Class project from HUM422 Christianity and American Culture. This covers a general overview and analysis of the nature of the interactions between Christianity and America across a given time period.

2. Famous men of this era
George Washington-General of the Continental Army
and first President of the United States
John Adams- Second President
Thomas Jefferson- Writer of the Declaration of
Independence, Third President
James Madison- Fourth President
Alexander Hamilton- Influential supporter of the U.S.
Constitution.
Benjamin Franklin- Named "The First American" for
his great efforts towards colonial unity. Also first official
postmaster of the USA
"These men, together with several other key
players of their time, structured the American
democracy and left a legacy that has shaped
the world"

3. Quick Timeline of the 1760s.
• February 10, 1763 - French and Indian War ends with peace treaty that cedes Canada and
the American midwest to England. This signals and effectively tightens the control of
Great Britain's colonial administration of North America.
• April 6, 1764 - The Sugar Act places a duty on various commodities, including lumber, food,
molasses, and rum in the British colonies.
• October 7, 1765 - After the establishment of the Stamp Act by the British Government, which
required taxes to pay for British troops, nine American colonies hold a Stamp Act Congress in
New York and adopted a Declaration of Rights against taxation without representation.
• 1767 - Additional levies are put on goods in American colonies by the British Government
when the Townshend Acts are enacted, including levies on glass, painter's lead, paper, and
tea. All would be repealed in three years, except for the tax on tea.

4. Quick Timeline of the 1770's
• June 7, 1776- Richard Henry Lee introduces a resolution to the Congress that
declared the thirteen colonies "free and independent states."
• June 12-27, 1776 Thomas Jefferson drafts a declaration. Jefferson’s draft—now in the
manuscript collections of the Library of Congress—is reviewed by the committee before
being submitted to the Congress.
• July 4, 1776- Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence on the morning of a bright, sunny
but cool, Philadelphia day. John Dunlap prints the Declaration of Independence.
• November 2, 1772 - Samuel Adams organizes the Committee of Correspondence, a forerunner of
the union of American colonies, that begins the American Revolution.
• December 16, 1773- Patriots fling tea into Boston harbor, creating tension.

5. Quick Timeline of the 1780s
• April 30, 1789 - The 1st President, George
Washington, is inaugurated in New York
City. He had been chosen president by all
voting electors.
• September 24, 1789 - The
Federal Judiciary Act is passed,
creating the Supreme Court.
• September 25, 1789 - The Bill of Rights is submitted
to the states by Congress.
• August 17, 1786 - American frontiersman
David "Davy" Crockett is born.
• July 6, 1785 - The United States adopts a
decimal coinage system, with the dollar
overwhelmingly selected as the monetary
unit, the first time any nation has done
so.
• January 14, 1784 - Congress ratifies the final peace
treaty between Great Britain and the United States,
ending the conflict that would give America its
freedom.
• April 15, 1783 - Congress ratifies the preliminary
peace treaty, ending the Revolutionary War.
• June 20, 1782 - The Bald Eagle is adopted
by Congress as the national bird.
The 1780s has often been termed the "CRITICAL PERIOD" for the new nation.

6. Quick Timeline of the 1790s
• January 8, 1790 - The first State of the Union address is given by first president George Washington.
• February 1, 1790 - The Supreme Court of the United States convenes for the initial session.
• March 1, 1790 - Congress commissions the first U.S. census. When completed, it shows that 3,929,214
people lived in the nascent democracy in 1790.
• April 27, 1791 - Samuel Morse, United States inventor, is born. He would later develop the Morse code
for use in the first electric telegraph in the United States.
• March 4, 1797 - John Adams succeeds George Washington as president of the United States
• October 27, 1795 - The Treaty of Madrid is signed, establishing the boundaries between the
Spanish Colonies and the United States.
• March 27, 1794 - The U.S. Government establishes a permanent navy and commissions six vessels to be
built.

7. Fun and Games of this Era
Board Games
The Royall
Most Pleasant Game of the Goose
Cribbage
Backgammon
Card Games
Loo
Whist
Also popular:
Dolls
Billards
Tea sets

8. Scientific Advances
Bifocal Glasses - Benjamin Franklin invented bifocal glasses, because
he was tired of switching between two pairs of glasses.
Cotton Gin - Eli Whitney designed a machine that cleans cotton and
removes its many seeds. This device revolutionized the cotton industry
and it made much of the southern United States very rich.
Carbonated Water - Joseph Priestly experimented with putting gasses in
liquids, producing the first artificially-produced carbonated water.
Battery -Alessandro Volta invented the chemical battery. This provided the
first generator of continuous electric current.

