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In the 1730s and 1740s, a marvelous spiritual revival known as the "Great Awakening" swept the colonies.  A glorious [[Christian]] fervor spread throughout, helping to bring the colonies closer together in terms of beliefs, customs and practices.  Led by Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield, this was called "New Light" revivalism to distinguish it from the spiritualism of the 1600s.

In the 1730s and 1740s, a marvelous spiritual revival known as the "Great Awakening" swept the colonies.  A glorious [[Christian]] fervor spread throughout, helping to bring the colonies closer together in terms of beliefs, customs and practices.  Led by Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield, this was called "New Light" revivalism to distinguish it from the spiritualism of the 1600s.

Jonathan Edwards was a brilliant man who graduated valedictorian at age 17 from [[Yale University]].  (Harvard was founded in 1636; the College of William & Mary in 1693; and Yale in 1701).  As Edwards grew older, he developed a sermon entitled "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God."  It was so powerful that it moved listeners to tearfully repent simply upon hearing it, and it remains the most prominently cited example of "fire-and-brimstone" preaching.

Jonathan Edwards was a brilliant man who graduated valedictorian at age 17 from [[Yale University]].  (Harvard was founded in 1636; the College of William & Mary in 1693; Yale in 1701; and Princeton, initially called the College of New Jersey, in 1746)).  As Edwards grew older, he developed a sermon entitled "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God."  It was so powerful that it moved listeners to tearfully repent simply upon hearing it, and it remains the most prominently cited example of "fire-and-brimstone" preaching.  Aaron Burr, who became notorious in 1804 for murdering Alexander Hamilton in a duel, was a grandson of Edwards.

George Whitefield was an even better preacher, perhaps the finest preacher of all time in the English-speaking world.  Known as the "Great Itinerant," he drew enormous crowds for his sermons as he did seven tours through the colonies from 1740 to 1770.  He would simply arrive at a public place, like the Boston Commons, and many thousands would come to hear his sermon.  They didn't leave disappointed.

George Whitefield was an even better preacher, perhaps the finest preacher of all time in the English-speaking world.  Known as the "Great Itinerant," he drew enormous crowds for his sermons as he did seven tours through the colonies from 1740 to 1770.  He would simply arrive at a public place, like the Boston Commons, and many thousands would come to hear his sermon.  He had a remarkable voice such that people could hear him in public at great distances without any microphone or amplifier.  His massive audiences were enthralled by Whitefield's sermons.

Not all was well for everyone in the colonies during the Great Awakening.  During this time [[South Carolina]] had grown heavily dependent on slavery to pick its crops and sustain its economy.  By the late 1730s South Carolina had twice as many slaves as free Europeans.  In 1739 tensions between the slaves and their masters reached a boiling point in the Stono Rebellion in Charleston.  This insurgency by the slaves was brutally suppressed, and then South Carolina passed harsh laws (codes) to exert even more control over the slaves.  More so than any other colony (and later, more than any other state), South Carolina was determined to keep and use slavery.

Not all was well for everyone in the colonies during the Great Awakening.  During this time [[South Carolina]] had grown heavily dependent on slavery to pick its crops and sustain its economy.  By the late 1730s South Carolina had twice as many slaves as free Europeans.  In 1739 tensions between the slaves and their masters reached a boiling point in the Stono Rebellion in Charleston.  This insurgency by the slaves was brutally suppressed, and then South Carolina passed harsh laws (codes) to exert even more control over the slaves.  More so than any other colony (and later, more than any other state), South Carolina was determined to keep and use slavery.