Lyma Lyman Beecher: Temperance And Religious Reform

Samuel Parris has a long and eventful history that shaped his views and actions while he was preaching in Salem Village. At the age of 20 Parris inharated his fathers sugar plantation in Barbados while he was attending Harvard (Linder “Parris” Par1). The wealth that Parris had accumulated while in Barbados was sufficient enough to support him and his new family when he moved to Boston (Par.2). Unhappy with his life as a merchant Parris decided that it was time for a change in his vocation. In 1691 he began to substitute for absent ministers and speaking at informal church gatherings (Par.3). After the birth of his third child with his wife Elizabeth Eldridge, Parris began to have formal negotiations to become the preacher for Salem Village (Par.3). The marriage of Parris and Eldridge linked him to

According to Hinks, Methodists were usually more willing to place “the powerful God of Christianity… on the side of social and political justice.” One religious message that Walker conveys through this Appeal that supports this claim, was

To foster an environment in which all can grow in their knowledge, understanding and commitment to the Catholic faith, and that of the wider Christian community.

Like his father before him, Cotton Mather took position as a pastor of the Second Church of Boston where he remained connected with that church from 1685, when he was ordained, until his death forty-three years later. It was mainly by his remorseless writing that he became one of the most notable of all New England Puritan ministers. Today Mather is often thought of as unsympathetic because of his part in the Salem witchcraft trials. Although he did not approve of all the trials, he had helped to stir up the wave of frantic fear by his Memorable Providences Relating to Witchcraft and Possessions. Later he further pursued his inquiries into satanic possession with “Wonders of the Invisible World.”

In 1726 Edwards moved to Northampton to help his grandfather as assistant pastor, “he was probably more inclined to agree with the stricter views of his father rather than with his grandfather’s more open policy regarding communicant membership, but for the time being, an agreement to disagree seems to have prevailed” . When Solomon Stoddard died in February 1729, Edwards assumed full responsibility of the congregation. With the inheritance of the congregation came considerable expectations, considering Northampton regarded Solomon as a sort of deity. “New England’s occasional awakenings and other efforts to revive piety were part of an international ‘pietist’ movement” .

One reason for the Colonial Americans’ growth in faith is the fact the era was abundant with religious figures who strove to lead people to God and created guidelines for them to live by. The people of Colonial America were blessed to abide in an “enchanted world of wonders.” These wonders were no doubt brought on by the hand of God, and the recognition of this fact caused new religious leaders to rise up and help people focus on living Godly lives despite the secular distractions that they were presented with. One Puritan leader, John Winthrop, stated, “That which the most in their Churches maintain as a truth in profession only, we must bring into familiar and constant practice, as in this duty of love we must love brotherly without dissimulation, we must love one another with a pure heart fervently we must bear one another’s burdens…” Winthrop not only wanted each individual person to maintain a stronger focus on faith in daily life, he also wanted them to use their faith to unite together, and his Model of Christian Charity showed the people how to accomplish that. Many people tried to abide by these teachings and pass them onto their children before they made their own way in the changing, confusing world because many parents feared their children would “Fall un’wares in Fowler’s snare.”

As many religious leaders before and after him, Edwards's source of inspiration and guidance is the Bible. His understanding of this cornerstone of New England society enables him to reinforce a persuasive dissertation with biblical quotes and passages; however, not all the quotes cited by

The first great practitioner of the new evangelical Calvinism was Lyman Beecher. Beecher led thousands to accept their sinfulness and surrender to God.

Richard Furman was born in 1755 to an Episcopal school teacher and wife and grew to be a strong student (Wheaton College). With a strong background in education, Furman was recognized for his strong preacher skills and established

The antebellum temperance reform was not motivated by religious moralism, however, religion did play a part in spreading it. Originally, drinking liquor was a very common thing, “In shipbuilding, workers enjoyed ceremonial provisions of strong drink in addition to their daily rations. At the completion of each major stage of construction they joined with shipowners and masters to toast their work’s progress.” (Rumbarger 268) As a result of how common it became, businesses with employees would constantly be losing a good amount of money to liquor overall for their workers and not receiving the best quality of work from those drunken workers. This can be seen as a republican virtues which is the idea of giving to your community by sacrificing

The antebellum temperance reform was primarily motivated by religious ideas that would use the fear of the Devil and going to hell and cause people to fear becoming sinful from drinking. The Second Great Awakening allowed for a revival of religious feelings which would then impact the “Era of Good Feelings.” These religious feelings would help people through their troubles and anxiety and allow for them to believe in a better solution and allow for people to become less stressed and happier than they were without religion. To follow up the religious revival in the people at the time, “... they advocated religious faith as a way for people to ease the anxieties that led to drink; on the other hand, they made drinking itself the source of anxieties

These passages from the Bible state the malignant outcomes of drinking to an individual. The poster also includes images of each of the four stages so that the meaning of the propaganda could also be interpreted by the illiterate. The Second Great Awakening reviving faith life throughout the country, which made it more common to discuss within society (Document 2). Lyman Beecher was also one of the leaders and creators of the American Temperance society founded in 1826, the same year this poster was published, which implored any drinkers to stop and commit to abstinence pledges. Pamphlets and propaganda were used often to sway drinkers away from leading a life of immoral practices.

Dwight Lyman Moody was an american author, pastor, and a big part of the baptist church movement in the 19th century. Moody has written over 100 books on living a christian life, salvation, and commentaries on the bible. Moody played a big part in the conversion to Christianity during the civil war, lots of these men found hope in the religion and gave them peace while in battle. He also helped the people of Chicago come together after The Great Chicago fire. The Christian people of Chicago had lost everything but they still had hope and joy because of their faith, Moody and his church grew exponentially after the fire because so many people were finding hope through Christianity. Most of Moody’s life was really

“The contrast between the social positions of Finney and Hodge has to be understood on several levels. There are hints of social conditioning. Though Hodge opposed some of the church structures that contributed to the situation, the Princeton Theology was more closely tied to the aristocracy and higher social classes. While Finney was willing to cultivate these classes and was proud of his success among them, his revivalism and his social commitments drew him more to identification with the poor, the slave and the masses-at least to some extent. Both Hodge and Finney, therefore, represented to a certain extent in their thought the interests of those with whom they had aligned themselves”. (Dayton/Strong 176)

John Winthrop and Jonathan Edwards were both religious leaders that lived centuries before the present time. They shared the same goal in persuading people into Christianity, yet differed greatly in the way they chose to develop their sermons. Winthrop, a Puritan who wrote based on new religious and social ideals, composed the famous sermon “A Model of Christian Charity.”