Thirty-First Week Seventh Grade History Essay

         This week I learned about the Great Awakening, as well as the Salem Witch Trials, which was a big event during this historic time. A major part of the Great Awakening were the people who made it happen. Some of the most notable and important of those people who changed the Thirteen Colonies were Theodore Frelinghuysen, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, and Cotton Matter. I found George Whitefield most interesting and I feel that he made a large difference during this time; therefore, I will write about him and his life.

          First, the Great Awakening was a time in the colonies when they realized that they did not have a real relationship with God. They still went to church and called themselves Christians, but their everyday lives did not follow the rules God laid out for us. The Great Awakening was when pastors started to notice this and try to bring people back to what the colonies were designed for: pastors, such as George Whitefield.

          George Whitefield (pronounced: WIT-feeld) was born in 1714 in Gloucester, England, where he lived for his childhood. His family owned an inn there. However, this inn did not make very much money, which led to George’s family being poor.

          You might wonder how Whitefield was able to go to college when his family did not have enough money to pay for it. Well, Whitefield went by getting a job there, as a server to the wealthy students who went to the school. He used the money that he made to pay for college. While at college, George met the Wesley brothers, who later went off to found the Methodist Church. He and the brothers joined a group called Holy Club.

          In Holy Club, Whitefield became a pastor. He was very diligent, and he said his prayers, and did everything a true Christian was supposed to do. However, he did not have a real relationship with God. One day, he was crying out to God when he suddenly felt peaceful and calm. He felt that he was supposed to go to the colonies and preach to the people there. He knew he was supposed to help them come back to God. That is exactly what he did.

          When Whitefield went to the colonies, he realized the problems with the people’s religion. He also noticed that the colonies were in need of an orphanage. So, he made building an orphanage in the colonies and preaching repentance to the colonists his life’s work. He went back to England and started to raise money for these two things. Whitefield made a total of seven trips to the colonies, and when he died, he was buried there.

          Since Whitefield did not have an assigned church in America, he would preach anywhere he could. This involved the streets, in parks, and in other open areas. One of Whitefield’s gifts from God was his voice. He was known to be a very loud and clear speaker, even without an amplifying machine, which was not even invented yet. It was said that he could be heard from five miles away, which allowed him to speak to thousands of people at a time, with everyone being able to hear perfectly.

          Benjamin Franklin had heard about Whitefield’s teachings and how they changed people, and he wanted to find out for himself if this was true. Franklin went to one of George’s speeches, intending not to give anything to the orphanage George was trying to build. Whitefield’s powerful voice and preaching changed Franklin’s mind. Within the first few minutes of Whitefield’s teaching, Benjamin had given the money in his pocket to the orphanage. A few minutes after that, he gave his buttons on his jacket for the building longing to be built. By the end of Whitefield’s preaching, Benjamin was dedicated to the orphanage and donated much money to it. As a result, he and Whitefield became good friends for life.

          America was also saved by Whitefield. He warned the colonists that King George was going to set up a bishop in America to preach England’s religion. This meant that all the hard work the colonists and their ancestors put in to have their own religion and to believe whatever they wanted would be for nothing. Whitefield, coming from England, knew the king’s plan and told the people to fight back and to not let him do this.

          In conclusion, America owes its religious freedom to George Whitefield. He was a British pastor who was given a gift by God and who changed early America. He helped the colonists come back to Christianity. His orphanage was called Bethesda Orphan House and it still stands today. Bethesda means “House of Mercy” in Aramic. However, it is now called Bethesda Academy and is a boarding school for boys. Today, Whitefield is known as a hero, and he brought America back to what it was supposed to be.