Second Great Awakening

Apocalyptic Abolitionism & The End of Slavery

May 7, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

In March 1844, Melissa Botsford of Meriden, Connecticut, defiantly left her local Methodist church because it supported slavery and other “sins” that permeated America.

Botsford was among one hundred thousand other abolitionists who abandoned their evangelical churches throughout the decade. These protesters came out with a stern apocalyptic warning: God would soon judge America ― and its churches ― for the sins of slavery and race prejudice. [Read more…] about Apocalyptic Abolitionism & The End of Slavery

The First Baptist Church of Ballston Spa

March 25, 2026 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

In the heart of Ballston Spa, in Saratoga County, NY, on the main thoroughfare of Milton Avenue, sits a stone structure called the First Baptist Church of Ballston Spa.

This edifice, made of gray Vermont marble, was completed in 1896, but the church family goes back to 1791 even before the Village of Ballston Spa was formed. [Read more…] about The First Baptist Church of Ballston Spa

Early Saratoga County Religious Communities: Some History

June 6, 2025 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Throughout Saratoga County’s long history, many religious and spiritual communities have called our home their home, with the land even being sacred to some. This article will highlight the founding of several of Saratoga County’s religious communities through the 19th century, with a focus on Saratoga Springs.

Today, diverse people of faith have joined those long-established denominations to call Saratoga home, including Jewish communities, several Indigenous Cultural Revival Movements, and a Mosque, Masjid Al-Arqam in Halfmoon. All of them play important roles in the Saratoga Community. [Read more…] about Early Saratoga County Religious Communities: Some History

Burned-Over District Documentary Being Produced

March 5, 2025 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

A new trailer for an in-production feature-length documentary film about the Burned-Over District of 19th-century New York State has just been released. Burned Over focuses on Spiritualism, the belief that the living can communicate with the dead, and the Oneida Community, a free love commune.

Both began in 1848 in the Burned-Over District, an area famous as an incubator of radical religious practice and progressive politics, inspired in part by the Second Great Awakening. [Read more…] about Burned-Over District Documentary Being Produced

Wanna Bet? Election Wagering Is Nothing New

September 9, 2024 by John Warren Leave a Comment

Billionaire Peter Thiel-funded Polymarket, an online crypto-based prediction market that accepts bets on electoral outcomes (among other things) is expected to have $1 billion wagered on the presidential race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris by election day.

That may be a record for election wagering, but betting on politics is nothing new. Wagering on election outcomes is probably as old as elections themselves, and was particularly popular in the United States until it was outlawed. [Read more…] about Wanna Bet? Election Wagering Is Nothing New

Social and Religious Movements in Central New York

November 17, 2023 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Central New York communities that flourished with canal-related development and rail connections throughout the 19th century also became hotbeds for religious and social movements of the early 1800s as the area’s population rapidly grew.

Religious freedom granted by the United States Bill of Rights combined with rapid societal and technological changes experienced by Americans living through western expansion fueled an American spiritual movement that was exemplified in the newly opened frontier of New York. [Read more…] about Social and Religious Movements in Central New York

Infidels and Atheists: 1820 Religious Revival in Saratoga County

February 26, 2021 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

The Great Awakening was a wave of increased religious enthusiasm led by evangelical Protestant ministers that first swept through the American Colonies in the 1730s. It made Christianity intensely personal to the average person by fostering a deep sense of spiritual conviction and by encouraging introspection and a commitment to a new standard of personal morality.

While the Great Awakening was very effective in reviving religion, the emotion burned out quickly after the first generation and there was much “back sliding.” By the 1820s conditions were ripe for another round of revival, what became known as the Second Great Awakening. [Read more…] about Infidels and Atheists: 1820 Religious Revival in Saratoga County

Second Great Awakening

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