The Burned-Over District is a term used by some to describe the region of Western New York in the historical period of 1800-1850. It is also sometimes called the Second Great Awakening with a combination of religious, social and political elements.
A lot of what defined this period was the notion that Jesus would soon return for total and final judgment and that therefore society needed to be perfected soon. But there were certainly other ideas, many of which contributed to the formation of the Latter Day Saints. While this overtone seems to ignore Jesus’ words that his kingdom was “not of this world,” it could arguably be attributed to the Mayflower pilgrims and their “Shining City on a Hill” idea. Both movements saw their “shining” heyday and their decline.
Contributing Elements:
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A soaring of mainline church membership (mostly Methodist and [Ana]Baptist).
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Mormonism: Joseph Smith, and the Latter Day Saints.
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William Miller and the Millerites.
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Ellen G. White and the Seventh-day Adventists.
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The Fox Sisters, the Spiritualists (featuring the first instance of channeled texts in “New-Agey” circles).
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Influx of Shakers.
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Socialism.
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John Humphrey Noyes and the Oneida Society.
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The Fourierist utopian socialist movement and the Skaneateles Community.
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Influx of Hunter Patriots.
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Feminism: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Seneca Falls Convention. (See also Susan B. Anthony.)
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Charles Grandison Finney.
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Abolitionism. (See also Frederick Douglass.)
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Prohibitionism (the Temperance movement).
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Influx of Freemasonry.
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William Morgan and the Anti-Masonic Party (first Third Party in the United States of America!).
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Congregationalist missionary societies.
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The Restoration Movement (Christian primitivism).
References and Notes: ![[WWW]](https://rocwiki.org/wiki/eggheadbeta/img/sycamore-www.png){kind=small}
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burned-over_district http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfjTSfp3E_8
