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Turner, Steve. The Story of America's Most Beloved Song: Amazing Grace. HarperCollins Publishers Copyright 2002

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The author of this book Turner was the one who got really motivated in the history of the Amazing Grace song that he had researched so much giving a biography of John Newton who wrote the song and the results that the song gave after Newton died. The influence of John Newton writing this song in his hardships and trials leading him to Christ.

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John Newton was born on July 24th, 1725 in Wapping, London. Located close to the tower of London and the north bank of the River Thames. He was born to his father John Newton who was a commander of various merchant ships and wasn't "affected by religion". His mother Elizabeth opposite of his father was frail and in-ward looking, being a devoted Christian.

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During his childhood Newton's mom Elizabeth put in the most work she could to tell her son about the Bible and God. She also taught him children verses written by Isaac Watts. Then a big tragedy hit him before his 7th birthday. In 1732 his mom got sick with tubernuculous which was one of the most potent disease and had died from it on July 11, 1732.

Quote #1:

"But nothing worked. On July 11, 1732, she died" (7)

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After Newton's father remarried everything changed in his life. He didn't receive the same teaching from his new mother and was taken to travel on ships for slave trading with his father. Religion for him was confusing and trying to be disciplining himself to God was not easy. Through the miracles that God did saving his life made him think that he was picked for a mission, but that was forgotten.

Quote #2:

"His father continued to be away for long periods: and after not very long as a widower he got remarried to a women known only as Thomasina, moved to Avely in Essex, and started a second family. During this time Newton was sent for two years to a boarding school...It was to be the unhappiest period of his life so far." (8)

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Traveling on the ship to the Mediterranean with his father Newton received a dream which was when he was 17 years old. Newton was offered a gold ring in Venice. A figure came out giving him a ring, urging that accepting it would give him a life of happiness and success. Refusing or losing it would bring misery and trouble to him. After the figure disappeared, another one appeared that started pouring on him scorns for the promises that were made. While Newton was trying to defend the ring, he slipped it off and threw it into the sea. Then fire appeared in the air of the city and the accuser was saying that he had lost his salvation. After a third figure came, by Newtons agreement he got the ring from the Sea and said when he'll need he will give to him so that he didn't lose it again.

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Event #6: - The little faith has been lost (March 1744)

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Event #6: - The little faith has been lost (March 1744)

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Being on Harwitch on the quarterdeck John Newton had made two close friends, one Job Lewis who was simple in Christian faith and another on who was a "freethinker" which slowly started to remove Newtons faith. This lead for Newton starting to attack Lewis for his faith and Newton's character got progressively worse. He became rebellious

Quote #3:

"The freethinker...who tried to remove the remaining fragments of faith from Newton, felt that he was mistakenly creating an unsustainable synthesis of Shaftesbury's deistic ides and New Testament Christianity, and like the shadowy accuser in the dream of the gold ring he persuaded him to give up." (15)

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Event #7: Challenges humbled Newton for a little

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Event #7: Challenges humbled Newton for a little

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Going on a triangular ship trip, Newton arrived to Africa with a Englishmen slave trader who's African mistress P.I. disliked Newton. When she saw that after getting sick his health didn't improve, she treated him really badly and made fun of him. He now looked the same on the outside as his inner spirit. After getting better another trader lied about him and the slave trader put him in bad circumstances that lasted for a year. This humbled Newton for only a certain time.

Quote #4:

"His apparent meekness was the result of a broken spirit rather than a new heart. "I was no further changed than a tiger tamed by hunger. Remove the occasion, and he will be as wild as ever."

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Event #8: Deadly storm turned into Mercy

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Event #8: Deadly storm turned into Mercy

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While Newton was traveling on a Greyhound ship he read a book The Imitation of Christ that brought him concerning questions about Christianity which he ignored. At one point there came a violent storm ruining the ship with people panicking, since ships weren't perfectly made for slave trading then. Newton's mind was filled with his life, how he was a great sinner and can't expect mercy from God. Finally the storm had calmed down he made a step of faith and prayed. God has answered his prayer through a safe arrival to Ireland before another storm hit. Newtons life started to slowly change, he started to pray and went to church.

Quote #5:

"After five hours he was told that the ship was finally free of water, the first real sign of hope since the storm began forty hours previously. Newton was so relieved that he offered up a prayer. It wasn't a prayer of repentance. It was he reflected, like the cry of a hungry raven. More specific thoughts about the Christian gospel followed." (43)

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After getting married to his childhood sweetheart Mary Catlett he went on a trip ship again. Not long after his father had died really fast which has deeply affected him with thee loss of his father Captain Newton. After that he became the new Captain Newton who became a commander on the ships. Newton's action during his life as a Captain on ships was different compared to others, he put prayer as a big thing in his life insisting his crew to go with him for Sunday services.

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History and role

The Church of England is the established or state church in England. It is divided into two provinces - Canterbury in the South of England and York in the North. Each province has a head or Primate - the Archbishops of Canterbury and York.

The Church of England is part of the Anglican Communion, which is a worldwide family of churches in more than 160 different countries. On any one Sunday more than a million people attend Church of England services, making it the largest Christian denomination in the country.

The Established Church

The Church of England is the established church, meaning, amongst other things:

the Monarch is the the Supreme Governor of the church (theologically Jesus is the head),

the Church performs a number of official functions,

Church and State are linked

History

The Church of England traces its roots back to the early church, but its specifically Anglican identity and its links to the State date back to the Reformation.

Henry VIII started the process of creating the Church of England after his split with the Pope in the 1530s. Henry was anxious to ensure a male heir after his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, had borne him only a daughter. He wanted his marriage annulled in order to remarry. In 1534 after several attempts to persuade the Pope to grant an annulment, Henry passed the Act of Succession and then the Act of Supremacy. These recognised that the King was "the only supreme head of the Church of England called Anglicana Ecclesia". Henry adopted the title given to him by the Pope in 1521, that of Defender of the Faith.

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Role of the Monarch

Today the Monarch retains the title Defender of the Faith and is still the Supreme Governor of the Church. He or she has to:

approve the appointment of archbishops, bishops and deans (on the recommendation of the Prime Minister)

formally open each new session (every five years) of the General Synod (the church's governing body)

promise to maintain the Church in his or her coronation oath.

