The Second Great Awakening in the 19th century was a time of religious revival among Protestant religions. Protestants surrounded their beliefs in the Second Coming of Christ, and felt it was their duty to reform society in order to “hasten the new Kingdom of God.”
Our town, Second Coming, has isolated itself from the outside world to protect it from evil influences other communities may try to inflict upon it. It is self sufficient on agriculture and its government is based on a strict social code that is laid out by the church. The town hall is named after Charles Finney, who played a major role in evangelical reform in the 19th century.Since Charles Finney had a major impact on the founding of our town, the church is Presbyterian and based on protestant beliefs. Protestants believed that “salvation was a matter of individual choice and they needed to repent, confess sins, and accept God’s gift of salvation.” People of the town are expected to adhere to a strict moral code that is based on discipline and self reliance.
The school’s teachings are a product of the religious beliefs of the town. Within the curriculum is the foundation for religious beliefs and salvation that each student must learn. They are also expected to uphold the “basic goodness of human nature” [1] and pass on their teachings to their children, as well as other people.
Since “all reformers believed that the condition of the unfortunate - the poor, the insane, the criminal - would improve in a wholesome environment”[1], insane asylums and prisons were constructed and are located away from the community. Dorothea Dix was at the forefront of this movement, thus our town’s asylum is named after her. “Lazy, sinful, intemperate, or unfit members of society were to be reformed for their own good, whether they wanted to be or not.” [1] Model Prisons built in New York and Philadelphia, were supposed to reform inmates rather than condemn and punish them. Because if this philosophy, prisoners were expected to read the Bible and do work in their own prison cells.[1]
The Second Coming was modeled after self sufficient religious community, whose main goal is to “convert the world and create a perfect moral and religious community on earth.” [1] They did this through social reforms, whose principles are apparent throughout our town.
[1] Faragher et all, Out of Many, p. 242-244.
Well, I liked the group map that your have drawn and it's very interesting because all of the places have famous names. Also, I liked the way that you talked about every place one by one. I liked the way that the town is based on religion. In the reading, the introductino is too short. It should be longer and explain with more detail. I noticed that you used references to do your blog. Also, you don't talk about how your town is going to make money. That's very important to know because your town needs to grow more. Also, you need to talk about how your people from your town are going to be punished since you have a prison on your town but overall for your tonw everything is excellent.
Posted by: Jose Yanez | October 19, 2004 at 12:01 PM
Your group's work was absolutely fantastic. The historical accuracy in your post tells that you worked hard on this assignment. I liked how you named places in your town after people who actually had significant role in your reform. There are some problems, however, with your post. Your group could have explained how you were going to keep the community financially secure. Your group could also have explained where the citizens would work since their community was isolated from the outside world. One other problem is that the introduction is way too short. It would be better if you could lenghten that. Other than that great job.
Posted by: Stuart Oates | October 19, 2004 at 06:21 PM