J. Edwin Orr combines scholarship and his lifelong passion for revival in this thorough treatment of the revival of 1857-58. Revival was the focus of both his professional and personal life. Orr, was a Christian who, his friends could say, had a “consistent walk with God” (viii) and carried a “long-time burden for world-wide revival” (vii). He earned three doctorates for the purpose of credibly recording the work of God in revival. His book, The Event of the Century,¹ is the culmination of these efforts and records the Great American Awakening of 1857-58.  A man of tremendous resolve, Orr overcame numerous obstacles and often worked in obscurity with few resources. In spite of this, he left a body of work on revival which other men, equipped with superior resources, were unable to accomplish.

J. Edwin Orr begins this book by defining terms and then introduces the moral decline and cultural milieu of mid-nineteenth century America which served as a prelude to the revival. America’s economy was booming (2), and the nation was experiencing an unprecedented time of expansion. With California’s recent annexation into the union following the settlement of the Mexican American war in 1848 and the Gold Rush of 1849, business became the primary concern of most Americans.  This boom mentality coupled with scandals and swindling and increased tension over the slavery question “hurt the spiritual concerns of (church) members . . . as their energy was switched to accumulation of riches, and other things, including worship, took the lesser place” (7). The social climate was reflected in President Buchanan’s 1857 inaugural address’s reference “to a corruption which thrived when love of money had usurped the proper place of public virtue, thus producing ‘a race of speculators and jobbers’”(7).

Orr refutes the notion that this awakening was nothing more than a reaction of businessmen to the bank crisis of 1857. He explains that awakening began in Canada where the bank crisis in America had little effect, and it appeared early among dispossessed slaves in the southern states. Early in 1857 in Ontario, the Presbyterian Synod of Kingston was calling for an addition of the preaching of the word to the already occurring concerts of prayer (23). In mid September of 1857, “encouraging news” (26) of numerous conversions began to spread so that “The Christian Guardian of October 28, 1857, published a report entitled ‘A Revival after Apostolic Times’”(27) in which three hundred converts were reported as having come to Christ in the previous two weeks. Furthermore, Orr shows that “as early as October of 1857″ (41), revival had already reportedly begun “in Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas” (41) among the community within the United States which would be least affected by the banking crisis, southern slaves.

Orr also points out that there was an occurrence of spontaneous union prayer meetings all over the nation from the later part of 1857 into the spring of 1858. One of these, the Fulton Street meeting, which gained national attention was among the first. It showed how deeply the Holy Spirit was moving within Christians to pray. This meeting was begun by layman Jeremiah Lanphier on September 23, 1857. Lanphier passed out pamphlets to the surrounding business community inviting the businessmen and clerks to join him for prayer at twelve noon. Only six arrived the first week, twenty the second week, forty the third week, and by October 14, the day the banks in New York closed, more than one hundred were in attendance. Soon after, all over New York City, noontime businessmen prayer meetings were springing up.  By mid February the New York press had begun to take notice, and soon the reports of the revival happening in New York spread nation wide. Orr shows through his meticulous attention to denominational and press records that, while New York’s prayer meetings were the best-known, they were not the first, nor was New York the only city experiencing revival. Revival was breaking out simultaneously nationwide in America’s cities, and would soon spread to every corner of the nation. Laymen were organizing morning, noon, and evening prayer meetings in Philadelphia, Chicago, and in small towns across the nation. By geographic region Orr shows the statistical gains interspersed with anecdotal evidence of denominations and churches rushing to keep up with new converts and inquirers.

Orr shows that this revival had diversified reach and long-lasting impact, illustrated by its effect within the varied communities on college campuses, the slave and free African-American population, the British protectorates in the Caribbean, and soldiers in the Union and Confederate Armies during the War between the States. Colleges across the nation, both well-known and obscure, recorded instances of student prayer meetings leading to conversions and increased enrollments in ministerial studies. Within the black community churches were filled with congregants calmly praying and repenting before God. The impact of the awakening on the African-American community was remarkable in that, before this revival, only 11 percent of its population was Christian, but after, this number would increase to 44 percent becoming Christian — a ratio roughly equivalent to the rest of the general Christian population (202). This numerical increase of Protestant Christianity among American blacks equaled the total increase of Christians in all of Asia and Africa during the same period of 1860-1914 (202). Similar gains were reported in Jamaica and other Caribbean islands, where revival swept in 1859-60. Most remarkable is how this revival impacted troops who were engaged in the Civil War. These men were captivated by the Spirit of God in camp meetings that, unlike in times past, were free from demonstrations of phenomena, and untold numbers of soldiers came to know Christ through their service in both the Union and Confederate Armies. Log chapels were built by confederate troops (227), and, in spite of the lack of a Confederate Chaplaincy (230), officers and civilian volunteers (229) gathered together and conducted united prayer meetings which, without preaching, altar calls, or other visible human means, resulted in numerous conversions (232).

