jenk

So several folks have noted on

dark_christian that Bush is talking about a "Third Awakening", or religious revival, in America.

Personally I thought we'd already had a third awakening. According to Slate, that's the case. In fact, they published an article (with references) on the three American "awakenings" that historians generally agree HAVE OCCURRED ALREADY and the fourth which is being debated.

The First Great Awakening took place in the mid-1700s, during the heyday of Jonathan Edwards, of fire-and-brimstone (not Two Americas) fame.

The Second Great Awakening, led by New Englanders like Harriet Beecher Stowe's father Lyman Beecher, helped fuel the abolition movement. Bush alluded to that awakening yesterday, suggesting that his base was a lot like Lincoln's – Abraham, not Chafee. Just as many of Lincoln's strongest supporters were deeply religious people "who saw life in terms of good and evil" and slavery as evil, Bush said his strongest supporters feel the same way toward terrorism. The Mormon Church also emerged during this period, but went on to become part of Bush's base, not Lincoln's.

The Third Great Awakening, in the late 19th Century, helped fuel the social reforms of the Progressive Era, and emboldened reformers of all stripes, such as William Jennings Bryan, Carrie Nation, and Mary Baker Eddy. Bush did not claim any of them as his base.

A Fourth Great Awakening has been argued by Robert Fogel in his book.