Curated OER
Colonial North America
Showcase the religion, conflicts, daily life, and politics of Colonial North America. A very well-done presentation highlights all the major colonial groups, social norms, demographics, and political struggles of the time. Perfect for an...
National First Ladies' Library
The First Great Awakening
Connecting social studies and American literature, students study the Great Awakening and draw comparisons between its impact on England and on parts of Colonial America. They research the lives and experiences of people who lived during...
Curated OER
Differing Views of the Great Awakening
Students explore the Great Awakening by reading articles and write summaries of them, and then evaluating the perspectives.
Curated OER
Joseph Bellamy House
Students use maps, readings, drawings and photos to research the career and importance of Reverend Joseph Bellamy as a religious leader in New England during the Great Awakening. They also identify the basic principles of Puritanism.
Yale University
Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University: Jonathan Edwards: Biography
Extensive biographical material on the life and theology of Jonathan Edwards. Contains a portrait of Edwards.
Other
The Gospel Truth: Biography of Charles Grandison Finney
This detailed biography about Charles Finney was written by a professor in Oberlin College's theological seminary. Here, read about Finney's childhood, involvement at Oberlin, and his influential views on Christianity.
![Hillcrest High School: The Colonies Come of Age: The Commercial North [Pdf] eBook](https://d15y2dacu3jp90.cloudfront.net/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "Hillcrest High School: The Colonies Come of Age: The Commercial North [Pdf] eBook")
Other
Hillcrest High School: The Colonies Come of Age: The Commercial North [Pdf]
A chapter from a history text that looks at the Northern colonial economy, colonial town life, the immigrant groups who settled there, slavery in the North, the role of women, the Salem witchcraft trials, and the influence of the...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Spirit of Nationalism: Jonathan Edwards
This is a brief biography of seventeenth century minister and missionary Jonathan Edwards who documented his sermons. Click on "Jonathan Edwards Activities" for more resources.
Curated OER
National Park Service: Joseph Bellamy House: The Great Awakening in New England
This site describes the influence of the Reverend Joseph Bellamy and religion in 18th century colonial life. This lesson plan has excellent information, an inquiry question, historical context, maps, readings, images, and activities.
Library of Congress
Loc: Religion in 18th Century America
The Library of Congress offers this detailed essay on the renewal of religious beliefs in 18th century America. It discusses deism, a tenet of Enlightenment, and the Great Awakening.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: 19th Century: Evangelicalism, Revivalism, and the Second Great Awakening
The National Humanities Center offers a thorough text describing the roots and results of the Second Great Awakening. Additional web links and guide for student discussion.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: Divining America: The First Great Awakening
This National Humanities Center essay describes an overview of the first Great Awakening. Discussion tips for teachers are included.
Princeton University
Princeton Companion: The Founding of Princeton
This page from the Princeton University Press discusses how the founding of Princeton and other colleges of its time was a direct result of the Great Awakening.
PBS
Africans in America: Lucy Terry Prince: Freed Slave and Poet
This website describes the life of Lucy Terry Prince, first female African American poet. She obtained her freedom by marrying a wealthy free black man who purchased her freedom.
Other
Bible Bulletin Board: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God: Modernized
A modernized version of Jonathan Edwards' sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God". Only archaic 18th century terminology has been updated.
Other
School Wires: The Commerical North [Pdf]
The Northern colonies developed a predominantly urban society, based on commerce and trade.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Beginnings of Revolutionary Thinking
The American Revolution was close to 200 years in the making. Read about the philosophies and attitudes toward government, as well as the diverse populations who came to the British colonies, that eventually fomented rebellion.
Other
American revolution.org: Sins of the Fathers: Religion and Revolution
An academic essay describing the ways in which "religion is an active if not a determinative" cause for the American Revolution. The essay describes three influential areas: (1) religion and liberty, (2) religion and community, and (3)...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Colonial Society and Culture the Great Awakening
An overview of the Great Awakening and how the Protestant Revivalism effected England and the American colonies during the eighteenth century.
Digital History
Digital History: The Great Awakening
A brief discussion about the Great Awakening, an important religious event that swept across America and included all classes of people in both the cities and countryside.
Other
Presbyterian Chuch, Usa: Presbyterian Church History
Straight from the Presbyterian church, here is a short history that discusses the development of this denomination of the church beginning in American colonial times.
Other
The Great Awakening
Tells about what caused the Great Awakening, who was involved, and what the effects of it were. Learn a great deal about the Great Awakening at this comprehensive website devoted to this historic religious movement.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Beginnings of Revolutionary Thinking: Great Awakening
The Great Awakening was a religious event that spread across all the colonies. Read about how it was a reaction against the Enlightenment and how it led to many different Protestant denominations.