Burned-over district

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The burned-over district was a name coined by historian Whitney Cross in a 1950 book to describe an area in central and western New York during the Second Great Awakening. The name was given because the area was so heavily evangelized during the revivalism of antebellum America so as to have no fuel (unconverted population) left to burn (convert). When religion is related to reform movements of the period, such as abolition, women's rights, and utiopian social experiments, the region expands to include areas of central New York that were important to the aforementioned reform movements.

Western New York still had a frontier quality during the early canal boom, making professional and established clergy scarce, lending the piety of the area many of the self-taught qualities that proved susceptible to folk religion. Besides producing many mainline Protestant converts, especially in nonconformist sects, the area spawned a number of innovative religious movements, all founded by lays during the early 19th century. These include:

Mormonism (whose main branch is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Joseph Smith, Jr. lived in the area and claimed to have been led by the angel Moroni to golden plates from which he translated the Book of Mormon near Palmyra, New York.
The Millerites. William Miller was a farmer who lived in Low Hampton, New York, who preached that the literal Second Coming would occur "October 22, 1844." Millerism became extremely popular in western New York State. Other groups, including Sabbatarian Adventists and Advent Christians, remained active in the region during the late 1840s and 1850s.
The Fox sisters of Hydesville, New York conducted the first table-rapping séances in the area, leading to the American movement of Spiritualism (centered in Lily Dale) that taught communication with the dead.
The Shakers were very active in the area, with several of their communal farms located there.
The Oneida Society was a large sectarian group that established a successful community in central New York that subsequently disbanded. It was known for its unique interpretation of group marriage which had mates chosen by committee and offspring of the community raised in common.
Finney himself preached at many revivals in the area. His preaching style was an early precursor of Pentecostalism which emphasized a living, practical faith marked by emphasis of the Holy Spirit over formal theology.

In addition to religious activity, the region including the burned-over district was famous for social radicalism. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the early feminist, was a resident of Seneca Falls, New York in central New York where she and others in the community initiated the seminal Seneca Falls Convention devoted to women's suffrage.

The larger region was the main source of converts to the Fourierist utopian socialist movement. The Skaneateles Community in central New York was such an experiment. The Oneida Society, likewise in central New York, was also considered a utopian group. Related to radical reform, central New York provided many members of Hunters' Lodges, some of whom volunteered to invade Canada during the Patriot War.

[edit] References

Glenn C. Altschuler, Jan M. Saltzgaber: Revivalism social conscience, and community in the Burned-over District. The trial of Rhoda Bement. Cornell University Press, Ithaca NY 1983 (online version)
Cross, Whitney, (1950) R. The Burned-Over District: The Social and Intellectual History of Enthusiastic Religion in Western New York, 1800–1850.