What was the Great Awakening's Impact on American Independence?

The Great Awakening’s impact on American independence: Setting the Stage for Revival and Revolution

“I am verily persuaded,” George Whitefield wrote, “the Generality of Preachers talk of an unknown, unfelt Christ. And the Reason why Congregations have been so dead, is because dead Men preach to them.”

No one could accuse George Whitefield of being a “dead preacher.” Not only did the man preach over 70,000 sermons in half a dozen countries over his lifetime, but he also traveled to the U.S. nine times before steam-powered ships and had a direct personal impact on over 10 million people.

From 1738 to 1770, Whitefield toured the American colonies regularly, drawing crowds of tens of thousands of people at times. Estimates suggest the man rode over 250,000 miles on horseback, with him traveling over 5,000 miles in America in a single year and speaking more than 350 times.

And Whitefield wasn’t the only one bringing the power of the Holy Spirit to America. Men like Jonathan Edwards, Charles Wesley, John Wesley, Gilbert Tennent, and Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen are all credited with having a significant impact during the period known as the Great Awakening.

The Great Awakening's impact on American independence started with its massive implications on the colonies, setting the stage for the American Independence movement a few generations later by embedding transformative religious principles into the cultural psyche of the colonists in America. Without the influence of the First Great Awakening, some argue that the American Revolution may have never happened.

What Was the Great Awakening? A Biblical Revival That Shaped Colonial America

Beginning in 1733, the period of religious fervor known as the First Great Awakening lasted until around 1770.

During the early stages of the Awakening (known as the first Great Awakening after the second revival happened in the 1800’s), influential ministers such as Whitefield and Edwards lamented that a conservative, tradition and membership-led faith had replaced a more personal and vibrant relationship with Christ. While the more traditional ministers were considered cold, those leading the Great Awakening were seen as excessive and emotional, replacing sound theology with romanticism.

Even though plenty of ministers and congregations were not moved by the Great Awakening, tens of thousands (an impressive percentage of the total population) were affected, inspiring the growth of an evangelical religious majority by the end of the second Great Awakening.

Throughout the movement, several major themes were solidified as central to the beliefs of those who were transformed by the Great Awakening. Ideas such as:

• Individuals could have a direct and personal connection with God, which bypassed typical established religious structures.

• People needed a personal conversion that was evidenced by a radical spiritual transformation, and all Christians needed to be “born again”. This flew in the face of those who believed simply belonging to a church and following church practices was enough.

• Encouraged personal interpretation of the Bible. Built a strong enthusiasm for spiritual independence, self-governance, and challenging religious authority.

By promoting ideas such as individual relationship with God, spiritual transformation, and an independent nature permitted to question authority, the Great Awakening encouraged colonists to look at established power structures with new eyes.

Furthermore, the revivalist ministers, such as George Whitefield, often traveled and preached to new crowds and congregations, further challenging old hierarchies and denominational structures that were prevalent throughout the colonies.

Key Preachers and Their Sermons: How Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield Ignited Faith

Just like the Second Great Awakening, famous Great Awakening pastors are credited with acting as the backbone of the revival movement. Men like George Whitefield, John Edwards, the Wesley brothers, Gilbert Tennent, and more are all referenced during Great Awakening discussions.

In 1741, Jonathan Edwards preached a sermon titled “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Given with vivid imagery concerning Hell, the devil, demons, and God’s role in keeping the forces of evil at bay in the sinner’s life, the sermon had a culture-changing effect on the listeners.

Reverend Stephen Williams, who attended the event, stated, “[B]efore the sermon was done, there was a great moaning and crying out through the whole house, "What shall I do to be saved?" "Oh, I am going to hell!" "Oh, what shall I do for a Christ?" and so forth, so that the minister was obliged to desist. Shrieks and cries were piercing and amazing. After some time of waiting, the congregation was still, so that a prayer was made by Mr. Wheelock, and after that, we descended from the pulpit and discoursed with the people, some in one place and some in another. And amazing and astonishing: the power [of] God was seen, and several souls were hopefully wrought upon that night, and oh, the cheerfulness and pleasantness of their countenances that received comfort. Oh that God would strengthen and confirm [their new faith]! We sang a hymn and prayed, and dispersed the assembly.”

As the Great Awakening progressed, the orators preaching messages of personal conversion, connection with God, and repentance gained notoriety. Such famous Great Awakening preachers are credited with preaching so powerfully that people were recorded to have cried out, fainted, wept uncontrollably, rushed the platform, and more.

The Spread of Evangelical Christianity: From New England to the Southern Colonies

However, the excitement didn’t stick with the congregations in New England. The First Great Awakening spread like wildfire across the northern colonies down into the southern colonies, carried by traveling ministers who refused to limit themselves to traditions and denominational divides.

