Long before radio or the internet, news of religious revival travelled remarkably quickly. During the First Great Awakening in the 1730s and 1740s, reports of revival moved between towns, colonies and even across the Atlantic. Historians have paid close attention to how this happened, because the methods used help explain why the revivals felt like a single movement to many people at the time.
This article looks at the main channels: newspapers and printers, published accounts and sermons, letters, and the travelling preachers who linked them all together.
Newspapers and printers
Colonial newspapers were small, weekly publications, but they were widely shared and read aloud. Revival news made good copy. Reports of large crowds, notable conversions and the arrival of famous preachers appeared in papers in several colonies.
George Whitefield, the English preacher whose tours of the American colonies began in 1739, was unusually aware of publicity. He and his supporters supplied information to printers, and his preaching schedule was often announced in advance, which helped draw crowds.
Whitefield and Benjamin Franklin
One of the best-known connections is between Whitefield and Benjamin Franklin. Franklin, a Philadelphia printer, did not share Whitefield's theology, but the two became friends. Franklin printed Whitefield's sermons and journals, and in his autobiography he described hearing Whitefield preach in Philadelphia and being impressed by how far his voice carried. The partnership benefited both: Whitefield's message reached more readers, and Franklin sold popular publications.
Published accounts of revival
Narratives describing revivals in particular places were important in shaping expectations elsewhere. Jonathan Edwards's account of the revival in Northampton, Massachusetts, published in the 1730s and commonly known as A Faithful Narrative, was read in both America and Britain. It described what a revival looked like and how individuals experienced conversion.
Readers in other communities could compare their own experiences with these accounts. In this way, print helped create a shared vocabulary and a shared set of expectations about revival.
Printed sermons and journals
Sermons were a major genre of colonial publishing. Revival preachers' sermons were printed and sold, allowing people who had never heard them in person to read their words. Whitefield's published journals, which recorded his travels and preaching, also served as a kind of serial report on the progress of the revival.
Critics of the revivals used print as well. Pamphlets debating the merits and dangers of revival preaching circulated widely, and these disputes kept the subject in public view.
Letters and transatlantic networks
Ministers and lay supporters exchanged letters describing revivals in their areas. These letters were sometimes read aloud at meetings or reprinted in collections and periodicals. Evangelical networks connected New England, the Middle Colonies, Scotland and England, so news of revival in one place could encourage prayer and expectation in another.
Travelling preachers as connectors
Itinerant preachers carried news in person. When a well-known preacher arrived in a town, he brought reports of what had happened elsewhere, and local supporters often organised meetings and publicity ahead of time. Itinerancy and print reinforced each other: printed reports built anticipation for visits, and visits generated new reports.
The Second Great Awakening
By the early nineteenth century, the number of newspapers and religious periodicals had grown considerably. Denominations published their own magazines, and religious publishing and tract societies distributed large quantities of literature. Camp meetings and revivals on the frontier were reported in this expanding religious press, and organised networks of voluntary societies helped spread both revival and reform causes.
Why the methods mattered
- Print allowed revival to be experienced by people who were not present.
- Shared accounts created common expectations about conversion and revival.
- Publicity helped preachers draw large crowds.
- Public debate in print kept religious questions at the centre of community life.
Bottom line
The Great Awakenings were not only a matter of preaching. They depended on a network of printers, writers, letter-writers and travelling ministers who carried news from place to place. Understanding that network helps explain how local revivals came to be seen as part of a larger movement.