9. Key Event: The Declaration of
Independence
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, THAT
ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL."
• The moment had finally come. Far too much bad blood existed between the colonial leaders and the
crown to consider a return to the past.
• More and more colonists felt deprived by the British not only of their money and their civil liberties, but
their lives as well.
• The radical wing of the Continental Congress was gaining strength with each passing day. It was time
for a formal break with mother England. It was time to declare independence.
• A subcommittee of five, including Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, were selected
to choose the careful wording. The five agreed that Jefferson was the most talented writer.
• The declaration is divided into three main parts. Intent, list of grievances (why independence was
appropriate), and the final paragraph that dissolved ties with Britain.
• If the American effort was successful, they would be hailed as heroes. If it failed, they would be hanged as
traitors.

10. Key Event: The U.S. Constitution
• The Constitution amounted to a
whole new set of rules for organizing
national government and indicates
the intensity of political thought in
the era
• The proposed
national framework
called for a strong
central government
that would have
authority over the
states.
• The proposed Constitution also centrally
involved the people in deciding whether or not
to accept the new plan through a process called
Ratification: which truly called for united states.
Liberty, republicanism, and independence are powerful causes.
Was the fruit of Independence good? The American Revolution produced a new outlook
among its people that would have ramifications long into the future. Groups excluded from
immediate equality such as slaves and women would draw their later inspirations from
revolutionary sentiments. Americans began to feel that their fight for liberty was a global
fight. Future democracies would model their governments on ours. There are few events
that would shake the world order like the success of the American patriotic cause.

11. Culture
The
- Although far from the overwhelming mass-mediated sensual assault
we associate with modern popular culture, on the eve of the
Revolution an emerging common culture had taken shape throughout
the thirteen colonies that would become the United States.
• That popular culture would
explode in the years after the
Revolution.
• Popular culture requires a population sufficiently large to support widespread distribution of consumer
goods, one with enough leisure and income to participate in and enjoy the common culture. Certainly,
these conditions were present in North America by the onset of the Revolution.
• More important than the growth of the
population were the increasing size of
the middle class and the gradual increase
in leisure and income.
• To a degree, even the
lower levels of society
could participate in the
growing consumer
revolution.
Emergence of Popular Culture

12. The impact of Christianity in
the new nation of America
Christianity in America was marked by the First Great Awakening
together with the expansion of the Spanish and Portuguese
empire in the world which spread Catholicism.
1730-1760: The 'Great Awakening' - A revival
movement among Protestants in the USA.
1738: John and Charles Wesley converted.
They lead an Evangelical revival in England
and form the Methodist church.

13. Introduction to Christianity and America
During the era of the Founding Generation, one may often
question:
Was America founded on Christian values and is it a Christian
nation?
The sad reality is that although our Founding Fathers
professed to be Christian, many were not. They practiced
religion rather than a relationship with God.

14. In fact, “Our founding
fathers explicitly and clearly
excluded any reference to
"God" or "the Almighty" or
any euphemism for a higher
power in the Constitution.
Not one time is the word
"god" mentioned in our
founding documents. Not
one time." (Faith Facts).

15. Quotes by the Founding Fathers
regarding Christianity
"The government of the United
States is not, in any sense,
founded on the Christian
religion." --John Adams
What has been Christianity's fruits?:
Superstition, Bigotry, and Persecution.
-James Madison
The United States is not a Christian
nation anymore than a Jewish or
Mohammedan nation.-John Adams
Christianity neither is nor ever was a
part of the common law. -Thomas
Jefferson
I do not find in Christianity one
redeeming feature. It is founded on
fables and mythology.-Thomas
Jefferson
It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God
and the Bible. -George Washington
Christianity is the most perverted system that ever
shone on man. -Thomas Jefferson

16. Religion of the Founding Fathers
All were Protestant and originated from three
distinct Protestant backgrounds. These were the
following:
Anglican: George Washington, John Jay, Edward
Rutledge
Presbyterian: Richard Stockton, Rev. John
Witherspoon
Congregational: John Adams, Samuel Adams
Often times it is debated whether or not we were founded to be a Christian nation. Whatever the
case, our founding generation came from similar religious backgrounds.

17. Religion of Founding Fathers, ctd.
Most of our founders seemed to be Orthodox Christian, baptized,
and practiced church attendees.
However, a school of religious thought opened the door to
confusion in an idea called deism.
Deism says that human experience rather than religious belief is
what determines human belief. God was seen as the "Nature
God" completely disconnected from his Creation.
This dominated the beliefs of many of our founding fathers,
influencing our government as well as our universities.

