26 a short history of the united states
“screaming, singing, laughing, praying all at once,” with people experi-
encing convulsions and falling into trances. It was not uncommon for
an audience to become so aroused that it bordered on frenzy. Many of
these preachers were itinerants and insisted that there must be a direct
and close connection between the sinner and God, thus undermin-
ing the authority of the resident clergy. This individual and personal
relationship was necessary for salvation, they argued, not the ministra-
tion of preachers. Preachers emphasized the fact that individuals alone
were responsible for their final end. Without doubt, the promotion of
individualism was one of the important effects of the Great Awaken-
ing. Another was its antiauthoritarianism, which permanently altered
and diminished the power of resident ministers in both religious and
secular affairs. Still another important effect was that it fostered the
founding of new colleges to provide an education which would help
individuals achieve salvation as well as to train New Light ministers.
Such schools as Princeton, Dartmouth, Brown, Rutgers, and Colum-
bia were established, and Jonathan Edwards himself became the presi-
dent of Princeton.
By the 1770 s, the fervor of the Great Awakening began to fade, but
it succeeded in convincing Americans that they had a choice in religion
and that it was up to them to earn their salvation. Such ideas carried
into the political realm as well. Colonists reckoned that their govern-
ment should be grounded in the will of the people, that they had a
choice in the kind of government they wanted, the kind of government
that suited their needs.
The British royal authority in London failed to provide the
colonies in America with regular direction, and as the settlers moved
farther west they encountered problems that required immediate solu-
tions. The Indians and the invading French from Canada in the west-
ern country resisted English encroachment, and so the colonists were
obliged to attend to this problem themselves and conduct their own
affairs without outside guidance, instruction, or contradiction. Thus
they relied on their own assemblies to address their concerns and pass
the necessary legislation to resolve them. Since they believed they were
unrepresented in Parliament, they felt justified in raising taxes to oper-