Legislative role

The Church of England also has a law-making role in Britain. Twenty-six bishops (including the two Archbishops) sit in the House of Lords and are known as the Lords Spiritual. They are thought to bring a religious ethos to the secular process of law.

However, in an increasingly multi-cultural society, questions are being asked as to whether that role needs to be specifically fulfilled by Church of England Bishops. Future reform of the House of Lords could see the Lords Spiritual made up of a variety of Christian denominations and other faiths to reflect the religious make-up of Britain.

Civic duties

The Church of England, as the established church, fulfils a civic responsibility too. Its bishops and priests are responsible for performing state weddings and funerals, acts of remembrances, memorial services as well as grand occasions like the coronation. After events like the Gulf War or major disasters, the country 'comes together' to mourn under the spiritual guidance of the Church of England.

In recent years, such occasions have become more ecumenical and multi-faith as the Church of England acknowledges Britain's changing religious landscape.

Hierarchy, beliefs and worship

Hierarchy

There are 43 dioceses in England covering the two provinces of Canterbury and York, plus the Diocese in Europe, with chaplaincies from the Arctic Circle to the Canaries. Each diocese has a bishop and usually at least one suffragan or assistant bishop. Each diocese is split into archdeaconries run by archdeacons. They are responsible for the administration of that part of the diocese. Each archdeaconry is split up into deaneries, which is a collection of parishes.

The parish is the heart of the Church of England. Each parish is overseen by a parish priest, usually called a vicar or rector. Sometimes they are assisted by a curate or deacon or parish worker. The latter is a lay post.

Parishes

Each parish church is run by the priest in collaboration with the PCC or Parochial Church Councils. This group is usually made up of the congregation but is open to anyone on the electoral roll. It, along with the bishop or other patron, appoints the priest. It also decides on the style of services and maintains the church buildings.

The parish structure means that the church is there for everyone. Ideally, everyone in England has a parish priest to whom they can turn. Everyone lives in a parish. This means it's an organisation for everyone, not just believers.

Cathedrals

Each diocese has a Cathedral which is the 'seat' of the bishop but is run independently of him. Deans are in charge of Cathedrals, assisted by Canons and supported by a Greater Chapter including lay appointees. A number of newer parish church Cathedrals used to be headed by Provosts until the Cathedrals Measure 1999.

Governance

The Church of England is described as being episcopally-led (there are 108 bishops in total) and synodically governed. This means it's led by bishops and its practices are decided by the General Synod.

The General Synod is elected from the laity and clergy of each diocese and meets in London or York at least twice a year. There are three houses: the house of bishops; the house of clergy; the house of laity. Each synod member is elected to serve for five years. Complex rules govern how church law is passed. Some has to go through Parliament and all must be given Royal assent.

Beliefs and worship

The Church of England is a broad church, representing a wide spectrum of theological thought and practice. However, as part of the Anglican Communion there are some distinctively Anglican ideas which can be identified in the Church of England. They are:

a belief that the Bible contains the core of all Christian faith and thought

a loyalty to a way of worship and life that was first set out in the Book of Common Prayer

celebration of the sacraments ordained by Jesus - that of Baptism and Eucharist or Holy Communion

a system of Church order that stems from ancient times and is focused in the ordained ministry of Bishop, Priest and Deacon

a firm commitment to the ministry of the whole people of God, lay and ordained together

a way of Christian thinking that involves Scripture, Tradition and Reason held together in creative tension.

Individual parishes can decide how many services they hold in the week, how often they conduct Eucharistic services and how they structure the service to include hymns/songs, readings, the Creed, a sermon and prayers. Despite this flexibility, each priest is expected to conduct a service which has been authorised by the church in the service book.

Decline, ordination of women, homosexuality

Current issues

As the established church, the Church of England and the comments and decisions its leaders make frequently attract media attention. These are just a few of the key issues facing the church at the beginning of the twenty-first century:

Decline in church attendance

The Church of England is responsible for more than 16,000 churches and 42 Cathedrals in England, yet the number of people attending services has been in decline in recent decades. In 2002 the average number of people attending church on Sundays declined by 4% to just over a million. If you include those who attended during the week, the number rises to approximately 1.2 million.

Many of those attending are of the older generations, with statistics showing that few 15 to 30 year olds go to church.

Despite the slow decline in average attandance, giving to parish churches continues to increase by more than inflation every year. Individual congregations themselves are responsible for the financial maintenance of the church, despite its national church status.

The Church Commissioners are responsible for managing the Church's historic assets, paying clergy pensions earned up to 1998 and helping to support parish ministry. Since 1998, parishes have been paying into a fund to provide pensions earned by clergy from that date. There are now more people claiming a clergy pension than there are ordained stipendiary (paid) clergy. This is putting even greater pressure on the parish system with more and more priests being asked to take on additional parishes.

As ever, bald statistics obscure signs of hope for the Church of England:

the Diocese of London has an increasing churchgoing population due to the rise in immigrants from Africa and the importance of the church in African and Caribbean communities.

many people still attend church for major festivals like Christmas. A poll carried out in 2003 revealed that nearly 40% of adults attended a church service over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in 2002.

the Church of England has had to think of new ways of "doing church". Many parishes provide services during the week so as not to compete with leisure pastimes associated with the weekend. In one diocese, Oxford, an online parish has been established for those who want to opt out of the traditional parish structure.

The ordination of women

In 1992 when General Synod passed a vote to ordain woman not everyone in the Church of England was in agreement. In 1993 it passed the Act of Synod setting up an official structure to enable parishes to refuse women's ministry.

Male priests and their congregations could accept an alternative bishop known as a Provincial Episcopal Visitor or "flying bishop", who also rejected women as priests. This system, although criticised as institutionalising discrimination against women, has been credited with avoiding a split in the Church of England over the issue.

Two other options were set up to allow male priests to reject women's ministry. Firstly, a scheme allowed men to leave the priesthood with appropriate financial support until they had resettled. Secondly, the Roman Catholic Church allowed married (and non-married) Anglican priests to join its priesthood.

In 1994 in Bristol the first women priests were ordained. Now, more than ten years on, one in five Church of England licensed priests is female. Pressure is growing to now allow women to be Bishops. A working party, set up by General Synod, has published a theological study of women in the Episcopate and the impact such a move would have both on the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion. The Synod will debate it in 2005.

