The
Second Great Awakening was a religious
revival movement during the early 19th century in the
United States. The movement began around 1790, gained momentum by 1800 and, after 1820, membership rose rapidly among
Baptist and
Methodist congregations whose preachers led the movement. It was past its peak by the late 1850s. The Second Great Awakening reflected
Romanticism characterized by enthusiasm, emotion, and an appeal to the super-natural. It rejected the skeptical
rationalism and
deism of the
Enlightenment.