This revival was peculiar in that it received almost unanimous acclaim from the secular press, so much so, that the press may have possibly aided the spread of the union prayer meetings across the nation. It was also remarkable because of the near lack of opposition from within theological and denominational circles. Opposition arose only from those who held non-evangelical theological positions. In fact, the unity and cooperation among denominations must be pointed to as one of the unique marks of this awakening. This revival affected every territory and social class within the union. More than in times past, this awakening in particular won large numbers of businessmen and heads of families to the cause of Christ.

Orr concludes the book by offering commentary on scholarly opinion immediately preceding the event as compared with that which became common after World War I. Orr’s argument is that the Great Awakening of 1857-58 was one of the most remarkable in history. He proposes that this was a common view of those who experienced the event first-hand as shown by concurrent newspaper and journal articles extending for fifty years following the event (337). He proposes that later historians attacked it because their personal philosophy or theology prevented them from accepting this awakening as the near-perfect example of an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that it was (337). Orr contends that a proper understanding of this awakening can be obtained if one carefully looks to the records of the time without an anti-evangelical bias.

Orr does possibly overreach in stating his conclusions. As an evangelical who had experienced and given his life to the study of revival, those outside evangelical circles might question his conclusions. While he does approach his topic with certain presuppositions a bias is not readily detectable. He attempts to base his conclusions on data which his research has uncovered and not his on suppositions.

J. Edwin Orr’s purpose for writing this book was to provide a definitive history of the 1857-58 awakening in North America (ix). He desired to contrast the disparity between the scholarly treatment given this awakening in the near past with that which preceded more closely the actual event (337). The revival followed a process: it began with meetings of prayer which continued with manifestations of confession and repentance (178) leading to conversion. There was no visiting, no preacher, no coercion of any type. Indeed, it was said that “this religious awakening had sprung from the labor of no great man or great preacher” (337). Individuals simply came to pray, confess and were converted. Clearly this was one of the most awesome manifestations of God’s sovereignty in America.

This “event of the century” (338) was not a reaction to the bank crisis of 1857 (19), but it was a spontaneous outpouring from God upon his people who were simultaneously moved to confess their own sins as well as the sins of their nation, especially avarice (7), and to seek after God. While the crash of 1857 may be considered a factor in the outpouring of revival, it was certainly not the factor which led directly to the revival. This can be proven by taking note of the delay between the crash and recovery (21) and the blossoming of intercessory prayer meetings in 1858. When properly understood, this awakening should be seen as a most incredible act of a sovereign God. It prepared America for the coming social disjunction of civil war (237) and advanced Christ’s name within her growing population (326). It renewed the impetus toward missionary movements (307) and increased social consciousness. Particularly the fruits of this revival brought about a great increase in the number of Christians within the African-American community which greatly impacted America during the War Between the States and one might argue continued to bear fruit during the Civil Rights Movement a century later.

A strength of the book is Orr’s contradiction of the conventional wisdom that Jonathan Edwards’ theocentric view of revival represents the official Calvinist’s position, and that Charles Finney’s anthrocentric view of revival represents the official Wesleyan position (xiii). In fact Orr borrows his definition of revival from George Smith, an authorized historian who in 1857-58, compiled a three-volume History of Wesleyan Methodism. Smith’s definition is “revival, . . . is a work of grace affected by the spirit of God on the souls of man . . . a revival presupposes the existence of real spiritual religion, as understood and taught by evangelical Christians” (xiii). The notion that revivalism is “an approach to religion designed to stimulate interest by appealing principally to the emotions” (xiv) was first postulated by biased Roman Catholics and not used by evangelicals of the day. Also, Orr advocates using the terms revival and awakening interchangeably (xiv) because this is how the terms were originally understood. To avoid any misunderstanding, however, he opts for the purposes of this study to use the phrase “outpouring of the Spirit” to denote this work of God so as not to further obscure the terms (xvii).

Another strength is his insistence that the 1857-58 revival be understood as a movement of prayer. “Christians were praying early in 1857 that the popular addiction to moneymaking might be broken” (48). Thus we can see that God “moved believers to earnest and sustained intercession for an awakening” (24). The focus of these united prayer meetings in 1857 was as much “on God’s help in delivering the people from the worship of mammon as . . . on revival itself” (50). From these prayer meetings a spirit of cooperation among evangelical Protestant denominations arose with ministers of various churches occupying one another’s pulpits (51).