Homosexuality and the Church of England

Many of the headlines regarding the Church of England since 2002 have regarded the rights of homosexual priests. The Church of England allows for the ordination of gay priests as long as they are celibate.

In 2003 Canon Jeffrey John was appointed as Bishop of Reading. Despite his pro-gay views (he's written articles and pamphlets outlining why gay couples should live in faithful, permanent, stable relationships) he made it clear that he was celibate. His appointment, and the subsequent election of an openly gay bishop in America, prompted a national and international examination on the rights of homosexual clergy. Canon Jeffrey John stood down as Bishop-elect of Reading but has subsequently been installed as Dean of St Albans.

Alongside issues of homosexual clergy, the wider Anglican Communion has been wrestling with whether to sanction same-sex blessings. Both these issues could cause divisions within the Anglican Communion with the provinces of the global south (Nigeria, South East Asia, South America among many others) threatening to split permanently from those sanctioning the blessing of same-sex relationships and the ordination of non-celibate gay clergy - mainly in North America. A commission set up by the Archbishop of Canterbury and headed by Dr Robin Eames, Primate of Ireland made recommendations on the matter in autumn 2004.

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The Church of England is the established or state church in England. It is divided into two provinces - Canterbury in the South of England and York in the North. Each province has a head or Primate - the Archbishops of Canterbury and York.

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Event #11: Being Part of Church/Hymn Writing

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Event #11: Being Part of Church/Hymn Writing

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Newton's health began to fail and he stopped being part of the sea trips. So instead he started to be more part of a church bringing in more interactions between people, creating more kinds of services because the church is growing. But his main skill was at hymn writing, even though Church of England said only metric psalms can be sung. Newton said that hymns can open to people complex truths. So every week when he was supposed to say a sermon he always wrote a song. The song "Amazing Grace" was the first song to be written in December 1772 (there's no specific date since some of his diaries were lost).

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Quote #5: Amazing Grace Song (85-86)

"Amazing Grace! (how sweet the sound)

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found,

Was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,

And grace my fears relieved;

How precious did that grace appear,

The hour I first believed!

Through dangers, toils, and snares,

I have already come;

'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,

And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me,

His word my hope secures;

He will my shield and portion be,

As long as life endures.

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,

And mortal life shall cease;

I shall possess, within the vail,

A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,

The sun forbear to shine;

But GOD, who called me here below,

Will be for ever, mine.

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John Newton had become interested in politics and started to think about how slave trading is needed to be stopped. He says that the Bible doesn't say it's a sin but that it goes against how we are supposed to treat everyone with love. He was scared at first to talk about this publicly but the excitement of Wilberforce to be in power for the anti-slavery movement motivated Newton to stand up writing an essay Thoughts Upon the African Slave Trade. Wilberforce put a bill for abolition of slavery which got passed and became a law. During all of this Newtons wife die which has been the toughest test for him.

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On October 1806 Newton said his last sermon. Then on December 21st, 1807 he died. For a year his health was declining, having to be home all the time. He was having swollen legs, sight was going away, it was hard to hear and speak, also his memory was almost lost. But he remembers that he is a sinner and that Christ is a great Savior.

Quote #7:

"When asked to tell his story he said it could be summarized in the words of Deuteronomy 32:10: "He [God] found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye." (109)

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Event #14: Tune book used for Amazing Grace

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Event #14: Tune book used for Amazing Grace

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There was a tune book published that had written music in it for songs in which one of them was "Amazing Grace". A music instructor William Walker had looked through many tunes and finally found one that had perfectly matched with the words of the song "Amazing Grace".

Quote #8:

"When Walker put it with "New Britain" he was merely continuing the practice, but he displayed real genius, because not only did the words fit snugly into the required musical space but the music enhanced the meaning." (124)

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At first glance it seemed that the 23 states that remained in the Union after secession were more than a match for the 11 Southern states. Approximately 21 million people lived in the North, compared with some nine million in the South of whom about four million were slaves. In addition, the North was the site of more than 100,000 manufacturing plants, against 18,000 south of the Potomac River, and more than 70 percent of the railroads were in the Union. Furthermore, the Federals had at their command a 30-to-1 superiority in arms production, a 2-to-1 edge in available manpower, and a great preponderance of commercial and financial resources. The Union also had a functioning government and a small but efficient regular army and navy.

American Civil War events

The Confederacy was not predestined to defeat, however. The Southern armies had the advantage of fighting on interior lines, and their military tradition had bulked large in the history of the United States before 1860. Moreover, the long Confederate coastline of 3,500 miles (5,600 km) seemed to defy blockade, and the Confederate president, Jefferson Davis, hoped to receive decisive foreign aid and intervention. Confederate soldiers were fighting to achieve a separate and independent country based on what they called "Southern institutions," the chief of which was the institution of slavery. So the Southern cause was not a lost one; indeed, other countries-most notably the United States itself in the American Revolution against Britain-had won independence against equally heavy odds.

The high commands

Command problems plagued both sides. Of the two rival commanders in chief, most people in 1861 thought Davis to be abler than Lincoln. Davis was a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, a hero of the Mexican-American War, a capable secretary of war under Pres. Franklin Pierce, and a U.S. representative and senator from Mississippi. Lincoln-who had served in the Illinois state legislature and as an undistinguished one-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives-could boast of only a brief period of military service in the Black Hawk War, in which he saw no action.

As president and commander in chief of the Confederate forces, Davis revealed many fine qualities, including dignity, firmness, determination, and honesty, but he was flawed by his excessive pride, hypersensitivity to criticism, poor political skills, and tendency to micromanage. He engaged in extended petty quarrels with generals and cabinet members. He also suffered from ill health throughout the conflict. Davis's effectiveness was further hampered by a political system that limited him to a single six-year term-thereby making him a lame duck immediately upon his election-and that frowned on organized political parties, which Southerners accused of having been at least partly responsible for the coming of the Civil War. The lack of political parties meant that Davis could command no loyalty from a broad group of people such as governors or political appointees when he came under heavy criticism.

