Second Great Awakening and Enlightenment

Characterized by a shift away from Calvinism, with less emphasis on predestination and more on individual choice and emotional experience.
Featured scare tactics to encourage church attendance.
Occurred roughly a hundred years after the First Great Awakening.
Led to social and cultural reforms.
Included camp meetings with charismatic preachers like George Whitefield.
Jonathan Edwards and his sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" aimed to instill fear and encourage church attendance.
Shift from traditional preaching to energetic and enthusiastic delivery.
Led to the founding of colleges, including Ivy League institutions.
Originally, these colleges focused on training spiritual ministers.
Curriculum included soft sciences like history, logic, philosophy, English language, and poetry.

Represented by figures like Benjamin Franklin, who embraced deism which is a blend of religion and science.
Challenged traditional religious views.
Emphasized math and science, influencing politics with the idea of representative assemblies.
Representative assemblies challenged the traditional bloodline-based system, advocating for representation based on merit and consent.
Key figures include Sir Isaac Newton and John Locke.
The Zenger trial in New York City paved the way for freedom of the press, influencing the First Amendment.
The outcome of the Zenger trial established the principle that truth is a defense against libel, allowing for open discussion and criticism of public officials as long as the statements are factual.
John Adams later signed the Alien and Sedition Acts, which were seen as counteracting the principles established by the Zenger trial.
Colonial governors, appointed by the king, were initially paid by the colonies, giving the colonies leverage.
The Alien and Sedition Acts, under John Adams, targeted Jeffersonian, Democrat-Republicans, restricting speech against the government.
Jefferson and Madison responded with the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions.
Colonial governance evolved to become more representative, though initially limited to wealthy landowners.