Using Essex History Lesson Plan UEH Seminar Topic Religion, Revival, and Reform: The Second Great Awakening and its Legacy (February 6, 2007) Title Bound to Aid 1 : Christianity and the Urgency for Reform in Antebellum America Grade Level Grade 11 Time Frame Two 55-minute lessons Links to MA History and Social Studies Frameworks USI.31 Describe the formation of the abolitionist movement, the roles of various abolitionists, and the response of southerners and northerners to abolitionism. USI.32 Describe the important religious trends that shaped antebellum America. A. The increase in the number of Protestant denominations B. The Second Great Awakening C. The influence of these trends on the reaction of Protestants to the growth of Catholic immigration Essential Objectives Examine the evangelical zeal prevalent in the early 19 th Century and its translations in the public and political sphere. Identify ways in which Protestant Christianity positioned itself as an agent of moral reform. Identify the ways in which individuals who were born again saw themselves as saved. Identify the ways in which awakened Americans saw their nation and their role as Christians in that nation. Explain the connection between the proliferation of Protestant churches and the growth of abolitionism. Essential Questions Does America s past demonstrate a separation of church and state? To what extent do religious convictions motivate political action? To what extent should religious convictions be influential in political and social action? To what extent can religious convictions be isolated from political and social action? What role did Protestant churches play in teaching children to read in the absence of public schools? What motivates Americans to organize societies to reform aspects of the nation? How do anti-slavery society women in Lynn see the nation and their own national identity? How does a religious identity play out in the political sphere? 1 See Constitution of the Female Anti-Slavery Society Preamble. 1
Primary Sources Sunday Lessons Handkerchief, 1830 Diary of Abigail Livermore Williams Lynn Anti-Slavery Society the Preamble to their Constitution Supplies & Equipment handouts of Appendix A, B, and C - one for each pupil in the class handouts of primary sources Procedure 1.) (15-20 minutes) Thinking about the Issue Warm up with a familiar catch-phrase. Discussion Questions on Separation of Church and State : Put these 3 questions on the board or dictate them for students to write in their notes: a. Does the USA have separation of church and state? How do you know? b. What did separation of church and state mean for the men who aimed to establish the new American republic in the late 18 th Century? c. What does separation of church and state mean to you now? (3 minutes) Ask the students to think about these three (3) questions and jot down their own personal responses. (5-7 minutes) Pair up the students and ask them to exchange responses with one another. (5-7 minutes) As a class, share one or two thoughts all together on each question. 2.) (10 minutes) A Mini-Lecture - Introduce the Handkerchief Sunday Lessons Be sure to communicate these key ideas: a. More and more Protestant denominations were growing up in the first 4 decades of the 19 th Century. b. Many of the historical sources of individual Americans daily lives are saturated with evangelical zeal. c. While the Enlightenment played a huge role in the founding of America, and while certain famous Americans were enlightened (i.e. Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin), far more Americans were awakened than were enlightened. d. What did it mean to be awakened? Knowing a moment of conversion when on was born again ; this conversion experience included these: i. Recognition of sin ii. Understanding of Jesus death on the cross meaning the price paid for one s sin iii. Recognition of Jesus as savior iv. Commitment to live for Jesus and following Christ what exactly this meant or how exactly this changed one s daily life is something we will examine in the historical sources. e. The churches were centers of learning for children. This is where they learned not only content but skills. This is where kids learned to read because public schools were not yet widespread. 3.) (25 minutes) Primary Source Activity Distribute Sunday Lessons Handkerchief to students. 2
a. As the source is distributed, explain that this would have been used to help kids learn to read. b. What do students notice about the pictures and the banner statement? c. Distribute worksheet that is Appendix A. d. Do the Activity that is first on the sheet of Appendix A focus only on the handkerchief. Students will take it one step at a time, putting stanzas of the lessons in their own words and then comparing with their partner. e. Give pupils 20 minutes for group work, guiding them with the steps of the In Your Own Words Exercise. f. Wrap up with these tasks: i. Read the other parts of the handkerchief. ii. Do any of the other lessons mention Jesus or his crucifixion? iii. Do they mention being born again or repentance or forgiveness? 4.) Conclude lesson Be sure to wrap up with an emphasis on the important focus of moral behavior. Tell the class that tomorrow we will look at the diary of a woman who was awakened and we ll learn how it affected her daily life. Second Lesson 1. (5 minutes) Introduction. Yesterday we examined questions of church and state. We spoke about how the church was involved in educating children. You studied a primary source in which you discovered a certain emphasis in the Sunday school lessons. What was that emphasis? (moral behavior, not salvation) Review what being awakened meant. Today we will read two primary sources from women who were awakened. i. Diary of Abigail Livermore Williams. ii. Preamble to the Constitution of the Lynn Anti-Slavery Society 2. (20 minutes) Activity In Your Own Words Exercise See Appendix B. a. Distribute Primary Source. Tell students to read the diary entry once independently, individually, thinking about what being awakened meant to Ms Williams. b. Distribute Appendix B sheet. Guide the students through the In Your Own Words Exercise. c. After students do their study of evangelical Christianity through the eyes of this one woman in Beverly, wrap up with a discussion of the way Ms Williams saw the world and everything that occurred in society. Discuss How did being awakened shape her understanding of each and every aspect of life? d. Next we will look at some other local women who would have been contemporaries of Ms. Williams living not in Beverly but in Lynn still very nearby each other. These local women were also awakened and we ll have a look at how their being awakened affected their anti-slavery action. 