Editing First Great Awakening (section)

===Whitefield, Tennent, and Davenport===
George Whitefield first came to America in 1738 to serve at [[Christ Church (Savannah, Georgia)|Christ Church]] in Savannah and found [[Bethesda Orphanage]]. Whitefield returned to the Colonies in November 1739. His first stop was in Philadelphia, where he initially preached at [[Christ Church, Philadelphia|Christ Church]], Philadelphia's Anglican Church, and then preached to a large outdoor crowd from the courthouse steps. He then preached in many Presbyterian churches.{{Sfn|Ahlstrom|2004|p=271}} From Philadelphia, Whitefield traveled to New York and then to the South. In the Middle Colonies, he was popular in the Dutch and German communities as well as among the British. Lutheran pastor [[Henry Muhlenberg]] told of a German woman who heard Whitefield preach and, though she spoke no English, later said she had never before been so edified.{{Sfn|Ahlstrom|2004|p=283}}

In 1740, Whitefield began touring New England. He landed in Newport, Rhode Island, on September 14, 1740, and preached several times in the Anglican church. He then moved on to Boston, Massachusetts, where he spent a week. There were prayers at [[King's Chapel]] (at the time an Anglican church) and preaching at [[Brattle Street Church]] and [[Old South Meeting House|South Church]].{{Sfn|Ahlstrom|2004|p=284}} On September 20, Whitefield preached at [[First Church in Boston|First Church]] and then outside of it to about 8,000 people who could not gain entrance. The next day, he preached outdoors again to about 15,000 people.{{Sfn|Caldwell|2017|p=14}} On Tuesday, he preached at [[Second Church, Boston|Second Church]] and on Wednesday at [[Harvard University]]. After traveling as far as Portsmouth, New Hampshire, he returned to Boston on October 12 to preach to 30,000 people before continuing his tour.{{Sfn|Ahlstrom|2004|p=284}}

Whitefield then traveled to Northampton at the invitation of Jonathan Edwards. He preached twice in the parish church, and Edwards was so moved that he wept. He then spent time in New Haven, Connecticut, where he preached at Yale University. From there, he traveled down the coast, reaching New York on October 29. Whitefield's assessment of New England's churches and clergy prior to his intervention was negative. "I am verily persuaded," he wrote, "the Generality of Preachers talk of an unknown, unfelt Christ. And the Reason why Congregations have been so dead, is because dead Men preach to them."{{Sfn|Ahlstrom|2004|p=284}}

Whitefield met Gilbert Tennent on Staten Island and asked him to preach in Boston to continue the revival there. Tennent accepted and, in December, began a three-month-long preaching tour throughout New England. Besides Boston, Tennent preached in towns throughout Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Like Whitefield's, Tennent's preaching produced large crowds, many conversions, and much controversy. While antirevivalists such as [[Timothy Cutler]] heavily criticized Tennent's preaching, most of Boston's ministers were supportive.{{Sfn|Ahlstrom|2004|p=285}}

Tennent was followed in the summer of 1741 by itinerant minister [[James Davenport (clergyman)|James Davenport]], who proved to be more controversial than either Tennent or Whitefield. His rants and attacks against "unconverted" ministers inspired much opposition, and he was arrested in Connecticut for violating a law against itinerant preaching. At his trial, he was found mentally ill and deported to Long Island. Soon after, he arrived in Boston and resumed his fanatical preaching, only to once again be declared insane and expelled. The last of Davenport's radical episodes took place in March 1743 in New London, when he ordered his followers to burn wigs, cloaks, rings, and other vanities. He also ordered the [[burning of books]] by religious authors such as [[John Flavel]] and [[Increase Mather]].{{Sfn|Ahlstrom|2004|p=285}} Following the intervention of two pro-revival "[[Old and New Light|New Light]]" ministers, Davenport's mental state apparently improved, and he published a [[Retractions in academic publishing|retraction]] of his earlier excesses.{{Sfn|Ahlstrom|2004|p=286}}

Whitefield, Tennent, and Davenport would be followed by a number of both clerical and lay itinerants. However, the Awakening in New England was primarily sustained by the efforts of [[Parish church|parish]] ministers. Sometimes revival would be initiated by regular preaching or the customary [[pulpit]] exchanges between two ministers. Through their efforts, New England experienced a "great and general Awakening" between 1740 and 1743, characterized by a greater interest in religious experience, widespread emotional preaching, and intense emotional reactions accompanying conversion, including fainting and weeping.{{Sfn|Ahlstrom|2004|p=286}} There was a greater emphasis on prayer and devotional reading, and the Puritan ideal of converted church membership was revived. It is estimated that between 20,000 and 50,000 new members were admitted to New England's Congregational churches even as expectations for members increased.{{Sfn|Ahlstrom|2004|p=287}}

By 1745, the Awakening had begun to wane. Revivals would continue to spread to the southern backcountry and slave communities in the 1750s and 1760s.{{Sfn|Smith|2015|p=2}}