To a large extent and by his own preference, Davis was his own secretary of war, although five different men served in that post during the lifetime of the Confederacy. Davis himself also filled the position of general in chief of the Confederate armies until he named Robert E. Lee to that position on February 6, 1865, when the Confederacy was near collapse. In naval affairs-an area about which he knew little-the Confederate president seldom intervened directly, allowing the competent secretary of the navy, Stephen Mallory, to handle the Southern naval buildup and operations on the water. Although his position was onerous and quite likely could not have been filled as well by any other Southern political leader-most of them having come to prominence in a period of growing disinclination to compromise-Davis's overall performance in office left something to be desired.

To the astonishment of many, Lincoln grew in stature with time and experience, and by 1864 he had become a consummate politician and war director. Lincoln matured into a remarkably effective president because of his great intelligence, communication skills, humility, sense of purpose, sense of humour, fundamentally moderate nature, and ability to remain focused on the big picture. But he had much to learn at first, especially in strategic and tactical matters and in his choices of army commanders. With an ineffective first secretary of war- Simon Cameron-Lincoln unhesitatingly insinuated himself directly into the planning of military movements. Edwin M. Stanton, a well-known lawyer appointed to the secretaryship on January 20, 1862, was equally untutored in military affairs, but he was fully as active a participant as his superior.

Winfield Scott was the Federal general in chief when Lincoln took office. The 75-year-old Scott-a hero of the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War-was a magnificent and distinguished soldier whose mind was still keen, but he was physically incapacitated and had to be retired from the service on November 1, 1861. Scott was replaced by young George B. McClellan, who was an excellent organizer. McClellan, however, lacked tenacity, persistently overestimated the Confederates' strength (and therefore stalled his attacks), and was openly disdainful of the president. Because he wanted McClellan to focus his attentions on the Army of the Potomac, Lincoln relieved McClellan as general in chief on March 11, 1862. Henry W. Halleck, who proved to be a strong administrator but did little in the way of strategic planning, succeeded McClellan on July 11 and held the position until he was replaced by Ulysses S. Grant on March 9, 1864. Halleck then became chief of staff under Grant in a long-needed streamlining of the Federal high command. Grant served efficaciously as general in chief throughout the remainder of the war.

After the initial call by Lincoln and Davis for troops, and as the war lengthened indeterminately, both sides turned to raising massive armies of volunteers. Local citizens of prominence and means would organize regiments that were uniformed and accoutred at first under the aegis of the states and then mustered into the service of the Union and Confederate governments. On each side, the presidents appointed so-called "political generals," men who had little or no military training or experience but had important political connections (for example, Northern Democrats) or had ties to immigrant communities. Although successful politically, most of these appointments did not yield happy military results. As the war dragged on, the two governments had to resort to conscription to fill the ranks being so swiftly thinned by battle casualties.

Strategic plans

In the area of grand strategy, Davis persistently adhered to the defensive, permitting only occasional "spoiling" forays into Northern territory. Perhaps the Confederates' best chance of winning would have been an early grand offensive into the Union states before the Lincoln administration could find its ablest generals and bring the preponderant resources of the North to bear against the South. On the other hand, protecting the territory the Confederacy already controlled was of paramount importance, and a defensive position allowed the rebels to husband their resources somewhat better. To crush the rebellion and reestablish the authority of the Federal government, Lincoln had to direct his blue-clad armies to invade, capture, and hold most of the vital areas of the Confederacy. His grand strategy was based on Scott's so-called Anaconda Plan, a design that evolved from strategic ideas discussed in messages between Scott and McClellan on April 27, May 3, and May 21, 1861. It called for a Union blockade of the Confederacy's coastline as well as a decisive thrust down the Mississippi River and an ensuing strangulation of the South by Federal land and naval forces. But it was to take four years of grim, unrelenting warfare and enormous casualties and devastation before the Confederates could be defeated and the Union preserved.

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American Civil War - The military background of the war

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American Civil War - American Civil War - The military background of the war: At first glance it seemed that the 23 states that remained in the Union after secession were more than a match for the 11 Southern states.

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TRANS-ATLANTIC SLAVE VOYAGES

Over the period of the Atlantic Slave Trade, from approximately 1526 to 1867, some 12.5 million captured men, women, and children were put on ships in Africa, and 10.7 million arrived in the Americas. The Atlantic Slave Trade was likely the most costly in human life of all long-distance global migrations.

The first Africans forced to work in the New World left from Europe at the beginning of the sixteenth century, not from Africa. The first voyage carrying enslaved people direct from Africa to the Americas probably sailed in 1526.

The number of people carried off from Africa reached 30,000 per year in the 1690s and 85,000 per year a century later. More than eight out of ten Africans forced into the slave trade crossed the Atlantic between 1700 and 1850. The decade 1821 to 1830 saw more than 80,000 people a year leaving Africa in slave ships. Well over a million more-one-tenth of those carried off in the slave trade era-followed within the next twenty years.

By 1820, nearly four Africans for every one European had crossed the Atlantic; about four out of every five women who crossed the Atlantic were from Africa.

The majority of enslaved Africans brought to British North America arrived between 1720 and 1780.

Africans carried to Brazil came overwhelmingly from Angola. Africans carried to North America, including the Caribbean, left mainly from West Africa.

Well over 90 percent of enslaved Africans were sent to the Caribbean and South America. Only about 6 percent of African captives were sent directly to British North America. Yet by 1825, the US population included about one-quarter of the people of African descent in the Western Hemisphere.

The Middle Passage was dangerous and horrific. The sexes were separated; men, women, and children were kept naked, packed close together; and the men were chained for long periods. About 12 percent of those who embarked did not survive the voyage.

US SLAVERY COMPARED TO SLAVERY IN THE AMERICAS

Plantations in the United States were dwarfed by those in the West Indies. In the Caribbean, many plantations held 150 enslaved persons or more. In the American South, only one slaveholder held as many as a thousand enslaved persons, and just 125 had over 250 enslaved persons.

In the Caribbean, Dutch Guiana, and Brazil, the enslaved death rate was so high and the birth rate so low that they could not sustain their population without importations from Africa. Rates of natural decrease ran as high as 5 percent a year. While the death rate of the US enslaved population was about the same as that of Jamaican enslaved persons, the birth rate was more than 80 percent higher in the United States.

