Whitefield, George
December 16, 1714
Gloucester, England
September 30, 1770
Newburyport, Massachusetts
Evangelical preacher and leader of the Great
Awakening
"I drove 15 mad."
George Whitefield.
George Whitefield (pronounced Whitfield) was an Anglican minister and leader of the early Methodist movement. Although he was ordained in the Anglican Church (also known as the Church of England, the official religion of the country), he preached Calvinist methodism to people of all Christian denominations in England, Scotland, Ireland, and America. (Calvinism is a religion that placed strong emphasis on the supreme power of God, the sinfulness of humankind, and the doctrine of predestination, which states that all human events are controlled by God.) Embarking on a series of evangelical revivals, he used improved transportation and a developing communications network to spread his message. In public he set aside his sweet and gentle personality to become a riveting, even intimidating speaker. Whitefield's dramatic preaching style electrified his audiences and sparked the American evangelical movement known as the Great Awakening.
One of the first public, religious figures to use the press (newspapers) to his own advantage, Whitefield published his journals, sermons, and letters. He directed his secretary to send press releases to newspapers, publicizing his tours and issuingfavorable reports on his miraculous conversion of masses of people.
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