The Great Awakening P10

It is evident that George Whitefield substantially impacted America by transforming thousands of lives. But Whitefield also had a significant influence in preparing Americans for the approaching War of Independence, especially helping break down the rigid barriers that separated the colonies from one another.

Those early colonies were not like today’s states within the United States. At that time, they behaved much more like the separate nations of Europe: many did not like the others, and each was largely independent, having its own currency, and separate militias. They even had armed conflict among themselves over borders, such as the eight years of skirmishes between Pennsylvania and Maryland that became known as Cresap’s War (1730-1738).

Another point of vigorous dispute between the colonies was over religion. All were Christian, but Pennsylvania tended to be predominantly Quaker; Virginia and South Carolina, Anglican; Massachusetts and Connecticut, Congregational; New York, Dutch Reformed; and so forth. Some of these Christian denominations were aggressively hostile toward the others. Sadly, the American colonies had slowly begun to adopt some of the same deplorable aspects of Europe’s religious tyranny from which so many earlier fled.

Content sourced from The American Story, The Beginnings by Dave Barton & Tim Barton