3. (20 minutes) Activity Matching Analysis and Evidence in the Preamble to the Constitution of the Lynn Anti-Slavery Society See Appendix C. a. Distribute the Lynn Anti-Slavery Society Preamble to the Constitution. b. Read the Preamble aloud while students follow along and highlight key terms as they go. c. Distribute Appendix C sheet. Guide the students through instructions for the Matching Analysis and Evidence chart. Students complete the chart in pairs. 3
d. As a class, discuss selected quotations and force students orally to explain to others why they chose that quotation. 4. (10 minutes) Conclude and explain assessment. a. Remind students we have said that while some very famous Americans in the early 19 th century were enlightened, far more Americans were awakened than were enlightened. We have discussed what being awakened meant and you have begun to grasp how people s awakened-ness shaped their lives. b. Now you will think about how the Second Great Awakening led to social reform, particularly the anti-slavery movement. c. Announce their assignment. Assessment Using specific reference to at least two (2) of the primary sources we have examined, write a thoughtful one-two (1-2) page response to the following question: How did evangelicalism shape the lives of some Americans after the Second Great Awakening in the first few decades of the 19 th Century? How did their faith or their church affect their approach to the state and society? What would women in the Lynn Anti-slavery society or people like Ms. Williams have said to your 21 st Century notions of the separation of church and state? 4
1830 Handkerchief with Sunday Lessons, No.1. An In Your Own Words Exercise 1. The Sabbath. APPENDIX (A) a. For each of the 5 stanzas of this poetic lesson, write a brief phrase that puts the meaning in your own original words (independently, individually). As an example, together we could do the statement in the banner at the top, Count that day lost, whose slow descending sun views from thy hand no work of goodness done. With this statement paraphrased in students own words, we should examine the pictures at the top. b. In groups of 2-3 students each, compare/edit their original phrases. c. For the entire lesson, write a well-constructed sentence or two that captures the meaning of the whole in your own words. d. Form different groups and compare / edit sentences. e. In groups, answer these questions: i. Identify all the lines that pertain to behavior. ii. Identify lines that pertain to belief. iii. Is salvation mention? Where / how? iv. Is Jesus Christ mentioned? 2. Religion What is it? a. For each of the 4 stanzas of this poetic lesson, write a brief phrase that puts the meaning in your own original words (independently, individually). b. Follow steps b, c, and d above. c. In groups, answer and discuss these questions: i. How many of the four stanzas are negative statements and how many are positives? ii. How many of the lines are about behavior? iii. Is Jesus Christ mentioned? iv. Is salvation or redemption mentioned? Read the other parts of the handkerchief. Do any of the other lessons mention Jesus or his crucifixion? Do they mention being born again or repentance or forgiveness? 5
Appendix B Diary of Abigail Livermore Williams An In Your Own Words Exercise 1. Read the first-hand perspective on Abigail Livermore Williams s conversion. 2. Re-write her account of her conversion in your own words. 3. Compare with your partner. 4. If you only had this document to tell you about Christianity in Beverly 1810, what could you determine? Make a list. 6
5. Read her account of revivals. With your group or partner answer these questions: a. What are the priorities of Abigail Livermore Williams? What does she think is important? Make a list. b. What evidence can you see that her Christianity changes her behavior? c. To whom does she give credit for new churches and new converts? d. Do you think A. L. Williams would want to emphasize human choice or God s sovereignty, if she had to elevate one over the other? 7
APPENDIX C Lynn Anti-Slavery Society Preamble to the Constitution An Exercise in Matching Analysis and Evidence This exercise is specifically for working on that tricky skill of using historical evidence well when we write. In writing essays either people make assertions without appropriate historical evidence to support their claim or people insert historical evidence without any appropriate analysis. In order to use historical sources most effectively there needs to be a proper match. 1. Read the preamble to the constitution of the Lynn Anti-Slavery Society. 2. Read it a second time. 3. When reading it a third time, determine the BEST quotation to support the analytical comment or conclusion at the left. Analysis / Comment Evidence / Quotation The women of Lynn in this society have an awareness of the sufferings of slaves various parts of the country. They operate with the understanding that God opposes slavery. There is urgency in their purpose, for these women feel as though they must work to end slavery. The women in this society believe that working to end slavery equates to working for the redemption of the whole country. 8