A third Strength of Orr’s work is his refutation of William G. McLoughlin’s theories on revival, particularly this revival. Orr admits that social, economic and religious stresses arose as foreign born populations increased during the mid-nineteenth century (3). Throughout the book (20;156;313;335-336) Orr discredits McLoughlin’s premise that the revival scarcely deserved to be called an awakening. McLoughlin had argued that this awakening was a mere reaction to the bank panic of 1857 (20), that this revival was a northern urban phenomenon (156), and that “Finney had fabricated modern revivalism . . . teaching that by the proper use of means revivals could be produced at will; and that Moody adapted the principles of corporate business to Finney’s theory . . . for the first time . . . making it possible to promote city wide interdenominational revivals at will” (313). Orr showed that Stanley Gundry “demolished McLoughlin’s argument” establishing that there was “no evidence that Moody had read any of Finney’s books” (313). Orr states that McLoughlin was inaccurate in Modern Revivalism, when he wrote, “Edwards’ believed that ‘revivals were prayed down,’ Finney that ‘they were worked up’ not mentioning that Finney emphasized prayer as the means of working them up” (335). Responding to McLoughlin’s Revivals, Awakenings, and Reform Orr writes:

“How a theory related to the work of a shaman in tribal society could be applied to the prophets in Israel or apostles at Pentecost, to the Holy Club at Oxford, or to businessmen in the upper room in Manhattan, or to a Maori evangelistic team in the Solomon Islands, is baffling. But McLoughlin wanted to be rid of ‘the Protestant definition of revivalism and awakenings’ to think more sociologically, leading others to nullify historic Christian concepts” (336).

Yet another strength is the fairness of Orr’s analysis of the results of this awakening upon America as a whole. For example, he readily admits the accuracy of claims that “this awakening won more converts in the South” (113) than anywhere else. He also points out that the “greatest achievements of this awakening” (113) were in New England, where the cause of Christ had been in greatest decline for almost half a century. Furthermore, he points out that when results of this awakening are weighed proportionally to actual church membership that the gain in the North exceeded that in the South (175). He also shows the strength of his analysis in underscoring the great impact this revival had upon the major metropolitan centers in the East. Because of the severity of the declension which had occurred in New York and Philadelphia, Orr suggests that the greatest spiritual and church growth of this awakening took place here, where it was needed most (103).

One weakness in Orr’s book is that the detailed data on conversions and increased church memberships, as well as examples of other occurrences of awakening, occasionally appear in redundant fashion. For example, in the discussion of the awakenings beginning within the slave communities of the South, Orr includes membership increases for Maryland, Virginia (41), and the Carolinas (42). This data is given again in the chapter on Black America (196) and then again when gains are recorded geographically (168). While there is no doubt that Orr is capable of keeping up with all these figures accurately, it makes verifying his accounting somewhat more difficult than had the gains been discussed just once. Similar problems arise when he considers and compares the gains of the northern and southern branches of the various denominations from chapter to chapter. Apparently his desire to be viewed as a “credible historian” (viii) and overcome the perception of not being “sufficiently analytical” (ix) caused him to include all the statistical data he could find.

Another weakness is the absolute connection Orr establishes between the 1857-58 awakening and other movements which occurred subsequently. He attributes the 1860-61 awakenings in Jamaica (211) and the revival experienced in armies during the War Between the States during 1862-65 (225), and social benefits to society in the 1870s, as directly related to the 1857-58 revival. For example, he links the movement within the armies of the Union and Confederacy as having been extensions of the awakening of 1857-58 (225). (One can only wonder why the revival could not have led the soldiers, politicians and citizens of the United States to lay down their arms and peacefully solve the issues of slavery and states rights without firing any shots). He also claims that the social benefits of the 1870s are more the result of this 1857-58 awakening than the events of 1860-65 (316). While there may be connections between these events, to deny one event which occurred in closer proximity in favor of another less recent event is not necessarily accurately representing either. This may be one issue that caused historians to view his work as lacking in analytical objectivity (ix).

The inclusion of the agenda (282) for the Fulton Street prayer meetings and its rule of order (283) will prove invaluable to any minister who is unprepared by training or experience to lead a mid-week prayer meeting. He shows clearly how the prayer meeting promptly began, stayed on course, and ended. The practice of prayer meetings during this awakening is different in many ways from what is commonly considered a prayer meeting in contemporary churches. After being called to order, a hymn was sung and a passage of scripture was read. Prayer requests were written and submitted orderly to the chairman, and no more than two would be read without the meeting pausing for someone to pray for the requests. Prayer and exhortation were limited to five minutes. Those who exceeded the allotted time would yield the floor upon hearing a bell ring which was the means of maintaining order. All controversial discussions were quickly ruled out of order followed by prayer and a continuation of regular order. Anyone could offer prayer, and the Spirit was allowed to move from heart to heart. What a joy it would be if this kind of prayer movement were to sweep over our churches today.

It is clear that not every church nor every area of the continent experienced the growth in conversions (135) or was revived during the 1857-58 awakening. Most remarkable however, is the absolute lack of human means used during it. This awakening was lead by the Holy Spirit and cannot be traced to any other source. Therefore the greatest value of this work is in showing that revival is God’s activity. Even when a nation is consumed by its own self-importance and deeply divided over social justice God can, in His timing, move His people to prayer and pour out his Spirit upon all people within a society simply as an act of His sovereign will.

End Notes

1. Orr Edwin J. The Event of the Century. Edited by Richard Owen Roberts. Wheaton, Illinois: International Awakening Press, 1989. 383 pp.