Standard Indicator
8.5.1
The Second Great Awakening
Purpose
Students will examine key ideas of individuals in the Second
Great Awakening, such as Henry Ward Beecher, and explain
their relationship to social reform movements in the early
decades of the 1800s.
curriculum
English/
Language Arts
Materials
For the teacher: chalk, chalkboard
For each student: copy of Black Line Master (BLM) Second
Great Awakening
For each group of students: access to a variety of information
resources and the Internet
Activity
A. Introduction
1. Lead students in a discussion of events that led to the Second
Great Awakening by asking them questions such as: “How
might Americans’ newfound freedom following the American
Revolution have weakened their traditional religious beliefs?”
and “How might peoples’ beliefs regarding their place in a
community have changed?”
2. Inform them that political leaders like Benjamin Franklin,
Thomas Jefferson, and Thomas Paine were leading people
to rethink their religious and political beliefs.
3. Ask, “How could belonging to a religious group provide stability
to people who were experiencing significant social change?”
(continued)
Have students analyze
Thomas Paine’s Age of
Reason. Guide a class
discussion on how the
essay reflects Paine’s
attitudes and beliefs,
and discuss whether
the main arguments
are clearly made.
extending
THE
ACTIVITY
Have students read
about the political
leaders of this time
(e.g., John Adams,
Thomas Jefferson, and
Benjamin Franklin) to
learn more about the
influence of political
change on social
reforms.
Standards Links
8.1.25, 8.2.4, 8.5.4
page 193
Standard 5
B. Effects of the Second Great Awakening
1. Explain to students that there was a religious movement during
this period called the Second Great Awakening and that it led
people to believe that salvation was available to all people, not
just those people who were wealthy and had good standing in
their church.
2. Clarify that this movement is called the Second Great
Awakening because there was a similar movement called
the Great Awakening in the middle of the eighteenth
century in the American colonies.
3. Tell them that church membership in the United States increased
by 100,000 in the early 1800s.
Standard 5 / Curriculum Framework / Activity 1
Indiana Social Studies Grade 8 Standards Resource, February 2003
connecting
across the
Activity (continued)
4. List the following on the chalkboard: “Sabbath observance,”
“morality,” “children and home,” “abolition,” “education,” “prison
reform,” “care of handicapped and mentally ill.” Explain that
these were all issues that were important during the Second
Great Awakening.
C. Research Activity
1. Tell students they will be working in groups to research some
of the more famous evangelists of this period and how they
influenced this time of social reform.
2. Divide the class into seven groups and assign each group one
of the following individuals: Lyman Beecher, Francis Asbury,
Peter Cartwright, Alexander Campbell, Theodore Ward, Charles
Finney, Henry Ward Beecher.
3. Hand out the copies of the BLM The Second Great Awakening
and review the expectations for the project with students.
4. Set a due date and, on the due date, have students deliver
their presentations to the class.
Questions for Review
Basic Concepts and Processes
After students give their presentations, ask them questions such as:
How did the American Revolution affect people’s feelings about
individual rights and responsibilities?
How did these feelings influence people’s traditional
religious beliefs?
Standard 5
How were the lives of the people of the United States changing
during this period of history?
page 194
Standard 5 / Curriculum Framework / Activity 1
Indiana Social Studies Grade 8 Standards Resource, February 2003
Name:
The Second Great Awakening
Lyman Beecher (1775-1863)
During the late 1700s through
the early 1800s, the United States
experienced a period of social
reform known as the Second Great
Awakening. During this period,
Americans became more mobile both
socially and geographically. Their need
for social structure led them back to
religions led by many evangelists who
“spread the word” by traveling and
preaching during community revivals.
The message of these evangelists was
that people were in control of their
own salvation and that they were
responsible for providing a certain
“heaven on earth” by behaving
responsibly and compassionately.
People became involved in such
social issues as Sabbath observance,
temperance, morality, children and
home, abolition, education, prison
reform, and care of the handicapped
and mentally ill.
Your group has been assigned one of the influential evangelists of this period. You
are to research this individual, using at least five sources, finding out about his life
and determining whether he was particularly adamant about one, or any, of the social
reforms listed.
Your project will include a two-page paper and a class presentation telling about the
life and influence of this man. Be sure to include a bibliography of sources on a
separate page. Your presentation can be in the form of a skit, a “sermon,” a computer
presentation, or posters depicting the important parts of his life, how he influenced
people, and what his particular causes were.
Standard 5 / Curriculum Framework / Activity 1
Indiana Social Studies Grade 8 Standards Resource, February 2003
Black Line Master 1
page 195
The Second Great Awakening
Teacher Directions
List the following on the chalkboard: “Sabbath observance,” “morality,” “children and home,”
“abolition,” “education,” “prison reform,” “care of handicapped and mentally ill.” Explain that
these were all issues that were important during the Second Great Awakening.
Tell students they will be working in groups to research some of the more famous evangelists of
this period and how they influenced this time of social reform. Divide the class into seven groups
and assign each group one of the following individuals: Lyman Beecher, Francis Asbury, Peter
Cartwright, Alexander Campbell, Theodore Ward, Charles Finney, Henry Ward Beecher. Hand
out copies of the BLM The Second Great Awakening and review the expectations for the project
with students. Set a due date and, on the due date, have students deliver their presentations
to the class.
Answer Key
Not applicable.
Black Line Master 1
page 196
Standard 5 / Curriculum Framework / Activity 1
Indiana Social Studies Grade 8 Standards Resource, February 2003