18. American concepts: Original or
borrowed from Christianity?
"The notion of the sovereign authority of God (as mentioned in the
Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, all 50 state
constitutions, our currency, etc.)--rather than the sovereignty of the state--
is certainly biblical.
The existence of moral absolutes (a biblical concept) is an
important idea in our Declaration of Independence--specifically, self-
evident truths and unalienable rights from the Creator. Many other
aspects of our laws come directly from the Bible--for example the judicial,
legislative and executive branches trace to Isaiah 33:22.

19. American concepts, ctd.
“Fair trials with witnesses have numerous
Old and New Testament support. Regarding
civil liberty, founding father John Adams
(and others) emphasized 2 Corinthians
3:17 as the basis for American civil liberty.
The slogan on the Liberty Bell
is “Proclaim Liberty throughout the land
unto all the inhabitants thereof.” This is from
Leviticus 5:10.
Kennedy and Newcombe argue that Jesus
himself was the greatest civil libertarian of
all time (Us history).”

20. US Constitution
The Constitution of the United States of America makes zero reference to a god
or Christianity.​
The only reference to religion, found in Article
VI, is a negative one: "[N]o religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification
to any Office or public Trust under the United States." And of course we have the
First Amendment, which states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." (1).​
The reason God was not mentioned in the Constitution is that our Founding
Fathers did not believe religion should be associated with the government.

21. The Constitution
America's first constitution was the
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut.
The Puritan framers of this document
required that each aspect of it be
grounded in Scripture. Other
constitutions to follow contained
many similarities to this one. At least
50 of the 55 signers of the U.S.
Constitution were orthodox
Christians.

22. The Constitution ctd.
There is no doubt that the concept of our
Constitutional checks and balances
system is a direct result of the biblical
doctrine of the sinfulness of mankind. All
of our founders understood the
importance of this doctrine to the social
order. America's foundational idea of The
Rule of Law rather than the authority of
man traces back to the Old Testament,
beginning with the Ten Commandments.
The idea that all men are created equal
as enshrined in the Declaration of
Independence is a biblical doctrine (US
history)."

23. Owning Private Property
Private property rights can be traced to the
Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:15,
17 (Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not
covet.")--as well as other passages from
the Old and New Testaments. Interestingly,
there are over 700 references to money in
the Bible!
It is noteworthy that Adam Smith's Wealth
of Nations was written in 1776, the same
year as the birth of America. But many
historians credit theologian John Calvin
from 200 years earlier as the person who
is most responsible for putting together the
principles that were always in the Bible
into a system adapted by the American
founders. For example, the biblical
doctrines of self-reliance and self-
denial are the foundation of the famous
"Protestant work ethic." These doctrines
are at the heart of our economic (and
political) way of life (Britannica).

24. Evangelism and the Great Awakening
(1714-1760)
During the late 1700s, evangelism played an incredible role in
religious America. Books printed by the Puritans allowed for
Christianity to spread. During the Great Awakening of the 1740s,
whites were proselytizing to blacks, odd for this time as racism and
slavery were in full effect.
One of the greatest evangelists of the 18th century George
Whitfield brought thousands of souls to Christ in one of the greatest
conversion experiences called The Great Awakening.

25. The Great Awakening, ctd.
Whitefield's preaching tour of the colonies,
from 1739 to 1741, was the high-water mark of
the Great Awakening there. A sermon in
Boston attracted as many as 30,000 people.
Whitefield's success has been attributed to his
resonant voice, theatrical presentation,
emotional stimulation, message simplification
and clever exploitation of emerging advertising
techniques. Some have compared him to
modern televangelists (Britannica)."

26. The Great Awakening, ctd.
During the Great Awakening, revival was
brought to America. Other evangelists such
as Jonathan Edwards and Charles Wesley
stressed God's divine judgment and
punishment to bring the American people to
repentance. Jonathan Edward's famous
sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry
God, is seen to be one of the most influential
religious works in American history.

27. 1) God has always
been at the center.
The Big ‘Takeaways’ of this period
3) The Constitution brought up the morals we stand by today.
2) Evangelism was welcomed by the
Great Awakening.
4) America has and always will be a
nation ‘under God, indivisible, with
liberty and justice for all.”

28. How Christianity affected the
Revolutionary War (1775-
1783)“Religious beliefs also greatly influenced the
Patriots. In fact, the war might not have
been nearly as popular without the influence
of preachers, many of whom called for
independence from the pulpit” (Larson).
“Most colonists saw
themselves as Christians in
the Puritan tradition.
Baptists also played an
important role, with nearly
unanimous support for the
Patriot cause” (Larson).
“Part of the liberty they wanted to preserve was their religious freedom. Many Americans
believed that the English church was sinful and corrupt. If the colonies remained part of Britain,
they might someday have to join the Anglican Church. Thus, fighting for independence was
fighting against sin and for freedom of religion”(Larson).

