The First Great Awakening and the development of government in America

The Great Awakening was a Christian Revivalist movement that swept through the Protestant states of Europe as well as the British American colonies in the seventeen thirties and forties. This movement had a huge impact on the latter due to its insistence on individuals having a more personal relationship with Jesus Christ and its rejection of the old established ritual of the Church. The Great Awakening brought Christianity to the African slaves in these colonies and not only did it do this, but it also encouraged people to have a commitment to a new standard of personal morality. It is this religious revivalism that would eventually encourage the changes in the government of the colonies which eventually led to the American Revolution and the creation of a new and unique nation.
It can be said that the Great Awakening in the British colonies of America brought about a feeling of rebellion against the British government. This is most likely because many of the British elite were adherents of the Anglican Church, whose established ritual and doctrine this movement was against. Those at the forefront of the movement would have advocated for more freedom of government for the colonies so that they could have a hand in determining their own future. When the British government denied them this and instead abolished all the freedoms it had granted, this movement may have had a hand in the beginning of the fight against both the political and religious tyranny of the British (McCook, M, 2008).
The Great Awakening may have had a hand in the people of the colonies’ call for freedom. Its ideas may have inspired many to seek to choose their own destiny and not have it dictated from Britain. The Awakening was not a movement that targeted a single denomination but sought to reform the entire church establishment. This meant that when the call for political freedom came, most of the Protestant denominations may have taken a part in it. The ideals of this movement were later enshrined in the United States’ constitution where religious freedom became one of the fundamental rights of all Americans.
The constitution of the United States declares that all men are equal and this was an idea that was very common among the proponents of the Awakening movement and it seems that these ideas eventually made their way to the constitution of this great nation. This belief came from the bible which stated that all men are equal in the eyes of God and those influenced by the Awakening felt that this meant that there need not be a social hierarchy in society (Szabo, L, 1999). This meant that everybody within the society was to have equal rights and that nobody was to be treated differently from the other just because of their status. It is for this reason that America came to be known as the land of freedom.
In conclusion, the Great Awakening had a very significant impact on the development of government in America. Not only were its ideals enshrined in the constitution of the new republic, but it also made its people aware of their basic human rights. It created an environment in which the people of the colonies were able to fight for their freedom and later create a government that guaranteed that freedom, free of tyranny.
References
McCook, M. (2008). Church and state in america: The first two centuries. Canadian Journal of History, 43(2), 333-335. Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.alice.dvc.edu/docview/194354741?accountid=38376
Szabo, L. (1999, Feb 28). A great awakening unto the lord in the colonies, christianity becomes passionate and personal. Virginian - Pilot, pp. 16-M16. Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.alice.dvc.edu/docview/387915701?accountid=38376