2. Instability and Moral Free Agency

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, we focus in on one of the key aspects of the Second Great Awakening - the idea of moral free agency. The early years of the Republic saw great instability both in the countryside and the cities. This instability created great fears amongst Americans. Ministers were able to capitalise on this by preaching of God as a protector. Ministers stressed the moral free agency of individuals - the ability for them to make decisions about their lives and who they worshiped in exchange for God's protection.

Course

In this course, Professor Susan Curtis (Purdue University) explains the causes of the Second Great Awakening. We start by looking at the origins of the movement in the United States and then turn to examine its key characteristics. We then turn to look at how the Second Great Awakening was connected to another change occurring in society at the time - the Market Revolution. After this, we finish by looking at the consequences of the movement and with some concluding remarks.

Lecturer

Susan Curtis in Emeritus Professor of History and American Studies at Purdue University. She specialises in the History of American culture, religion, and race relations; and is the author of four books - A Consuming Faith:  The Social Gospel and Modern American Culture (1991): Dancing to a Black Man's Tune:  A Life of Scott Joplin (1994); The First Black Actors on the Great White Way (1998); and Colored Memories:  A Biographer's Quest for the Elusive Lester A. Walton (2008).