Chapter 11: Reform and Politics in the Age of Jackson, 1824-1845





The following activities accompany the Legacy for a People and a Nation on "The Bible Belt" in Chapter 11. Refer to page 301 of Norton, A People and a Nation, Sixth Edition for the complete text of this Legacy. There are three parts to this web page: Questions to Consider, Investigation, and Further Exploration.




Questions to Consider
1. What characteristics differentiated the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th Century from the First Great Awakening in the 18th century?

2. What role does religion have as a part of Southern identity?

3. Can you find links between the Second Great Awakening and American nationalism? Do these links constitute a rejection of Enlightenment thinking?

4. Do you find any progressive elements in the Second Great Awakening? Did the movement, for example, unite cultures and race in any manner, or contribute to the liberation of women?

5. What was the social and political influence of the Second Great Awakening?


Investigation
Compare the activities and changes in different religions that occurred as result of the Second Great Awakening. Use material offered by the Library of Congress's exhibit on Religion and the Founding of the American Republic as an entry into this material.





Further Exploration
1. Visit the shrine to the Cane Ridge Revival Meetings of early 1800s that were closely tied to the Second Great Awakening.

2. Read a brief account of the Second Great Awakening by Dutch university students and faculty.