Millenarian Prophet

A Skeptical Youth.

William Miller provided the impetus behind one of the most intense periods of millennial expectation in American history. Born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on 15 February 1782 and raised on the Vermont frontier, he grew up in the formative years of the new nation. His father was a veteran of the Revolutionary War, and though his mother was the daughter of a minister, Miller himself was moved early on by the rationalistic, enlightenment principles expounded by some of the most prominent revolutionaries. He proclaimed himself a Deist and rejected Christianity as superstition. When he returned home after service in the War of 1812, however, his attitude had changed. Observing that the United States had won the war despite the failings of many individuals who participated, he concluded that God had played a direct role in his nation's victory. He began attending revival meetings and...