Southern Custom.

The South, like the North, was deeply affected by the revivals of the Second Great Awakening. Until the late eighteenth century, Southerners as a group were not particularly pious. Southern culture was dominated by a wealthy male aristocracy often more interested in personal honor than in salvation. Although nominally members of the Anglican Church (Church of England), many Southern aristocrats viewed church services as little more than social occasions and were given to cursing, gambling, and dueling the other six days of the week. The wave of religious revivals that swept the South in the 1790s and early 1800s, when ealous preachers began a fullfledged missionary effort there, dramatically altered this traditional culture. Many members of the Anglican aristocracy were converted and convinced to alter their values and behavior and to respect the Christian values of love and kindness. More significantly, the revivals brought large...