- Burned-over district
"Burned-over district" was a name popularized by historian
Whitney Cross in his 1950 book "The Burned-over District: the social and intellectual history of enthusiastic religion in western New York State, 1800-1850". The term appears to have been coined however, byCharles Grandison Finney who in his 1876 book "Autobiography of Charles G. Finney" referred to a "burnt district" (p78) to denote an area in central and western New York State during theSecond Great Awakening . The name was inspired by the notion that the area had been so heavily evangelized duringantebellum revivalism as to have no "fuel" (unconverted population) left over to "burn" (convert), or as expressed byChristopher Hitchens , "in honor of the way in which it had surrendered to one religious craze after another." [cite book
last = Hitchens
first = Christopher
authorlink = Christopher Hitchens
title =god is not Great
publisher = Twelve
location = New York
year = 2007
pages = 161–168 ]When religion is related to reform movements of the period, such as abolition,
women's rights , and utopian social experiments, the region expands to include areas of central New York that were important to these movements.Religion in the District
Western New York still had a frontier quality during the early canal boom, making professional and established
clergy scarce, lending the piety of the area many of the self-taught qualities that proved susceptible tofolk religion . Besides producing many mainline Protestant converts, especially in nonconformist sects, the area spawned a number of innovative religious movements, all founded bylaypeople during the early 19th century. These include:* The
Latter Day Saint movement (whose main branch isThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ).Joseph Smith, Jr. lived in the area and allegedly was led by theangel Moroni to golden plates, from which he claimed to have translated theBook of Mormon near Palmyra, New York.
* TheMillerites . William Miller was a farmer who lived in Low Hampton, New York, who preached that the literalSecond Coming would occur "October 22, 1844." Millerism became extremely popular in western New York State.
* TheFox sisters of Hydesville, New York conducted the first table-rappingséance s in the area, leading to the American movement of Spiritualism (centered inLily Dale ) that taught communication with the dead.
* TheShakers were very active in the area, with several of their communal farms located there.
* TheOneida Society was a large sectarian group that established a successful community in central New York that subsequently disbanded. It was known for its unique interpretation ofgroup marriage which had mates chosen by committee and offspring of the community raised in common.In addition to religious activity, the region including the burned-over district was famous for social radicalism.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton , the early feminist, was a resident of Seneca Falls, New York in central New York where she and others in the community initiated the seminalSeneca Falls Convention devoted towomen's suffrage .The larger region was the main source of converts to the Fourierist utopian socialist movement. The
Skaneateles Community in central New York was such an experiment. The Oneida Society, likewise in central New York, was also considered a utopian group. Related to radical reform, central New York provided many members of Hunter Patriots, some of whom volunteered to invade Canada during thePatriot War .Location
The district can be broadly described as the area in New York State west of the
Finger Lakes and south of theErie Canal [http://www.crookedlakereview.com/books/saints_sinners/martin1.html] (built in 1825) and contains the following counties:* Allegany
* Cattaraugus
* Chautauqua
* Erie
* Genesee
* Livingston
* Monroe
* Niagara
* Ontario
* Orleans
* Seneca
* Steuben
* Wayne
* YatesReferences
*Glenn C. Altschuler, Jan M. Saltzgaber: "Revivalism social conscience, and community in the Burned-over District. The trial of Rhoda Bement". Cornell University Press, Ithaca NY 1983 ( [http://historical.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/cul.cdl/docviewer?did=cdl166 online version)]
*Cross, Whitney, (1950) R. "The Burned-Over District: The Social and Intellectual History of Enthusiastic Religion in Western New York, 1800–1850".ee also
*
John Humphrey Noyes
*Charles Grandison Finney
*Ellen G. White
*Seventh-day Adventists External links
*John H. Martin, [http://www.crookedlakereview.com/articles/136_167/137fall2005/137martin.html Saints, Sinners and Reformers: The Burned-Over District Re-Visited] , "The Crooked Lake Review", Fall 2005. Book-length study in a local history quarterly.
* [http://olivercowdery.com/census/BurntCen.htm The “Burned-Over District, 1810-1830 Federal Census Indices”]
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