In the United States enslaved persons were more generations removed from Africa than those in the Caribbean. In the nineteenth century, the majority of enslaved in the British Caribbean and Brazil were born in Africa. In contrast, by 1850, most US enslaved persons were third-, fourth-, or fifth-generation Americans.

Slavery in the US was distinctive in the near balance of the sexes and the ability of the enslaved population to increase its numbers by natural reproduction. Unlike any other enslaved society, the US had a high and sustained natural increase in the enslaved population for a more than a century and a half.

CHILDREN

There were few instances in which enslaved women were released from field work for extended periods during slavery. Even during the last week before childbirth, pregnant women on average picked three-quarters or more of the amount normal for women.

Infant and child mortality rates were twice as high among enslaved children as among southern White children. Half of all enslaved infants died in their first year of life. A major contributor to the high infant and child death rate was chronic undernourishment.

The average birth weight of enslaved infants was less than 5.5 pounds, considered severely underweight by today's standards.

Most infants of enslaved mothers were weaned within three or four months. Even in the eighteenth century, the earliest weaning age advised by doctors was eight months.

After weaning, enslaved infants were fed a starch-based diet, consisting of foods such as gruel, which lacked sufficient nutrients for health and growth.

HEALTH AND MORTALITY

Enslaved persons suffered a variety of miserable and often fatal maladies due to the Atlantic Slave Trade, and to inhumane living and working conditions.

Common symptoms among enslaved populations included blindness, abdominal swelling, bowed legs, skin lesions, and convulsions. Common conditions among enslaved populations included beriberi (caused by a deficiency of thiamine), pellagra (caused by a niacin deficiency), tetany (caused by deficiencies of calcium, magnesium, and Vitamin D), rickets (also caused by a deficiency of Vitamin D), and kwashiorkor (caused by severe protein deficiency).

Diarrhea, dysentery, whooping cough, and respiratory diseases as well as worms pushed the infant and early childhood death rate of enslaved children to twice that experienced by White infants and children.

DOMESTIC SLAVE TRADE

The domestic slave trade in the US distributed the African American population throughout the South in a migration that greatly surpassed the Atlantic Slave Trade to North America.

Though Congress outlawed the African slave trade in 1808, domestic slave trade flourished, and the enslaved population in the US nearly tripled over the next fifty years.

The domestic trade continued into the 1860s and displaced approximately 1.2 million men, women, and children, the vast majority of whom were born in America.

To be "sold down the river" was one of the most dreaded prospects of the enslaved population. Some destinations, particularly the Louisiana sugar plantations, had especially grim reputations. But it was the destruction of family that made the domestic slave trade so terrifying.

PROFITABILITY

Prices of enslaved persons varied widely over time, due to factors including supply and changes in prices of commodities such as cotton. Even considering the relative expense of owning and keeping an enslaved person, slavery was profitable.

In order to ensure the profitability of enslavement and to produce maximum "return on investment," slaveholders generally supplied only the minimum food and shelter needed for survival, and forced their enslaved persons to work from sunrise to sunset.

Although young adult men had the highest expected levels of output, young adult women had value over and above their ability to work in the fields; they were able to have children who by law were also enslaved by the owner of the mother. Therefore, the average price of enslaved females was higher than their male counterparts up to puberty age. Men around the age of 25 were the most "valuable."

Slaveholding became more concentrated over time, particularly as slavery was abolished in the northern states. The fraction of households owning enslaved persons fell from 36 percent in 1830 to 25 percent in 1860.

During the Civil War, roughly 180,000 Black men served in the Union Army, and another 29,000 served in the Navy. Three-fifths of all Black troops were formerly enslaved.

WORKS CITED AND RESOURCES
University of Virginia, American Slave Narratives The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, Emory University The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African (1789) Special thanks to Steven Mintz, University of Texas at Austin

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historical context: facts about the slave trade and slavery | trans-atlantic slave voyages over the period of the atlantic slave trade

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and children were put on ships in africa

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and 10.7 million arrived in the americas. the atlantic slave trade was likely the most costly in human life of all long-distance global migrations. | trans-atlantic slave voyages over the period of the atlantic slave trade

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and children were put on ships in africa

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and 10.7 million arrived in the americas. the atlantic slave trade was likely the most costly in human life of all long-distance global migrations. the first africans forced to work in the new world left from europe at the beginning of the sixteenth century

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not from africa. the first voyage carrying enslaved people direct from africa to the americas probably sailed in 1526. the number of people carried off from africa reached 30

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000 per year a century later. more than eight out of ten africans forced into the slave trade crossed the atlantic between 1700 and 1850. the decade 1821 to 1830 saw more than 80

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000 people a year leaving africa in slave ships. well over a million more—one-tenth of those carried off in the slave trade era—followed within the next twenty years. by 1820

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nearly four africans for every one european had crossed the atlantic; about four out of every five women who crossed the atlantic were from africa. the majority of enslaved africans brought to british north america arrived between 1720 and 1780. africans carried to brazil came overwhelmingly from angola. africans carried to north america

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left mainly from west africa. well over 90 percent of enslaved africans were sent to the caribbean and south america. only about 6 percent of african captives were sent directly to british north america. yet by 1825

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the us population included about one-quarter of the people of african descent in the western hemisphere. the middle passage was dangerous and horrific. the sexes were separated; men

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packed close together; and the men were chained for long periods. about 12 percent of those who embarked did not survive the voyage. us slavery compared to slavery in the americas plantations in the united states were dwarfed by those in the west indies. in the caribbean

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many plantations held 150 enslaved persons or more. in the american south

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only one slaveholder held as many as a thousand enslaved persons

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and just 125 had over 250 enslaved persons. in the caribbean

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the enslaved death rate was so high and the birth rate so low that they could not sustain their population without importations from africa. rates of natural decrease ran as high as 5 percent a year. while the death rate of the us enslaved population was about the same as that of jamaican enslaved persons

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the birth rate was more than 80 percent higher in the united states. in the united states enslaved persons were more generations removed from africa than those in the caribbean. in the nineteenth century

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the majority of enslaved in the british caribbean and brazil were born in africa. in contrast

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or fifth-generation americans. slavery in the us was distinctive in the near balance of the sexes and the ability of the enslaved population to increase its numbers by natural reproduction. unlike any other enslaved society

