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CHAPTER 4: THE FORMATION OF A NATIONAL GOVERNMENTIn the Appalachian region, the revival took on characteristics similarto the Great Awakening of the previous century. But here, the center of therevival was the camp meeting, a religious service of several days’ length, fora group that was obliged to take shelter on the spot because of the distancefrom home. Pioneers in thinly populated areas looked to the camp meetingas a refuge from the lonely life on the frontier. The sheer exhilaration ofparticipating in a religious revival with hundreds and perhaps thousandsof people inspired the dancing, shouting, and singing associated with theseevents. Probably the largest camp meeting was at Cane Ridge, Kentucky, inAugust 1801; between 10,000 and 25,000 people attended.The great revival quickly spread throughout Kentucky, Tennessee, andsouthern Ohio, with the Methodists and the Baptists its prime beneficiaries.Each denomination had assets that allowed it to thrive on the frontier. TheMethodists had a very efficient organization that depended on ministers —known as circuit riders — who sought out people in remote frontier locations.The circuit riders came from among the common people and possessed arapport with the frontier families they hoped to convert. The Baptists hadno formal church organization. Their farmer-preachers were people whoreceived “the call” from God, studied the Bible, and founded a church, whichthen ordained them. Other candidates for the ministry emerged from thesechurches, and established a presence farther into the wilderness. Using suchmethods, the Baptists became dominant throughout the border states andmost of the South.The Second Great Awakening exercised a profound impact on Americanhistory. The numerical strength of the Baptists and Methodists rose relativeto that of the denominations dominant in the colonial period — Anglicans,Presbyterians, and Congregationalists. The growing differenceswithin American Protestantism reflected the growth and diversity of anexpanding nation.Andrew Jackson, president from 1829 to 1837. Charismatic, forceful,and passionate, Jackson forged an effective political coalition withinthe Democratic Party with Westerners, farmers, and working people.TRANSFORMINGA N A T I O NA P I C T U R E P R O F I L EThe United States transformed itself again in the 19th andearly 20th centuries. A rural, agricultural nation became anindustrial power whose backbone was steel and coal, railroads,and steam power. A young country once bound by the MississippiRiver expanded across the North American continent, and on tooverseas territories. A nation divided by the issue of slavery andtested by the trauma of civil war became a world power whoseglobal influence was first felt in World War I.88 89