The Protestant Revival

The Protestant Revival was a movement in the 19th century that pushed change in the behavior in society such as alcohol consumption, slavery, celibacy and more. The average annual alcohol consumption per capita in the 19th century was about 7 gallons. That is over twice the amount now a days. The Revival responded to this by promoting freedom. Freedom was meant as the freedom of the temptation to sin, rather than the freedom to sin. Slavery was also a big topic of the movement. The radical abolitionists preached to the north that slavery was a sin and that all men should be free and have equal rights. This lead to 100,000 northerners to be allied with the anti-slavery society. Lastly, the movement promoted celibacy. Many "utopian" societies broke off from the new industrialized market economy so that they can practice their own ways. One of the groups was the Shakers, who practiced celibacy. They had equality between men and women and was one of the most successful utopian societies. This was what the Protestant Revival was all about.

This photo shows the Shakers dancing, a custom they practiced to help suppress their "libidinous urges"