History

History 231 Reading Guide

Provincial Society:  The search for identity

• Frank Lambert, “‘Pedlar in Divinity’:  George Whitefield and the Great Awakening, 1737-1745,” JAH 77.3 (1990): 812-837.   JSTOR

Questions:

• What evangelical religious message did George Whitefield bring to the crowds who came to hear him during the revival of religion which would later be called the Great Awakening?
• What methods did he use to publicize and promote his revivals (the gatherings) and his religious message?
• According to Lambert, how and why was he able to overcome the traditional tension between commerce and religious faith?
• Was Whitefield a peddler? What does that imply?