And while the old guard, known as the Old Lights and primarily established from Congregationalist and Presbyterian clergy, saw the traveling ministers as causing division between parishes and established church orders, the New Lights embraced the more spiritual, enthusiastic nature of the revival, along with the more communal environment.

Across the colonies, congregations became powerfully influenced, and in some cases divided, as old structures broke down and new ones grew in their place.

While the more established denominations, such as Reformed, Protestant, and Congregationalist, struggled to maintain order, newer or less influential ones, such as the Evangelical movement, the Baptists, and the Methodists, all experienced strong expansion.

Not only that, but new associations were formed where previous gaps existed. For instance, despite George Whitefield being Anglican and Jonathan Edwards a Reformed Congregationalist, both men embraced the revivalist movement and found common ground in the personal relationship with God narrative that had such a profound effect on congregations. 

This new unification of formerly divided groups not only brought about massive religious change but also shifted the entire colonial culture and society.

How Did the Great Awakening Influence Colonial Society and Governance?

Some of the most influential aspects of the Great Awakening were the same common points that drew men like Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield together. But it didn’t end with joining the men into a common mission. Those same influential points also helped prepare the colonists for a new way of thinking that would change the face of the world.

Over time, the colonists paired the individualism taught by the Enlightenment with their new inward-focused relationship with God. This created spiritual agency in the adherents, emphasizing that individuals were responsible for their relationship with authority. They grew to believe they weren’t simply passive subjects to an authority system.

Not only that, but the New Lights were encouraged to trust their own experiences and interpretation of Scripture over the dictates of the old system, perpetuated by the Old Lights. This created a skepticism of the old ways of thinking, fostering new outlooks and approaches to social, religious, and governmental life.

Encouraged by their newfound independence when it came to religious authority, the colonists also began to reflect on their relationship with the king of England.

Fostering a Spirit of Equality: Biblical Teachings on Human Dignity in Pre-Revolutionary America

One of the most powerful transformations of American colonial culture centered on the spirit of equality - a belief that all men are created equal and have equal dignity, echoing Galatians 3:28.

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Because colonists embraced the idea of a personal relationship with God, they came to understand that each person must have worth. After all, if a person’s salvation did not depend on the collective’s position with God, but their own, then a person’s relationship with God was considered equal opportunity.

It also meant that the equality of men meant the casting down of old and problematic divides, such as the concept of divine lineage, which kings and queens had used for centuries to encourage subjects to submit to their rule. Not because of the quality of their leadership, but due to a divine right that made them superior to those subjects.

The Great Awakening’s effect on equality in the American colonies promoted challenging authority and shone a light on the degrading treatment the colonists had suffered for decades.

Challenging British Authority: The Role of Dissenting Churches in Early Resistance

Early on, religious dissent increasingly mixed with political activism, creating a bulwark against control by established hierarchies, such as the Anglican (Church of England) church.

In colonies like Virginia and South Carolina, dissenters opposed their tax dollars being used to pay into the Anglican church, a church they did not attend and were not members of.

Dissenting groups like the Baptists and the Presbyterians actively lobbied colonial assemblies to begin to separate church and state.

At the founding of the colonies, many established official denominations, combining the leadership of the colony with their chosen denomination. The Great Awakening’s influence on the spirit of American Independence resulted in a casting off of the official denomination systems, placing a more natural wall of separation between church and state.

Likewise, the growth of covenantal theology (the belief that Scripture shows several covenants between God and man) opened a more discerning eye in the colonists towards their own compacts and charters with the crown. After all, if the crown or the established church did not hold up its end of the covenant, then the colonists wondered: should they be forced to submit to a broken covenant?

The Great Awakening's Impact on American Independence and the Revolution

Many attribute the success of the American Independence movement to the massive transformation caused by the First Great Awakening. In fact, some argue that the American Revolution would have never taken place without the First Great Awakening.

John Adams says as much in a letter to Hezekiah Niles in 1818. When asked by Niles about the influences that helped inspire the American Revolution, he responded, “But what do we mean by the American Revolution? Do we mean the American War? The revolution was effected before the war commenced. The revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments, of their duties and obligations…this radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people was the real American Revolution.”

Not only that, but Adams rejoiced that "the pulpits have thundered" and identified several ministers as "characters the most conspicuous, the most ardent, and influential" in the "awakening and a revival of American principles and feelings" that preceded the Revolution.

The sentiments of the people, solidified by ideas such as equality, skepticism of old hierarchies, and challenging authority, encouraged the colonists to see the oppressive affronts perpetrated by the crown as legal grounds for dissolution of their union.

The colonists embraced their sovereign and individual nature. A nature they had come to believe had been instilled in them by God Himself, at the beginning of creation. Due to this outlook, they carefully observed and understood the crown and parliament’s lack of respect for the constitutional covenant between the colonies and their government.

