mentioned were natural rights of mankind. -
Republican motherhood
Essentially raised the standards of women for the most part, specifically mothers. Wanted to dismiss the public roles of women for voting rights, but to give them a bigger responsibility making sure that the next generation was raised up properly. By this, they would need a good education to teach the next generation. Taught the next generation much about the importance of religion and education. -
Second great awakening
Like the First great awakening, this awakening called for more reforms such as prison reforms, temperance reforms, education reforms and reasoning against slavery. Caused a turning point in American history. Also reflected the beliefs of perfectionism. -
Bill of Rights (1st Amendment)
The entire ratification of the Bill, allowed more rights granted to the american people. This included, in the first amendment, freedom of religion. -
Black Christianity
Developing in the south, black Christianity was more intimate and more emotional than white Christianity. Often praying for their dreams of freedom to become true. Coincided with soul music that had an upbeat rhythm and involved dancing. -
Nativist movements
Nativists, disliked mainly all foreigners which included Irish, who were dominantly Catholic. Nativism was basically an anti-foreign and anti-catholic sentiments in the U.S. Much of the time, riots and conflicts broke out due to the increased immigration causing increased tensions. These sentiments also prompted, Immigration Act, Japanese internment, and the Chinese Exclusion Act. Know Nothing Party- drew on the anti-immigrant and anti-catholic movements of the 1840s. -
Anti-catholic sentiment
This group was very hostile against the Irish immigrants who were commonly Catholic. This group were common with the nativists who were generally anti-immigrant and feared that the Catholics were trying to steal their jobs. -
Joseph Smith
Founder of Mormonism when he apparently was visited by an angel who gave him golden plates. These plates told about Latter Day Saints, and the Book of Mormon. However, he was opposed by many and was killed by the opposers. -
Protestant foreign missions
Like today, seen in Mormon faith, these missions however peaked around 1915 when married couples or even unmarried women to Asia, Africa, or even Middle east to perform social works and help benefit the community with medical care and education. But they were completing missions around the start of the mid 1830s. -
Charles Grandison Finney
Also known as the "father of modern revivalism," Finney was a pioneer of the coming together of other Protestant denominations instead of appealing to the audience's reason he tried to appeal more to their emotions. He believed that birth of new lives were more human creations than of the works of God, and that people's destinies were controlled by their own hands, like Deism. Wrote many books, based on how to lead revivals. -
Transcendentalism- Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson-
Pioneered by Ralph Waldo Emerson through the 1830s to 1840s, the idea of transcendentalism believed that there was a direct connection between God and nature. So therefore, no need in an established church. It recognized the ideas that intuition is key and that mind goes above matter. Each writer wrote about self-reliance, individualism, and freedom from social constraints. -
Mormonism- Brigham Young(Utah)
After Joseph Smith was killed, Young took control or led his fellow Mormons. He guided the faith into Utah, where this belief flourished and still is very prominent today. -
Perfectionism
Due to the enlightenment and great awakening, or religious movements, people thought that a perfect society was now attainable. This movement contained a series of movements took place to perfect society, such as prison reform, temperance, etc. -
Natural selection
By definition, natural selection is when individuals with inherited unique but beneficial traits tend to survive longer and also have a higher reproductive rate due to these traits. This is related to Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, his writing was known as the most influential but was frowned upon by religious people because Charles Darwin also came up with the theory of evolution which countered all religious teachings. -
Social gospel movement/ Washington Gladden
To be able to decrease the gap between the classes because of industrialization, this movement, led by Washington Gladden taught religion and human dignity, trying to give moral support to the poor, overcoming these conditions. -
Social Darwinism
Relating to the theory of natural selection, or survival of the fittest, Darwin applied this to his society of how the poor are not going to survive because they remain poor and opposed intervention in the natural human order. Which they justified how the inequality of the 19th century society was natural. -
Billy Sunday
A fundamentalist preacher, used powerful sermons to try and turn the rest against progressive and radical reforms. Also supported the temperance movement. -
National Baptist Church
At the time, this was the largest African American women's organization that dedicated their time to funding programs that would result in benefiting their community. -
Fundamentalism
This movement, was to go back to the old ways of religion and have the foundations of their faith intervene with state policy. -
Scopes trial
John Scopes, a teacher, violated the tennessee state law of teaching the theory of evolution. William Jennings Bryan opposed this teachings for they contradicted biblical teachings. This case attracted national attention. But in the end, Scopes lost the case and the law remained in effect even though it has not really been tested since. -
The Holocaust
Even though this happened overseas in Germany and around while Adolf Hitler was in control, it allowed for some Jewish refugees to flee the reign of Hitler and in this case, they helped the U.S. win the war. This included the great scientist, Albert Einstein. -
Billy Graham
One of the famous evangelical ministers of this era. He began the first televised "crusades" for religious revival, in which he grew even more famous from, also known as televangelist. He supported Republicans and a large increase to money in the military. (Evangelical Resurgence) -
Nation of Islam(Malcolm X)
This was a religious group that supported black separatism and the Islamic religion. Malcolm X was apart of this group and was going to do any means necessary to achieve equality. -
“In God We Trust”- added to Us currency
Even though this is a small adjustment to all US currency, this was a significant change in how Americans perceived money. Also became the nation’s motto, being declared by President Eisenhower in 1956. -
Evangelical Resurgence of the 1960s-1970s
Also known as the fourth great awakening, this movement regarded feminism, counterculture, sexual freedom, homosexuality, and abortion. This was all taught by the minister, Billy Graham.