The Second Great Awakening, which lasted from 1790 to 1840, was a time of unusual Christian revival that extended until the pre-Civil War period, characterized by an unprecedented Christian evangelizing activity and large numbers of conversions. Its name is due to the Great Awakening, a similar period that had taken place about half a century before. It produced a deep feeling in churches and congregations throughout New England, the Mid-Atlantic, the Northwest and the South of the United States. Because of this, preachers like Charles Finney, Lyman Beecher, Barton Stone, Peter Cartwright and Asahel Nettleton ended up becoming well known throughout American society. The identification of evangelization with social causes was intensified, which affected American life in areas such as the reform of prisons, abolitionism and the promotion of abstinence.
Many Americans left farms and headed to the cities because the industrial revolution opened up many jobs in the cities. Also, the industrial revolution created more farm technology that allowed farmers to do the day's work with fewer people. This led to mass unemployment and peoples' dispersal into cities. This also caused cities to grow.