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the us had a high and sustained natural increase in the enslaved population for a more than a century and a half. children there were few instances in which enslaved women were released from field work for extended periods during slavery. even during the last week before childbirth

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pregnant women on average picked three-quarters or more of the amount normal for women. infant and child mortality rates were twice as high among enslaved children as among southern white children. half of all enslaved infants died in their first year of life. a major contributor to the high infant and child death rate was chronic undernourishment. the average birth weight of enslaved infants was less than 5.5 pounds

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considered severely underweight by today’s standards. most infants of enslaved mothers were weaned within three or four months. even in the eighteenth century

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the earliest weaning age advised by doctors was eight months. after weaning

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enslaved infants were fed a starch-based diet

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which lacked sufficient nutrients for health and growth. health and mortality enslaved persons suffered a variety of miserable and often fatal maladies due to the atlantic slave trade

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and to inhumane living and working conditions. common symptoms among enslaved populations included blindness

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and convulsions. common conditions among enslaved populations included beriberi (caused by a deficiency of thiamine)

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pellagra (caused by a niacin deficiency)

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tetany (caused by deficiencies of calcium

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rickets (also caused by a deficiency of vitamin d)

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and kwashiorkor (caused by severe protein deficiency). diarrhea

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and respiratory diseases as well as worms pushed the infant and early childhood death rate of enslaved children to twice that experienced by white infants and children. domestic slave trade the domestic slave trade in the us distributed the african american population throughout the south in a migration that greatly surpassed the atlantic slave trade to north america. though congress outlawed the african slave trade in 1808

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and the enslaved population in the us nearly tripled over the next fifty years. the domestic trade continued into the 1860s and displaced approximately 1.2 million men

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the vast majority of whom were born in america. to be “sold down the river” was one of the most dreaded prospects of the enslaved population. some destinations

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particularly the louisiana sugar plantations

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had especially grim reputations. but it was the destruction of family that made the domestic slave trade so terrifying. profitability prices of enslaved persons varied widely over time

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due to factors including supply and changes in prices of commodities such as cotton. even considering the relative expense of owning and keeping an enslaved person

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slavery was profitable. in order to ensure the profitability of enslavement and to produce maximum “return on investment

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” slaveholders generally supplied only the minimum food and shelter needed for survival

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and forced their enslaved persons to work from sunrise to sunset. although young adult men had the highest expected levels of output

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young adult women had value over and above their ability to work in the fields; they were able to have children who by law were also enslaved by the owner of the mother. therefore

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the average price of enslaved females was higher than their male counterparts up to puberty age. men around the age of 25 were the most “valuable.” slaveholding became more concentrated over time

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particularly as slavery was abolished in the northern states. the fraction of households owning enslaved persons fell from 36 percent in 1830 to 25 percent in 1860. during the civil war

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000 served in the navy. three-fifths of all black troops were formerly enslaved.     works cited and resources university of virginia

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american slave narratives the trans-atlantic slave trade database

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emory university the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano

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the african (1789) special thanks to steven mintz

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Historical Context: Facts about the Slave Trade and Slavery

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Historical Context: Facts about the Slave Trade and Slavery | TRANS-ATLANTIC SLAVE VOYAGES Over the period of the Atlantic Slave Trade, from approximately 1526 to 1867, some 12.5 million captured men, women, and children were put on ships in Africa, and 10.7 million arrived in the Americas.

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 #15: "Amazing Grace" impacted the life's of African Americans. 

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 #15: "Amazing Grace" impacted the life's of African Americans. 

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During the time of African Americans being enslaved they sang songs from the 18th century which one of them was the song "Amazing Grace" that became their most beloved song in the times that they were going through harsh trials in slavery. They learned the song from the church services that the whites took them too. From this song they have learned that even though they are physically being trapped they can still be freed spiritually.

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Since "Amazing Grace" had been held by two advances by being spread to the northern settlers of America and that the words of the song matched up to the tune "New Britain" it didn't die off. It spread to the North with a new style of evangelism that vocal music was important to. There was a musical assistant Ira D. Sankey was a role model in many religious music, including "Amazing Grace". He had specialized gospel music. Making a Hymn book he added the song in a popular tune "Warwick". Then he added "Amazing Grace" to the Sacred Songs and Solos in a different tune advancing the music. But the tune "New Britain" is still sung to this day.

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Another person Edwin Othello Excell who was a hymn writer, publisher, singer, and song leader had changed some of the arrangement of publishing his hymns. When he got "Amazing Grace" he made it sound better by taking out the awkward sounds in what the Walkers version of the song had. Excell also changed the harmony of the song so that it was more smoother, adding in more different changes of chords. Some other major change he did was added to another stanza that Newton didn't write.

Quote #9:

"Excell's achievement was in making "Amazing Grace" sound more contemporary by adding harmonies and ironing out some of the awkward transitions in William Walker's version. This made it more acceptable to the newly enforced middle classes, who wished to appear cultivated and to throw off the primitive associations of the shape-note traditions. (137-138)

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The Second Great Awakening was a nationwide expansion of Christianity in the US, lasting from approximately 1801 to 1840. The awakening affected the new nation far beyond the realm of religion. It shaped American society in remarkable ways that are with us today.

The Second Great Awakening stretched from New England to the frontiers of the Midwest and Ohio River Valley. Many of the leaders of the awakening were unknown to most Americans. They were country pastors or "circuit riders" - itinerant preachers who rode on horseback from place to place to preach the gospel. A few revival leaders were more well-known, like Charles Finney of New York and Timothy Dwight of Yale University.
What is an awakening?
An awakening refers to the moment when a person realizes his own need to trust in Jesus Christ, otherwise known as the point of regeneration and conversion. A "great awakening" occurs when large masses of people are converted to faith in Christ. Colonial America experienced the First Great Awakening during 1730-1755.

Christian historians and theologians also refer to these mass awakenings as "revivals." There is a slight nuance between the two terms, "awakening" and "revival." Revival focuses on those who are already Christians. Believers are renewed or revived in their devotion to Jesus when there is "revival." The term "revival" can be used in other ways, as when an individual Christian experiences spiritual reinvigoration or when a church hosts a series of worship services designed to excite fresh faith in those who are already followers of Jesus. However, in this context of the Second Great Awakening, the term "revival" usually refers to large-scale rededication of Christians and always accompanies an awakening of those who were non-Christians.
What was the spiritual impact of the Second Great Awakening?
On the frontier, some regions were devoid of morals and Christianity. Some of these undeveloped areas didn't have the stability of law and order and the positive influence of Christian religion on the inhabitants. But the awakening ushered tens of thousands of settlers to a new life in Christ.

