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Religious and Philosophical ReformsThe Second Great Awakening spearheaded a series of reforms that ultimately were part of the underlying causes of the Civil War. Before breaking down these reform movements, however, we need to understand where they came from and why they began when they did. The Second Great Awakening functioned as a jumping-off point for these reforms, helping Americans to start reforming themselves from the inside then tackling societal reforms. (Spiritual Reform from Within --> Social Reforms and Redefining the Ideal of Equality.) Ultimately, these Antebellum Reformers hoped to achieve some sort of utopic society, and they started with themselves first.
Your task today is to use the information below to research the religious and philosophical thought at this time period to put us in a frame of reference for these other movements. You will create a short PowerPoint presentation that will ultimately become part of a larger Antebellum Reform project. Your PowerPoint must include:
Please keep in mind that all of your work will be run through a plagiarism checker--for the rest of the year, if you copy and information without the appropriate citation and punctuation, you will automatically fail the assignment. Second Great AwakeningThe Second Great Awakening was a religious revival movement during the early 19th century in the United States, which expressed Arminian theology by which every person could be saved through revivals. It enrolled millions of new members, and led to the formation of new denominations. Many converts believed that the Awakening heralded a new millennial age. The Second Great Awakening stimulated the establishment of many reform movements designed to remedy the evils of society before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. (Princeton.edu)
You have a few options for how to explore this first reform movement. You could research the Second Great Awakening on the links listed below, you could go through the powerpoint provided and/or you can watch the video below. Choose your own learning experience and roll with it! Research Links:
PowerPoint on the Great Awakening Reading on Transcendentalism
VideoYes, it's another history teacher explaining rather than a fun battle movie, but he does a really great job of explaining what occurred during this religious revival. Also, his accent is moderately entertaining. Be sure to answer the questions as you go along the video.
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