Lyman Beecher and The Second Great Awakening

The first half of the nineteenth century America saw the development and expansion of a variety of Protestant denominations characterized by differing theological tenets, practices, and organizational structures. It was a time of evangelism, conversion, and activism with the core message that salvation is achieved by living a virtuous life.

​This period would be remembered in history as the Second Great Awakening. Reaching its zenith between 1820 and 1850 this movement expressed a theology by which every person could be saved through repentance and conversion. The aim of the Second Great Awakening was to remedy the evils of society and creation of a better world. ​

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Lyman Beecher (1775-1863)

Such activism was extremely important to the orderly development of the expanding American west and local churches saw their role in society as focal points for a variety of social reforms. This was especially true on the Kentucky and Ohio frontier and one of its major champions was Lyman Beecher.

Beecher was born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1775 to David Beecher, a blacksmith, and Esther Hawley Lyman. His ancestry can be dated to 1637 Massachusetts. At age eighteen he entered Yale College and was graduated in 1797. Under the tutelage of Timothy Dwight of the Yale Divinity School, Lyman was ordained as minister in 1799. His first assignment was at the Presbyterian church at East Hampton, Long Island. He married Roxana Foote and together they started one of the most prominent families of the nineteenth century. In 1810 the Beechers moved to Litchfield, Connecticut where he served as minister for 16 years.

Of significant concern to New Englanders was slavery and The Second Great Awakening catalyzed the abolitionist movement. Of equal importance were excessive indulgences and in particular alcohol. Reverend Beecher resolved to take a stand against it and in 1826 he delivered and published six sermons on intemperance. He was convinced that,” “Intemperance is the sin of our land, and, with our boundless prosperity, is coming in upon us like a flood; and if anything shall defeat the hopes of the world, which hand upon our experiment of civil liberty, it is that river of fire which is rolling through the land, destroying the vital air and extending around an atmosphere of death.” These published sermons were sent throughout the United States, sold well in England, and burnished his reputation as an influential preacher. In 1826 Beecher was called to Boston's Hanover Church.

In the meantime events were happening in the West. On February 11, 1829, the Ohio Legislature passed  “An Act to Incorporate the Lane Seminary in the County of Hamilton” with 23 trustees headed by Rev. Joshua Wilson. The institution existed in name only however, without professors, students, money or buildings. By September 1830 the viability of the proposed seminary was doubtful so the trustees looked to the East for support. Franklin Vail, an agent of the American Education Society, offered that he could secure $20,000 from Lewis and Arthur Tappan if Lyman Beecher could be persuaded to leave Boston for Cincinnati. As a result On October 22,1830 the Board elected Lyman Beecher President and Professor of Theology though it took two years of negotiations before Beecher was to receive release from his Boston position.

​The Lane Seminary was tied to its indigenous western Presbyterians comprised, mostly of Scotch-Irish Presbyterians who would constitute the heart of the “old school”. The seminary also consisted of New York manual labor enthusiasts and New England evangelical traditionalists, so-called “new school” Presbyterians. It wouldn’t be long before these cultures collided with serious implications for Beecher and the seminary. But that would come later. In 1830 Lyman Beecher had his eyes on the enormous opportunity waiting for him in the Queen City and the burgeoning American west.

About the author: 
Dr. Nicholas Andreadis is a volunteer at the Harriet Beecher Stowe House. He was a professor and dean at Western Michigan University prior to moving to Cincinnati.    ​

Sources:
Scott, Donald: Evangelism, Revivalism, and the Second Great Awakening
Khan Academy: The Second Great Awakening Parts 1-3
Wikipedia: Lyman Beecher. Beecher, Lyman: Six Sermons on Intemperance

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