Discovery and Settlement of the New World 25formity in understanding the will of the Almighty. Obtaining mem-
bership in the church that would allow a male to vote and hold offi ce
involved a lengthy examination to make certain an individual had a
genuine conversion and actually experienced the presence of God. At a
synod in 1662 the clergy established what they called the Halfway
Covenant by which individuals were granted “halfway” status if they
were the grandchildren of “saints,” thereby conferring on them the
right to vote and hold offi ce.
In Quaker-dominated Pennsylvania problems arose over the fact that
Quakers refused to take oaths, insisting that oaths violated the Bible.
This made testimony in legal disputes difficult to obtain; and it com-
plicated the pledging of allegiance to the crown. Moreover, Quakers
were pacifists and refused to engage in warfare against the Indians.
Over time the Quaker-domination of the government in Pennsylvania
evaporated, and William Penn’s “Holy Experiment” came to an end.
A revival of strong religious practice occurred in America in the
middle of the eighteenth century with what is known as the First Great
Awakening. It began around the 1720 s in New England and New Jer-
sey and affected all classes of society and all regions of the country.
Ministers such as Jonathan Edwards in Northampton, Massachusetts;
Theodorus Frelinghuysen in New Jersey; and the young George
Whitefi eld, who came to this country from England in 1739 , preached
salvation to all who would repent and place their trust in Jesus Christ.
Whitefield toured the colonies, mesmerizing those who heard him. He
helped regenerate the revivalistic fervor that swept the country. In
Philadelphia he preached to 10 , 000 who were hungry for salvation.
Jonathan Edwards and other revivalists, called New Lights in New
England, likened humans to the lowest of God’s creatures who were
in desperate need of salvation. In a sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of
an Angry God,” Edwards declared, “The God that holds you over the
pit of hell, much as one holds a spider or some loathsome insect over
the fire... is dreadfully provoked.” Only His mercy stays His hand
from allowing the wicked to fall into hellfire. But unless His creatures
repent and desist from their sinfulness He will surely and utterly de-
stroy them.
This Great Awakening evoked intense emotional outbursts both
from the ministers and from those who heard them. One could hear