APUSH - The (First) Great Awakening: A Journey Through the Colonies

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The (First) Great Awakening

a journey through the colonies

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The (First) Great Awakening

Introduction

It’s 1739 and you’re a colonist living in Delaware. Like many other colonists, you attend church regularly, but lately you have noticed some changes. For one, there do not seem to be as many people at Sunday services. All the churches in your colony used to be packed on Sundays, but recently you have no trouble finding a seat, even if you’re late! You have even found yourself skipping some services‒they’re so long and your preacher is more boring than watching paint dry; half the time you fall asleep in the middle of his sermons! Perhaps it has something to do with these new “Enlightenment” ideas that seem to be catching on. People are thinking much more rationally and logically now, and science now seems to have an answer for almost any question of life...

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The (First) Great Awakening

Introduction

In response to all these changes, you’ve heard about some itinerant (traveling) preachers who are traveling through the colonies calling for a revival of religion through more personal and emotional religious experiences. Ever since your town got a printing press, newspapers have been all the rage, and you managed to snag yourself a job writing for one. You’ve been hired to follow one of these itinerant preachers, George Whitefield, and write an article about his popular sermons. You’ve already come up with a great headline for your article‒the Great Awakening, since people no longer seem to fall asleep when he preaches. During your travels, you’ll get a chance to hear some sermons and interview some fellow colonists to get their thoughts on this “Awakening” that seems to be spreading throughout the colonies. Bon voyage!

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The (First) Great Awakening

The Task

Reporters take notes and conduct interviews for their stories. On your journey, take notes on what you learn about Whitefield and the Great Awakening and how it affects different people in the colonies. You’ll use these later to file your report. Consider the following questions:

• Why do people seem so impressed by Whitefield’s preaching and revivals? What seems to draw people to them?
• How do people describe the revivals and Whitefield? What was appealing?
• What are your impressions of the revivals, Whitefield, and the responses to them? How did the Great Awakening affect colonial life?
• How do you think the Awakening affected or influenced a sense of unity or shared ideas or identity in the colonies?
• Why do you think the Great Awakening encouraged people to question traditional beliefs or authority?

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The (First) Great Awakening

Your First Articles

Before embarking on your journey, you of course wish to inform your readers of Whitefield’s upcoming tour through the colonies. News was often posted in newspapers and broadsides in short announcements like these.

Sketchbook

Start by opening your notes below, thenclickon each red marker on the map, the sketchbook, and paper and record notes on atleast 5 resources.

Notes

Start Assignment

The (First) Great Awakening

Your first interview is with Benjamin Franklin, who heard Whitefield preach. Here is what he had to say:

The (First) Great Awakening

You grab a copy of a newspaper in New York to see what other reporters are saying about Whitefield. Here is what you read:

The (First) Great Awakening

You meet and interview Nathan Cole, who came all the way from Connecticut just to hear Whitefield.

The (First) Great Awakening

You make your way down south, to Georgia, where you meet Olaudah Equiano, the very same man who wrote of his survival of the Middle Passage. Equiano tells you about his experience seeing Whitefield preach.

The (First) Great Awakening

Finally the time has come. You (and 10,000 others) get to hear Mr. Whitefield preach at one of his outdoor revivals in Philadelphia!

The (First) Great Awakening

Another preacher, Jonathan Edwards, was next to you at Whitefield’s revival. He’s been organizing revivals since 1734 (some say he’s the one who really started this whole revival movement), and he was so moved that he wept the whole time and decided it was time to try some itinerant preaching. You tag along to get more material for your article.

The (First) Great Awakening

Edwards has become as popular as Whitefield and now has a group of followers known as “New Lights” who embraced the revival movement. After his sermon, you get a chance to interview Edwards about the impact of the revivals.

The (First) Great Awakening

Not everyone is enamored with the Great Awakening revivals and preachers. You come across Reverend Charles Chauncey, who wants you to include his point of view in your article to show that not all ministers supported the revival movement.

The (First) Great Awakening

Images of Your Travels

There may not be cameras or Instagram, but you managed to get some great drawings from your trip. What do these images from two of Whitefield’s outdoor revivals tell you about the experiences and effects of the Great Awakening?

Assignment

Write a Newspaper Report on the Great Awakening

Directions: using at least 5 resources from the lesson write a news article on the Great AwakeningR- News Reporter A- Clonist in one regional section ( you choose) F- News paper article use Canva or Google Docs T- Topic is the Great Awakening

https://www.canva.com/templates/s/newspaper/