29. How the large events of the 1760s-1790s
impacted history
American culture
This was a crucial era in determining what
American culture actually was. Without the
control of England, the States were free to
create the society they wanted.
The Revolutionary War freed the States from
overseas control. With this freedom, they
expanded rapidly and prosperously.
Christianity
By not specifically including ‘God’ in our
Constitution, our government set the
precedent for being very religiously tolerant.
Colonial America had a bend toward a moral
society, one that might have expected many
to go to church and have high standards.
This ‘Christian’ or ‘religious’ bend affected
society for many generations.

30. How 1760-1790 impacted history
American culture
The American democracy was created,
and the constitution established.
The standards for all future presidents
were set with the presidency of the loved
George Washington.
Christianity
Many did, as many continue to do,
practiced religion instead of a real
relationship with Jesus. The founding
fathers made it okay for leaders to not
necessarily be evangelical Christians.
Set the precedent for leaders with different
faiths to work together for the good of the
nation.

31. The impact of an era
American culture
Established the governmental offices of
Congress, the Supreme Court, the Navy,
the Army and many other national
symbols, titles, and jobs that affect daily
American life.
Established how influential the government
could be versus what role the state could
take in the life of the individual.
Christianity
Established the Bible as an important book
with wisdom for life, as several key
concepts in our government could have
come from Biblical concepts.
Established the freedom of religion and did
not require governmental office holders to
take a test of religion.

32. How did this era really affect those of
us living in America today?
American culture
Even though the founders were not
necessarily all believers, this era did see
much Christian influence in many aspects
of government.
This helped as our new nation strove to be
different from England and tolerant of
religion, but at the same time a model for
brand- new independent nations to follow.
Christianity
Established the oft- debated concept of
separation of church and state.
Established how influential religious
groups can be in swaying what happens in
the government.
Established what revival and ‘tent
meetings’ really meant to America.

33. This era set the precedent for
religious toleration
“By the end of the colonial
period, people had become
more tolerant of religious
differences. Many different
religious groups existed
together in the same
communities and people
became used to living and
working with others who held
religious beliefs” ( Hakim ).

34. Religious Toleration ctd.
“In some of the colonies, most notably in New
England, many people had become less strict
about their own religious beliefs and were
more willing to accept different points of view.
Consequently, with an increased tolerance of
religious differences there came greater
demands for genuine religious freedom…”
(Hakim).
“By the time of the ratification of the
Constitution and Bill of Rights, there was a
widely held belief that the federal government
should not be allowed to establish an official
church for the nation. Many agreed that an
established church was harmful to religion
and bad for the nation” ( Hakim ).
The Founding Generation set a precedent that
America was to be a nation where every religion
was accepted. This has carried on even until
today. Some discrimination still happens, but this
is a MAJOR way that the founding generation
set up how the country would react for
generations to come of differing religions,
viewpoints, ethical backgrounds, etc.
America has always been known as the land of
freedom, and this carries on into the delicate
world of religion.

35. The impact this era had
on the Church
1. Allowed for even more freedom to believe
differently. The fear of England was gone,
and so were any religious ties to that nation.
2. Morality and Christianity became popular as
people fought for religious reasons and
created a nation that was bent towards
morality.
3. Did not necessarily encourage widespread
church attendance as it allowed for other
faiths to grow as well.

36. Our
Group’s
Analysis of
the impact
of
Christianity
on the
United
States of
America
America was heavily influenced by
Christianity from its people to its
government to its churches to its
schools.
Even though the founders
practiced legalism and
religiosity rather than a living
relationship with God,
America was still founded on
Christian principles such
equality and liberty among
many others.

37. Works Cited
"American History." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d.
Web. 17 June 2015
Bio.com A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 17 June 2015.
"Declaring Independence: Drafting the Documents Timeline." Timeline.
N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2015.
"Eighteenth Century Inventors and Inventions"
EnchantedLearning.com N.p. N.d. Web. June 17, 2015
"Faith Facts." Christian Apologetics, Spiritual, Truth about God -. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 28 June 2015

38. "Faith Facts." Christian Apologetics, Spiritual, Truth about God -. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 28 June 2015
History.org The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's Official
History and Citizenship Website N.p. N.d. Web. June 17,
2015
Larson, Rachel C., PhD. "Independence for the Colonies."
Introduction. The American Republic. 3rd ed. Greenville, South
Carolina: BJU, 2010. 92-93. Print.
Schweitzer, Jeff. "Founding Fathers." Huffingtonpost.com. N.p., n.d.
Web.
"The Founding Fathers, Deism, and Christianity." Encyclopedia
Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 28 June 2015
"US History." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web.
28 June 2015.