Charles Grandinson Finney

Some politicians today could learn a thing or two about speeches from Charles Grandinson Finney. Finney, known as "the father of modern revivalism", was well known across the nation for his impassioned preaching and prayer. Some of Finney's most intense revivals were in a part of western New York, known as the burned over district because of the religious fires frequently burned there.

Revivalism had a strong impact on the public. According to one estimate, in 1800 just 1 in 15 Americans belonged to a church

Did you know?
People converted by these preachers had to go around to spread the word of personal salvation to others. This religious activism - or evangelism - was part of this overall era of reform in the 1830's.