The Great Awakening and Southern Backcountry Revolutionaries (SpringerBriefs in Anthropology Book 4)

This work documents the impact that the Great Awakening had on the inhabitants of colonial America’s Southern Backcountry. Special emphasis is placed on how this religious revival furrowed the ground on which the seeds of the American Revolution would sprout. The investigation shows how the Great Awakening can be traced to the Europe’s Age of Enlightenment. This effort also demonstrates how and why this revival spread so rapidly throughout the colonies. Special focus is placed on how the Great Awakening impacted the mindset of colonists of the Southern Backcountry. Most significantly, this research demonstrates how this 18 th century revival not only cultivated a sense of American national identity, but how it also fostered a colonial mindset against established authority which, in turn, facilitated the success of the American Revolution. Additionally, this investigation will document (from a cross-cultural perspective) how religious revivals have fueled other revolutionary movements around the world. Such analysis will include the Celtic Druid Revolt, the Maji-Maji Rebellion of East Africa along with the Mad Man’s War in Southeast Asia. Lastly, the ethical ramifications of minimizing (or denying) the role that religion played in political and social transformations around the world will be addressed. This final point is of paramount importance given current trend in academia to minimize the role that religion played in spurring revolutions while emphasizing material (i.e. economic) causal factors. This attempt at divorcing religion from history is misguided and unethical because it is not only misleading but it also fails to fully acknowledge the beliefs and values that motivated individuals to take certain actions in the first place. Acknowledgments 5 Contents 6 Author Biography 8 Abstract 10 1 Introduction 11 References 13 2 Pre-awakened Colonial North America 14 Church Membership 14 Establishment Protestant Ministers 15 Increased Emphasis on Formal Education 16 The Age of Enlightenment’s Influence 17 Growing Class Conflict 17 Further Signs of Alienation 18 Spiritual Declension 19 Underserved Regions 20 Roots of the Awakening: Old World Pietism 20 Frelinghuysen’s Pietism 21 Summary 22 References 23 3 The Great Awakening 24 Passion and Melodrama Stream from the Pulpit into the Aisles 27 Shifting the Blame 28 Sowing the Seeds of Discord Among Colonial Protestants 30 New Lights versus Old Lights 32 Davenport’s Anti-denominationalism and Anti-intellectualism 34 Individualism and a New Form of Protestantism 37 Old Light Responses 39 Contributions of the Great Awakening 42 Outreach to the Marginalized 43 Turmoil, Millennialism, and Catharsis 46 Aftermath of the Awakening 48 References 49 4 Patriots, Monarchists, and the Antichrist 51 Introduction 51 The Seven Years’ War and the Catholic Church as Antichrist 51 Stamp Act of 1765 52 The Tea Act of 1773 53 The Quebec Act of 1774 53 England as Antichrist 54 Millennialism and the Justification for Rebellion 56 References 57 5 Awakened Rebels and Holy War in the Southern Backcountry 58 Settlement of the Carolina Backcountry 58 The Great Awakening and Religious Independence on the Appalachian Frontier 60 New Monsters and Presbyterian Dogs in the South Carolina Upcountry 69 Awakened Rebels in the Carolina Backcountry 73 Holy War Comes to the Southern Backcountry 78 David Versus Goliath: Buford’s Massacre and Huck’s Defeat 79 The Sword of the Lord and Gideon: The Battle of King’s Mountain 94 Aftermath of the Holy War 103 References 104 6 Discussion and Conclusions 107 Introduction 107 Celtic Druid Revolt Against Roman Occupation of Britain 107 Maji-Maji Rebellion 108 Mad Man’s War 109 Religion as a Powerful Unifying Force 109 Ethical Ramifications of Excising Religion From History 110 References 112 References 114 Index 120 This work documents the impact that the Great Awakening had on the inhabitants of colonial America’s Southern Backcountry. Special emphasis is placed on how this religious revival furrowed the ground on which the seeds of the American Revolution would sprout. The investigation shows how the Great Awakening can be traced to the Europe’s Age of Enlightenment. This effort also demonstrates how and why this revival spread so rapidly throughout the colonies. Special focus is placed on how the Great Awakening impacted the mindset of colonists of the Southern Backcountry. Most significantly, this research demonstrates how this 18thcentury revival not only cultivated a sense of American national identity, but how it also fostered a colonial mindset against established authority which, in turn, facilitated the success of the American Revolution. Additionally, this investigation will document (from a cross-cultural perspective) how religious revivals have fueled other revolutionary movements around the world. Such analysis will include the Celtic Druid Revolt, the __Maji-Maji__ Rebellion of East Africa along with the Mad Man’s War in Southeast Asia. Lastly, the ethical ramifications of minimizing (or denying) the role that religion played in political and social transformations around the world will be addressed. This final point is of paramount importance given current trend in academia to minimize the role that religion played in spurring revolutions while emphasizing material (i.e. economic) causal factors. This attempt at divorcing religion from history is misguided and unethical because it is not only misleading but it also fails to fully acknowledge the beliefs and values that motivated individuals to take certain actions in the first place. Front Matter....Pages i-xi Introduction....Pages 1-3 Pre-awakened Colonial North America....Pages 5-14 The Great Awakening....Pages 15-41 Patriots, Monarchists, and the Antichrist....Pages 43-49 Awakened Rebels and Holy War in the Southern Backcountry....Pages 51-99 Discussion and Conclusions....Pages 101-107 Back Matter....Pages 109-117