1
This paper will examine and discuss The First Great Awakening in America as well as
provide a biography for the two most important leaders of the movement, Jonathan Edwards, and
George Whitefield. We will compare and contrast each of their contributions and styles, and look
at other leaders who played lesser roles in the movement. Finally, a description of
Evangelicalism will be given, as well as an explanation as to how it began during The First Great
Awakening.
Jonathan Edwards was born October 5, 1703, in East Windsor, Connecticut.1 He was the
fifth child and only son of eleven children born to his parents Esther and Timothy Edwards.
Jonathan’s father Timothy was pastor of the church at East Windsor, Connecticut and his mother
Esther was the daughter of Solomon Stoddard, the pastor of the church at Northampton,
Massachusetts. At the age of thirteen, Jonathan entered Yale college, and graduated in 1720 at
the age of seventeen, but stayed another two years studying divinity. Edwards was a clergyman
for a small Presbyterian church on William Street in New York briefly from 1722-1723,
approximately eight months. He was asked to stay on but declined the call and returned to Yale
where he received his Master of Arts degree in 1723. Jonathan was a tutor at Yale from 1724-
1726, and in 1727 became his grandfather Solomon Stoddard’s colleague at Northampton.
Edwards married Sarah Pierrepont that same year, and to them were born 11 children. In 1729,
after his grandfather passed away, Jonathan became the sole pastor of the church in
Northampton. In November of 1734, Edwards delivered a series of sermons on “Justification by
Faith Alone” which resulted in a revival in Northampton and along the Connecticut River Valley
from the winter of 1734 through the Spring of 1735. During this revival, more than 300 people
made a profession of faith. Edwards would write about the revival in 1737 titled A Faithful
Narrative of the Surprising Work of God 2 which made a profound impact in America as well as
Europe. In the book, Edwards described the types and stages of the conversion experience as he
witnessed. From 1740 through 1742, The First Great Awakening took place in America.
1 Thomas A. Schafer "Jonathan Edwards."?Encyclopedia Britannica
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jonathan-Edwards. Accessed September 26, 2023.
2 Jonathan Edwards,?A Faithful Narrative of the Surprizing Work of God in the Conversion of Many
Hundred Souls in Northampton, and the Neighbouring Towns and Villages of New-Hampshire in New-England. In a
Letter to the Revd. Dr. Benjamin Colman of Boston. Written by the Revd. Mr. Edwards, Minister of Northampton, on
Nov. 6. 1736. and Published, with a Large Preface, by Dr. Watts and Dr. Guyse.?London: printed for John Oswald,
at the Rose and Crown, in the Poultry, near Stocks-Market, 1737.
2
Edwards became exceedingly critical of attitudes and practices associated with the revival, but
maintained that it was a genuine work of God. In 1749, over a dispute about the Lord’s Supper,
Edwards was involved in a controversy which led to his dismissal as pastor of the Northampton
church in 1750. The following year, Edwards became the pastor of the frontier church in
Stockbridge, Massachusetts, missionary to the Native Americans, and supervised a boarding
school for Indian boys.3 On February 16, 1758, Edwards was installed as President of the
College of New Jersey, now Princeton University, but died just a short time after on March 22,
1758, due to complications from a smallpox inoculation. Jonathan Edwards is now referred to as
one of the greatest American Theologians to have ever lived. He wrote many books and sermons
which are still studied today.
George Whitefield was born December 16, 1714, at the Bell Inn in Gloucester, England
to Elizabeth and Thomas Whitefield. 4 George was the sixth son and final child of seven born to
his parents. His father died when he was just 2 years of age. Whitefield was almost eight years
old when his mother remarried an iron monger named Capel Longden. The marriage was
described by Whitefield as “an unhappy match.” 5 Longden took over the inn during the marriage
and ran it into the ground. After six years of marriage, Elizabeth left Longden. When Whitefield
was 12 years old, he was enrolled at St. Mary de Crypt which was not his first experience with
formal school, but was the first schooling experience that he described at length. While at St.
Mary de Crypt, Whitefield realized a passion for public speaking and performance, and honed
those skills while giving speeches before annual meetings for the school as well as acting in
plays at the school. In 1729, Whitfield’s older brother Richard regained control of the inn after a
struggle with Longden. Whitefield, not believing he would be able to afford attending a
university, found himself assisting his mother at the inn. He later wrote of the experience, “I put
on my blue apron and my snuffers, washed mops, cleaned rooms, and, in one word, became
3 William Wainwright, "Jonathan Edwards",?The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy3(Fall 2020 Edition),
Edward N. Zalta?(ed.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2020/entries/edwards/>. Accessed September
26,2023
4 Joseph Belcher.?George Whitefield: A Biography, with Special Reference to His Labors in America.
Project Gutenberg, 2013. 25
5 Thomas S.?Kidd. George Whitefield: America’s Spiritual Founding Father. New Haven: Yale University
Press, 2014. 12
3
professed and common drawer for nigh a year and a half.” 6 Whitfield disliked his brother
Richard’s wife, and decided to quit the inn and go visit his brother Andrew in Bristol. While in
Bristol, Whitfield would experience “unspeakable raptures” while he was receiving communion
at St. John’s church. He wrote to his mother to inform her that he would never serve patrons at
the inn again. Whitefield returned to Gloucester where he stayed at his mother’s small house.
While there, he heard about one of his friends working as a servitor at Oxford college. Unaware
that this was a possibility prior, when Elizabeth heard about it, she asked Whitfield if he would
go to Oxford to which he answered, “with all my heart.” While at Oxford, Whitefield met
Charles and John Wesley, and joined their Holy Club. After the Wesley’s left Oxford for
Georgia, Whitefield was asked to lead the Methodist cohort, which Whitfield accepted in March
of 1736 after Sir John Philips of Picton Castle offered him £30 per year. He was ordained as a
deacon on June 20, 1736. One week later, Whitefield preached publicly for the first time at St.
