Ron Carnegie, an interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg, looks at the life of the historical figure he portrays: George Whitefield, an evangelical preacher who helped instigate the Great Awakening and found the Methodist faith.
John Turner, a manager of program development at Colonial Williamsburg, talks about the place of religion in colonial society, looking at the Great Awakening, African American participation in religious institutions, and the different denominations represented in Williamsburg.
James Ingram, a character interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg, describes the early life of Gowan Pamphlet, a colonial tavern slave who, influenced by the Great Awakening, would eventually become a slave preacher. For the second part of this interview, click here.
Note: this podcast is no longer available. To view a transcript of the original podcast, click here.
John Mack Faragher of Yale University discusses the significance of religion to antebellum settlers in Illinois. He looks at the diversity of sects represented and the importance of religion in community-forming.
To view this clip, select "Religion on the Illinois Frontier" under "Religion and Culture Video."
Mission Mill Museum interprets the history of the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill which produced wool products from 1889 to 1962 and represents one of Oregon's earliest and strongest industries. Mission Mill also interprets the history of Jason Lee's Methodist Mission to Oregon which settled in the Willamette Valley in 1834 before the major Oregon Trail migrations. The missionaries brought formal education, industry, and large scale agriculture and advocated for U.S. government in the Oregon country. The Museum preserves Mission houses; an Oregon Trail settler's house; a historic church; and the structures, equipment, and original water-powered turbine of the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill with related artifacts. The museum's two histories are shared with visitors through individual and group tours, interpretation, speakers, living history, children's programs, hands-on activities, and special events.
The museum offers exhibits, tours, workshops, educational programs, and recreational and educational events.
Dr. Walter Reed, famous U. S. Army physician and medical hero of the Spanish-American War, was born here on September 13, 1851. The small, two-room and loft building was built prior to 1850. The Reed family lived here while they awaited construction of the manse. Reed's father was a Methodist minister for a nearby church.
The house offers tours by appointment.
This iCue Mini-Documentary introduces the Second Great Awakening. In the first half of the 19th century, the U.S. underwent a wave of religious revivals, the largest outpouring of religious sentiment since the American Revolution.
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This iCue Mini-Documentary describes the Great Awakening, which broke out in America when several new religious leaders, such as George Whitefield, emerged to revive the church. This brought about new ways of worshiping and ultimately new religious sects such as Baptists and Presbyterians.
This feature is no longer available.
These full-text transcriptions and page images of 163 "Sunday school books" address religious instruction for youth published in the U.S. between 1815 and 1865. Materials include texts used by Methodists, Baptists, Mormons, and other denominations and are searchable by subject, author, title, and keyword.
Books are categorized according to nine types: "Advice Books, Moral Tales"; "Animals, Natural History"; "Child Labor, Orphans, Poverty"; "Death, Dying, Illness"; "Holidays"; "Immigrants"; "Slavery, African Americans, Native Americans"; "Temperance, Tobacco"; and "Travel, Missionaries." There are 67 author biographies and an essay on Sunday school books. This collection offers valuable materials for studying antebellum culture, American religious history, print culture, and education.