From: Lawrence Chen
Date: 2/10/00
Time: 6:53:39 AM
Remote Name: 205.188.198.22
Lawrence Chen Mr. Cutler History 67 2/8/00
What was the importance of the Great Awakening to freedom in American culture?
The Great Awakening was important for a number of reasons. It helped unify the colonies long before they were even a nation. With all the colonies scattered everywhere the Great Awakening “extended beyond the boundaries of town and colony.” With the thousands flocking to hear the Great Awakening those “touched by the Great Awakening shared an optimism about the future of America.” George Whitfield a young preacher from England was one of many ministers who contributed to the Great Awakening. People like Whitfield were great public speakers that had the ear of hundreds of thousands at times that convinced a divided nation to unite as one through his public speaking. Though Whitfield claimed to be a Calvinist he spoke to all religions. He and the many others such as James Davenport and Jonathan Edwards preached to a wide range of audience. They preached to the poor, the rich, young, old, and even women. Besides uniting a future nation these preachers also helped find many important schools that are still here today. Princeton University and Rutgers University were just to of the few they helped establish during the eighteenth century. So in fact the Great Awakening was one of the factors that helped propel the colonies into a nation.