Key Figures and Movements of the Second Great Awakening

Second Great Awakening

A religious revival movement in the early 19th century that emphasized personal faith and social reform.

Revivalist

A preacher who led public religious gatherings to inspire conversions and moral improvement.

Charles Grandison Finney

A leading figure in the Second Great Awakening, known for passionate sermons and promoting social change.

Evangelical

A Protestant movement focused on spreading Christianity and personal salvation.

Joseph Smith

The founder of the Mormon faith and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Mormon

A religious group that believes in additional scripture beyond the Bible, migrating west to Utah for religious freedom.

Unitarian

A religious movement that emphasized reason, morality, and rejected traditional Christian doctrines like the Trinity.

Utopian Community

Groups that attempted to create perfect societies based on shared ideals, such as communal living and equality.

Transcendentalist

Philosophers who emphasized intuition, spiritual growth, and the connection between humans and nature.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

A leading transcendentalist writer who promoted self-reliance and the importance of nature.

Henry David Thoreau

A transcendentalist known for Walden and advocating civil disobedience.

Public School Movement

A campaign for free, government-funded education for all children.

Horace Mann

An education reformer who promoted standardized curricula and professional training for teachers.

Dorothea Dix

A reformer who fought for better treatment of the mentally ill, leading to improved asylums.

Penitentiary Movement

A push to reform prisons, focusing on rehabilitation instead of harsh punishment.

Temperance Movement

A movement aimed at reducing alcohol consumption, leading to restrictions on alcohol sales.

Neal Dow

A leader in the temperance movement who helped pass laws banning alcohol in Maine.