Much of the spiritual change came through outdoor worship gatherings led by local pastors or itinerant preachers. Sometimes tens of thousands of people would gather outdoors to fellowship, worship, hear preaching, and receive communion. These public worship services would last for days and were incredibly powerful, spiritually, which is why they drew so many participants.

The following passage describes one such meeting that took place in Kentucky. It comes from the 1853 autobiography of Rev. James Finley who recounts his experience and his own salvation at the Cane Ridge revival. In the late summer of 1801 a crowd estimated at 10,000 to 25,000 gathered for a week to pray, hear the word preached, repent, worship, and seek God. The Holy Spirit fell powerfully, and many historians mark this event as the beginning of the Second Great Awakening.

In the month of August, 1801, I learned there was to be a great meeting at Cane Ridge, in my father's old congregation. Feeling a great desire to see the wonderful things which had come to my ears, and having been solicited by some of my old schoolmates to go over into Kentucky for the purpose of revisiting the scenes of my boyhood, I resolved to go. Obtaining company, I started from my woody retreat in Highland county. Having reached the neighborhood of the meeting, we stopped and put up for the night. The family, who seemed to be posted in regard to all the movements of the meeting, cheerfully answered all our inquiries, and gave us all the information we desired; The next morning we started for the meeting. On the way I said to my companions, "Now, if I fall it must be by physical power and not by singing and praying;" and as I prided myself upon my manhood and courage, I had no fear of being overcome by any nervous excitability, or being frightened into religion. We arrived upon the ground, and here a scene presented itself to my mind not only novel and unaccountable, but awful beyond description. A vast crowd, supposed by some to have amounted to twenty-five thousand, was collected together. The noise was like the roar of Niagara. The vast sea of human beings seemed to be agitated as if by a storm. I counted seven ministers, all preaching at one time, some on stumps, others in wagons, and one - the Rev. William Burke, now of Cincinnati - was standing on a, tree which had, in falling, lodged against another. Some of the people were singing, others praying, some crying for mercy in the most piteous accents, while others were shouting most vociferously. While witnessing these scenes, a peculiarly strange sensation, such as I had never felt before, came over me. My heart beat tumultuously, my knees trembled, my lip quivered, and I felt as though I must fall to the ground. A strange supernatural power seemed to pervade the entire mass of mind there collected. I became so weak and powerless that I found it necessary to sit down. Soon after I left and went into the woods and there I strove to rally and man up my courage. I tried to philosophize in regard to these wonderful exhibitions, resolving them into mere sympathetic excitement - a kind of religious enthusiasm, inspired by songs and eloquent harangues. My pride was wounded, for I had supposed that my mental and physical strength and vigor could most successfully resist these influences. After some time I returned to the scene of excitement the waves of which, if possible, had risen still higher. The same awfulness of feeling came over me. I stepped up on to a log, where I could have a better view of the surging sea of humanity. The scene that then presented itself to my mind was indescribable. At one time I saw at least five hundred swept down in a moment, as if a battery of a thousand guns had been opened upon them, and then immediately followed shrieks and shouts that rent the very heavens. My hair rose up on my head, my whole frame trembled, the blood ran cold in my veins, and I fled for the woods a second time, and wished I had stayed at home. While I remained here my feelings became intense and insupportable. A sense of suffocation and blindness seemed to come over me, and I thought I was going to die. There being a tavern about half mile off, I concluded to go and get some brandy, and see if it would not strengthen my nerves. When I arrived there I was disgusted with the sight that met my eyes. Here I saw about one hundred men engaged in drunken revelry, playing cards, trading horses, quarreling, and fighting. After some time I got to the bar, and took a dram and left, feeling that I was as near hell as I wished to be, either in this or the world to come. The brandy had no effect in allaying my feelings, but, if anything, made me worse. Night at length came on, and I was afraid to see any of my companions. I cautiously avoided them, fearing lest they should discover something the matter with me. In this state I wandered about from place to place, in and around the encampment. At times it seemed as if all the sins I had ever committed in my life were vividly brought up in array before my terrified imagination, and under their awful pressure I felt that I must die if I did not get relief. Then it was that I saw clearly through the thin veil of Universalism, and this refuge of lies was swept away by the Spirit of God. Then fell the scales from my sin-blinded eyes, and I realized, in all its force and power, the awful truth, that if I died in my sins I was a lost man forever. Oh how I dreaded the death of the soul; for

"There is a death whose pangOutlasts the fleeting breath:Oh what eternal horrors hang

Around the second death"

Notwithstanding all this, my heart was so proud and hard that I would not have fallen to the ground for the whole state of Kentucky. I felt that such an event would have been an everlasting disgrace, and put a final quietus on my boasted manhood and courage. At night I went to a barn in the neighborhood, and creeping under the hay, spent a most dismal night. I resolved, in the morning, to start for home, for I felt that I was a ruined man. Finding one of the friends who came over with me, I said, "Captain, let us be off; I will stay no longer." He assented, and getting our horses we started for home. We said but little on the way, though many a deep, long-drawn sigh told the emotions of my heart. When we arrived at the Blue Lick Knobs, I broke the silence which reigned mutually between us. Like long-pent-up waters, seeking for an avenue in the rock, the fountains of my soul were broken up, and I exclaimed, "Captain, if you and I don't stop our wickedness the devil will get us both." Then came from my streaming eyes the bitter tears, and I could scarcely refrain from screaming aloud. This startled and alarmed my companion, and he commenced weeping too. Night approaching, we put up near Mayslick, the whole of which was spent by me in weeping and promising God, if he would spare me till morning I would pray and try to mend my life and abandon my wicked courses. As soon as day broke I went to the woods to pray, and no sooner had my knees touched the ground than I cried aloud for mercy and salvation, and fell prostrate. My cries wore so loud that they attracted the attention of the neighbors, many of whom gathered around me. Among the number was a German from Switzerland, who had experienced religion. He, understanding fully my condition, had me carried to his house and laid on a bed. The old Dutch saint directed me to look right away to the Savior. He then kneeled at the bedside and prayed for my salvation most fervently, in Dutch and broken English. He then rose and sung in the same manner, and continued singing and praying alternately till nine o'clock, when suddenly my load was gone, my guilt removed, and presently the direct witness from heaven shone full upon my soul. Then there flowed such copious streams of love into the hitherto waste and desolate places in my soul, that I thought I should die with excess of joy. I cried, I laughed, I shouted, and so strangely did I appear to all but my Dutch brother, that they thought me deranged.