Mary de Crypt in Gloucester. He traveled to Savanah Georgia on his first trip to America in
1738. Whitfield married Elizabeth James on November 14, 1741. Elizabeth had a daughter
named Nancy, but the couple only had one child, a son, who died at four months old. Over the
next several years, Whitefield traveled from Europe to America preaching and setting up the
Bethesda orphanage. George Whitefield died September 30, 1770.
Jonathan Edwards and George Whitfield were the two main leaders of what is now
known as The First Great Awakening in the American colonies. “Edwards showed early signs of
academic prowess and religious intensity and attended Yale College.” 7 He meticulously wrote
his thoughts while he studied, and prepared all his sermons which he would read in a somewhat
monotone voice to his congregation. In contrast to Edwards is George Whitfield who often
preached improvised sermons to whoever was there to hear him preach. Whitefield was also a
skilled actor and public speaker, and he used these attributes to reach those he preached to.
Edwards preached from the pulpit of a church whereas Whitefield preached in fields or wherever
6 George Whitefield.?A Short Account of God’s Dealings with the Reverend Mr. George Whitefield, A. B.
Late of Pembroke-College, Oxford, From His Infancy, to the Time of His Entring into Holy Orders. Written by
Himself, on Board the Elisabeth, Captain Stephenson, Bound from London to Philadelphia; and Sent over by Him to
Be Published for the Benefit of the Orphan-House in Georgia.?Edinburgh: printed by T. Lumisden and J. Robertson,
and sold at their printing-house in the fish-market, and by J. Traill Book-Seller in the Parliament-Close, 1741. 9
7 Mark Nickens, A Survey of the History of Global Christianity, Second Edition. (Nashville, TN: B&H
Academic, 2020), 158.
4
he found an opportunity. Edwards led a revival within his community, but he rarely travelled far
from home, nor for long when he did. Whitefield on the other hand travelled considerably, taking
his message across the American colonies and throughout Europe. Edwards led a considerable
revival in Northampton, but as it began to slow down, Whitefield came to America and took the
message on the road to the remaining colonies and peoples. Another notable figure from the First
Great Awakening is Gilbert Tennent. Gilbert was the son of a Presbyterian clergyman. He
became a revivalist preacher along with Whitefield. Tennent was known for his “fiery
exhortations to sinners to repent and also for his scorn of his critics.” 8?In 1740, his “Nottingham
Sermon” led to a schism within the Presbyterian church, and he relocated to a church in
Philadelphia in 1743 where he remained the rest of his life. Samuel Davies was also a
Presbyterian preacher who defended religious dissent during the Great Awakening. He helped to
lead the southern phase of the revival, and became a chief defender of dissenters in Hanover
Virginia.
Evangelicalism is an interdenominational movement that emphasizes a person’s salvation
which results in a new birth, a longing for a relationship with God, the importance of spreading
the Good News of Jesus, and a possible emotional release in different forms. Prior to the First
Great Awakening in America, the colonists were separated not only physically because of the
vastness of land, but spiritually as there were many different denominations and beliefs, as well
as those who did not practice any religion. With the preaching of those like Edwards, Whitefield,
Tennent, and Davies, those separations began to bridge. As evangelicalism spread, people began
to accept the free gift of salvation and they began to experience emotional responses. Often, they
would weep aloud, or prostrate themselves and cry out for Jesus to save them. The Great
Awakening brought to attention the need we all have of Jesus’ saving grace, which led to a more
unified America. Word count 1722
Bibliography
Belcher, Joseph.?George Whitefield: A Biography, with Special Reference to His Labors in
America. Project Gutenberg, 2013. 25
8 The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. "Gilbert Tennent."?Encyclopedia Britannica, July 19, 2023.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gilbert-Tennent. Accessed September 29, 2023
5
Edwards, Jonathan.?A Faithful Narrative of the Surprizing Work of God in the Conversion of
Many Hundred Souls in Northampton, and the Neighbouring Towns and Villages of New-
Hampshire in New-England. In a Letter to the Revd. Dr. Benjamin Colman of Boston. Written by
the Revd. Mr. Edwards, Minister of Northampton, on Nov. 6. 1736. and Published, with a Large
Preface, by Dr. Watts and Dr. Guyse.?London: printed for John Oswald, at the Rose and Crown,
in the Poultry, near Stocks-Market, 1737.
Kidd, Thomas S. George Whitefield: America’s Spiritual Founding Father. New Haven: Yale
University Press, 2014. 12
Nickens, Mark. A Survey of the History of Global Christianity, Second Edition. (Nashville, TN:
B&H Academic, 2020), 158.
Schafer, Thomas A. "Jonathan Edwards."?Encyclopedia Britannica
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jonathan-Edwards. Accessed September 26, 2023.
The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. "Gilbert Tennent."?Encyclopedia Britannica, July 19,
2023. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gilbert-Tennent. Accessed September 29, 2023
Wainwright, William. "Jonathan Edwards",?The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy3(Fall 2020
Edition), Edward N. Zalta?(ed.), URL =
<https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2020/entries/edwards/>. Accessed September 26,2023
Whitefield, George.?A Short Account of God’s Dealings with the Reverend Mr. George
Whitefield, A. B. Late of Pembroke-College, Oxford, From His Infancy, to the Time of His
Entring into Holy Orders. Written by Himself, on Board the Elisabeth, Captain Stephenson,
Bound from London to Philadelphia; and Sent over by Him to Be Published for the Benefit of the
Orphan-House in Georgia.?Edinburgh: printed by T. Lumisden and J. Robertson, and sold at
