I have now read many secular accounts from the academic world and it is the consensus that America was born out of The Great Awakening.
In Ireland's Lost Heritage I found these statements: "A case could be made for saying that…'a Revival' could be described as 'a visitation of God's Spirit on God's people,' but 'an Awakening' as 'a time of such intense visitation that both the Christian and non-Christian communities are affected…revivals alter the lives of individuals, awakenings alter the world view of a whole people or culture'."

The First Great Awakening
That's exactly what happened in The Great Awakening preceding the birth of The United States of America. I have now read many secular accounts from the academic world and it is the consensus that America was born out of The Great Awakening. One Harvard professor wrote that one cannot understand the colonial society that brought about the American Revolution without a study of The Great Awakening.

The Longmeadow (Mass.) Historical Society website carries an article entitled The Great Awakening and Its Effect on the Society and Religion of the Connecticut River Valley, by Meaghan McCormick. The article states:

The Great Awakening was a religious movement during the 1730's and 1740's in which
itinerant ministers presented powerful messages of salvation and which provided early
Americans with a greater sense of nationality…one of the most notable points of origin
was in the Connecticut River Valley under the leadership of Jonathan Edwards...The
Great Awakening…brought about a change of values that affected politics and daily
life…These attitudes were the beginnings of a sense of independence and equality that
would set the stage for the American Revolution. And, as the spirit of independence was
proclaimed in the colonies by the Declaration of Independence, it was often the local
clergy…who rose to read to their congregations the words of that document which would
spark independence in America….

When we went on line to look for a definition of the word awakening, we were surprised to see that www.answers.com credited Jonathan Edwards with the word's origin:

Word Origin: 1736
In the winter of 1734-35, the mild-mannered Reverend Jonathan Edwards, minister of the
church in Northampton, Massachusetts, was astounded. People actually were listening to
his sermons and following his advice…Their talk turned to nothing but religion, and they
began living godly lives. Even "the vainest and loosest"! Even young people! And this
behavior was spreading from Northampton to other towns up and down the Connecticut
River Valley. In a famous letter published in 1736, Edwards called this a "general awakening."

Jonathan Edwards
I had read about Jonathan Edwards. But I have now come to admire a dedicated saint God could work through to begin The First Great Awakening. Some particularly enlightening insight into his character came to me unexpectedly—supernaturally, I believe. At our family New Year's gathering, I asked each one to voice a resolution. My grandson, Cody Oaks and his bride, Aubrey Pearsons Oaks were with us. The next morning Aubrey came to my place from the prayer cabin where they stayed. She had in her hand a very old book we had used for décor.

The Harper's Fifth Reader was published in 1889. Its Publisher's Note read: "To cultivate a spirit of patriotism and to inculcate a commendable pride in the achievements of our countrymen is one of the first duties of the schools." The reader's lessons were by authors such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Henry Ward Beecher, Julia Ward Howe, etc. And it included Resolutions by Jonathan Edwards. Written when he was young, they show the bent of his resolve to live life—the life God anointed for great purpose. (Go on line to billyebrim.org for a copy of his resolutions; we have them posted.)

In Lecture Four, The Great Awakening, Wake Forest University (www.wfu.edu) reports:

...Edwards has received a bad press for his "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God."…But if you read his sermons, you will find that he spoke quietly, reasonably, and logically. Indeed he was dry and even a bit boring. But he began to experience a harvest of conversions that were accompanied by exaggerated behavior. People would…shout, and run when they were converted.

Edwards kept accurate records of what happened:

And then it was, in the latter part of December, that the Spirit of God began extraordinarily to…work amongst us. There were, very suddenly, one after another, 5 or 6 persons who were, to all appearance, savingly converted, and some of them wrought upon in a very remarkable manner.

Particularly I was surprised with…a young woman, who had been one of the greatest company-keepers in the whole town. When she came to me, I had never heard that she was become in any ways serious, but by the conversation I then had with her, it appeared to me that what she gave an account of was a glorious work of God's infinite power and sovereign grace, and that God had given her a new heart, truly broken and sanctified…

God made it, I suppose, the greatest occasion of awakening to others of anything that ever came to pass in the town…The news of it seemed to be almost like a flash of lightning upon the hearts of young people all over the town, and upon many others….

Presently upon this, a great and earnest concern about the great things of religion and the eternal world became universal in all parts of the town and among persons of all degrees and all ages…Those that were wont to be the vainest and loosest…And the work of conversion was carried on in a most astonishing manner and increased…souls did, as it were come by flocks to Jesus Christ…This work of God…soon made a glorious alteration in the town, so that in the spring and summer following, Anno 1735, the town seemed to be full of the presence of God.

Historian, Eddie L. Hyatt, writes:

People from other communities often scoffed when they heard of the events in Northampton. Simply upon entering the community, however, their skepticism inevitably dissipated because of the overwhelming presence of God. As converts returned home, they carried the spirit of revival with them, and so the awakening spread.

During this time, Edwards preached his famous sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. So powerfully did conviction of sin grip the people…that the penitent cries for mercy drowned [out] Edwards' voice. Hell became so real to the congregation that some clutched the backs of pews while others wrapped their arms around the pillars to keep, as it were, from being consumed by its eternal flames….

The power that accompanied Edward's preaching was not the result of his topic alone. Preaching on the terrors of hell did not monopolize his messages. He was, in fact, a very sensitive individual who could be melted to tears while contemplating the love and mercy of God. Neither was the power the fruit of oratorical skill, for Edwards normally read his sermons. His preaching derived its power from his prayer life. He would spend whole days and weeks in prayer, and it was not unusual for him to spend 18 hours in prayer prior to preaching a single sermon. The result was a revival that not only transformed the moral and spiritual character of his own community, but also that of the entire nation.

Billye Brim Ministries
All rights reserved. Used by permission.