Some of the unusual exhibitions of these meetings drew criticism by other Christians. Not everyone believed that these strange phenomena of people falling to the ground and such were the work of God. Critics labeled them excessive emotionalism, but the fruit of these meetings was abundant. Lives were changed, churches were started, and the good news and works of Christ went forward in the uncharted territory of the new United States.

Back in New England, there was a lull in Christianity. Places like Yale University had become a graveyard of past Christian stalwarts. These institutions lost their moorings and strayed from their origins to train young men for Christian ministry. Revival came to Yale through the presidency of Timothy Dwight, grandson of Jonathan Edwards who was a prominent leader of the First Great Awakening.

Lyman Beecher, a student at Yale at the time, described the failing spiritual condition of Yale when Dwight took the presidency in 1795.

The college church was almost extinct. Most of the students were skeptical, and rowdies were plenty. Wine and liquors were kept in many rooms; intemperance, profanity, gambling and licentiousness were common. That was the day of the infidelity of the Tom Paine school. Boys that dressed flax in the barn read Tom Paine and believed him ... [M]ost of the class before me were infidels and called each other Voltaire, Rousseau, D'Alembert, etc.

Under Timothy Dwight's preaching and leadership, the Holy Spirit began to awaken and revive the campus. Dwight wrote about the dramatic changes:

Such triumphs of grace, none whose privilege it was to witness them, had ever before seen. So sudden and so great was the change in individuals, and in the general aspect of the college, that those who had been waiting for it were filled with wonder as well as joy. And those who knew not what it meant were awe-struck and amazed. Wherever students were found in their rooms, in the chapel, in the hall, in the college-yard, in their walks about the city, the reigning impression was, "Surely God is in this place." The salvation of the soul was the great subject of thought, of conversation, of absorbing interest; the convictions of many were pungent and overwhelming; the "peace in believing" which succeeded, was not less strongly marked.

Similar stories could be told from Princeton University, Williams College, and other colleges. Revivals and awakenings were shaking the east coast.

Starting In New York, Charles Finney began leading revivals with great success. Certain western areas of the state were termed "burned over districts" because of how many meetings Finney had led there.

Charles Finney ended up as the most prominent leader of the Second Great Awakening. But not all were supportive of Finney. The revivalist previously worked in law but was dramatically converted and became a Presbyterian minister. Finney developed innovative ways to lead revivals and taught other ministers how to bring about revival, but many Christian ministers then and now disapprove of Finney's "new measures."
What was the social impact of the Second Great Awakening?
Revival and awakening is primarily a spiritual or religious matter, at least that where the movement begins. But there are social implications of the gospel and the new converts and renewed believers of the Second Great Awakening put their faith to action.

Abolition of slaves, education, healthcare, and worldwide missions came forth with great force as a result of the Second Great Awakening. For example, a group of students from Dwight's Yale University, later called "The Yale Band," headed west to evangelize the Midwest but also with the stated purpose of starting colleges and sounding the trumpet call for abolishing slavery. They worked strategically in Illinois along the Underground Railroad to help African-Americans in Missouri to take hold of their God-given freedom. They started colleges like Illinois College and Grinnell College (IA) for training settlers for ministry and higher education.

Organizations were formed to reach more people with the love and truth of the gospel message. Social services grew out of the awakening as care was directed towards the fringes of society, to those imprisoned, handicapped or mentally ill. Home and foreign missionary societies were created to ensure that the message of Christ would continue to spread far and wide. These evangelistic endeavors have had an untold impact on the whole world as Christianity has increased more around the world in the last 100 years than in the previous 1900 years.
How should we evaluate the Second Great Awakening?
There will always be good and bad that come from any place and time in history. The Second Great Awakening is no different. Jesus told His disciples that the kingdom of God was like a field that contains both wheat and weeds. The master of the field sowed good seed but his enemy sowed weeds. Both the wheat and weeds will remain until Jesus comes at the end of the age (Matthew 13:24-30). Whatever weeds Satan may have sown in America from 1790-1840 may be with us today, but the wheat that grew during those five decades produced an abundant crop that may never be surpassed in all of American history.
FREE OFFER: Get the "Seeking God Lifestyle" Bible Course Manual. Download this 67-page, 5-lesson course in PDF format.

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The Second Great Awakening was a nationwide expansion of Christianity in the US, lasting from 1790 to 1840. The awakening affected the new nation far beyond the realm of religion. It shaped American society in remarkable ways that are with us today.

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Judy Collins was a singer who sang many songs. The "Amazing Grace" song she has known since being a child. When being a grown up she had sang the song in many of her concerts. After singing the song with a group in one of the evenings, her producer told her to record it. So she picked out the way she would sing the song fixing up some things and using the arrangement of "New Britain" by Edwin Othello Excell. It worked out, and she recorded it in 1970.

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Many people have heard of "Amazing Grace" and had different experiences with it. One of them was Watson. He was someone that commercial music didn't affect him, he kept himself in the community that surrounded his life, including songs. When he had heard of "Amazing Grace" for the first time it was a testimony that was for him, it had a sense. Watson knew that there is a real meaning to the song.

Quote #10:

"The real meaning for Watson was that "when Jesus went to the cross it took more than what old-timers called 'bitting the bullet.' It was him showing that he loved us all enough that by the grace of God he would pay the sin debt for us on the cross and his grace showed me the way to go. The amazing grace of God is what the song is about." (172)

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Concluding the history of how the story behind the song "Amazing Grace" had a big impact on America. Many people like singers, and groups have sang the song. It grew up the Christianity in early American years. Many people were touched by the actual story behind this song. It has changed many times and there were different versions of the songs with different kinds of words that were added. Growing from when starting from the story of John Newton.