Inspiring Revolutionary Rhetoric: Biblical Language in Declarations and Speeches

As the energy of individualism and independence combined, more and more philosophical and legal writings promoted the mixture of liberty and religion.

While influences such as Calvinism and Reformed theology strengthened the combination of individualism and independence, the concept of equality and personal relationship with God drove American independence to new levels.

In Genesis 1:27, it says, “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

Due to the inherent value of a creation being crafted in God’s own image, the founders wrote powerful statements arguing that independence was the righteous course of action for the colonies, believing that the fact they were created by God imbued them with certain rights.

Biblical influences on documents such as the Declaration of Independence supported a cry for liberty, grounded in the premise that human equality justified the nullification or dissolution of a covenant once one party had breached it.

In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

Such a statement was unheard of in history, offering evidence to the First Great Awakening’s transformational presence resonating down to the next generation of colonists.

By emphasizing liberty, individualism, and equality in the Creator’s eyes, the founders argued that it was not immoral or unrighteous to question a broken system of government. In fact, they believed the only righteous course of action was to separate from the wickedness of immoral governments.

Mobilizing the Masses: How Revival Meetings Prepared Colonists for War

But without movement, the writings and teachings of the founders would have done nothing but place them comfortably on the gallows.

As those moved by the First Great Awakening can attest, the voluntary coming together for revival meetings was invigorating. Suddenly, Christians of different denominations were willingly meeting together in camp meetings, encouraged to pursue a greater mission.

This quickly trained the colonists to understand action and the importance of physical movement…not just intellectual agreement.

Militia gatherings grew rapidly as more conflicts arose between the government and the colonists. People were activated into political action and willingly joined various meetings and coordinated militias.

Not only that, but congregations were motivated by the passionate plea for liberty coming from their pulpits. Ministers raised money, resources, and even men to join the independence effort. Sermon series extolled the virtues of liberty. Some ministers even chose to present their firearms to their congregations, showing they were ready to die for their flock’s freedom.

The providential narrative became a rallying cry, unifying diverse groups of colonists under a single mission: to regain their God-given liberty.

Faith of Key Revolutionaries: Did the Great Awakening Shape Washington and Franklin?

But were the founders actually moved by the religious spirit that had been embedding itself for decades leading up to the American Revolution? Were men like George Washington and Ben Franklin Christian, or were they deists as so many modern Americans have come to believe?

If his prayers and writings are any indication, then one must conclude that George Washington did not merely believe God was a passive observer of existence, but a powerful arbiter in the affairs of men.

In 1776, Washington wrote a General Order, which read, “The blessing and protection of Heaven are at all times necessary but especially so in times of public distress and danger—The General hopes and trusts, that every officer and man, will endeavour so to live, and act, as becomes a Christian Soldier defending the dearest Rights and Liberties of his country."

After the war, in his official commission resignation, Washington wrote, "I now make it my earnest prayer, that God would have you, and the State over which you preside, in his holy protection, that he would incline the hearts of the Citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to Government, to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another..."

But Washington wasn’t the only one.

While people may rightfully argue that Thomas Jefferson had a very complicated position on religion and faith, others mistakenly believe that men like Benjamin Franklin maintained a truly atheistic position until their dying day.

However, this ignores one of Franklin’s most famous statements, given at the Constitutional Convention. When it looked as though the convention might dissolve due to irreconcilable disagreements and without a finished Constitution, he pleaded with his fellow delegates, arguing for a return to prayer.

He said, “...how has it happened, Sir, that we have not hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of lights to illuminate our understandings? At the beginning of the contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for the Divine Protection. -- Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a Superintending providence in our favor. To that kind providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity. And have we now forgotten that powerful friend? Or do we imagine that we no longer need His assistance?

“I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth -- that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without [H]is notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without [H]is aid?”

Add in the writings and speeches of men like John Adams, John Hancock, Sam Adams, John Jay, Patrick Henry, Benjamin Rush, Roger Sherman, Charles Carroll, John Witherspoon, and more, and you get strong evidence of the influence of deeply faithful men on the American Revolution for independence.

Conclusion: The Divine Spark of the Great Awakening that Inspired the American Revolution for Independence

The First Great Awakening didn’t just produce a shift towards personal faith. It completely transformed how the colonists saw their relationship with the government and the established churches.

And it did so much more.

Predicated on new insights concerning individualism, liberty, personal relationship with God, equality, and social action, the Great Awakening movement brought such a spark of passion and engagement that the founding fathers needed only gently steer the energy of the movement.

The Great Awakening’s influence on America offered powerful encouragement for the colonists to shape a unique identity, and provided inspiration for America’s step into independence..