© Copyright 2017 New-York Historical Society area where shedevoted herlife.At around provided her withreligious teaching, the she stillregretted thatherparents hadnot deeply spiritual,even asachild. Years later, taught herselftoread andwrite,shewas white familylivingsixtymilesaway toa hired heroutasadomesticservant 1849 . Engraving .New-York Historical Society Library, CT Lee: givinganaccountofhercalltopreach thegospel , frontispiece . Jarena Lee,1849.Religious Experience andJournal ofMrs.Jarena Forbidden toSpeak J when their daughter was seven, they when theirdaughterwasseven, they Like manypoorpeopleofallraces, couple inCapeMay, New Jersey arena Lee’s parents were afree black .Jarena L4784 A3 .L4784A3 .

he notawholeSavior, insteadofahalfone?” not thewoman?seeinghediedforheralso preach, becausetheSavior diedforhim,why disappointing moment:“If themanmay spiritual autobiography, shereflected onthis to speak. churches: foritisnotpermitteduntothem Bible: “Letyour womenkeepsilenceinthe churches hadasimilarpolicybasedonthe but onlymencouldpreach .Most Protestant that shecouldrespond from thecongregation, asked Reverend Allenforpermission.He said Soon after, Jarena feltcalledtopreach, and Allen .She wasbaptized in1807atage24. church andheard thepreaching ofRichard felt outofplaceuntilshearrived atablack searched forachurch thatsuitedher age 20,Jarena moved toPhiladelphia and F on foot,topreach toassembled crowds . began totravel manymilesaday, often female preacher intheA.MEchurch .She relented .Jarena becamethefirstauthorized She wassopowerful thatReverend Allen and begantopreach withoutpermission. Jarena hadaprofound religious experience women preaching hadnotchanged,but Episcopalrules against (A.ME)Church .The had justfoundedtheAfricanMethodist to Philadelphia andReverend Allen,who of theirsixchildren haddied.She returned New Jersey married, shemoved withherhusbandto thoughts ofpreaching .In 1811,newly or thetimebeing,Jarena putasideher ” Later, whenshepublishedher By 1817, her husband and four .By 1817,herhusbandandfour Jarena Lee She .She

Is .Is Life Story Second Great Awakening wasimportant of conversions by thethousands .The meetings, oftenonahugescale, and within Protestant churches, ofrevival were periodsof intense religious fervor awakenings” in Americanhistory Historians have identifiedother “great as Jarena work . beganhermissionary Great Awakening, itpeaked inthe1820s, to the1840s.LatercalledSecond movement thatstretched from the1790s Jarena ofabroad spiritual Leewaspart The Second Great Awakening Hugh Bridport, Camp Meeting, ca.1829LithographNew-York Historical Society Library, PR68. 1783–1849 .They Saving Washington: The New RepublicandEarly Reformers,1790–1860 York State, where she preached andheld reported ononetrip tosouthernNew .Jarena converts competed fornew Lee Baptists were themostpopular, and Protestant sects.The Methodists and P of themenwere theirhusbandsandsons. weremost oftheconverts, women.Most most ofthepeopleatreligious revivals, and American life.Throughout thecountry, was contendingwithdeepinequalitiesin and thelives ofwomenjustasthenation because itlinkedreligion, moralreform, eople flockedespeciallytothe newer

© Copyright 2017 New-York Historical Society spoke to a few dozenspoke toafew peopleatmost .She sought outAfrican Americans,andusually preach toanygroup oflisteners,but she enormous, crowds .Jarena Leewould itinerant preachers drew eager, sometimes preached .Regardless of raceorgender, American womenwhotraveled and Lee—and Sojourner Truth—were African Awakening .Most were white,butJarena preachers duringtheSecond Great One studyfoundaboutahundred female temperance, abolition,andwomen’s rights. energies toreform movements favoring morality togooduse.Many appliedtheir morally superior, andneededtoputthat reinforced women’s beliefthattheywere Jarena Leebecomeapreacher human nature andreligion, andtheyhelped were optimistic,democraticideasabout choose anyoneofthemtopreach .These could findsalvation .AndGod could uneducated, blackpeople,andwomen— common people—includingthepoor, the the elite.One ofitscentralideaswasthat rebellion of againstdogmaandtherule American Revolution, wasapopular The Second Great Awakening, likethe Changing Minds same ground, hadwononlyfive . The that revivalBaptists, working.” the were twenty-one personsjoinedfrom had thevictory,” shewrote, “as there prayer meetingsover several days.“We .But theyalso woman takingsuchadeepsubject. and“theyconverts, ata allmarveled where shepreached andgainedmany small town inwestern New York State, won over had beenforbidden,andyet they were Jarena Leewitnessedsomething that the waypeoplethink.Thosewhoheard subtle process thatgraduallychanges not reformers .But reform isaslow, their churches .In thatsense,theywere male ministers,orfundamentallychange other femalepreachers setouttounseat for herrighttopreach .Neither shenor E small salary, butthewomenwere unpaid. needed itall.Male preachers received a places tosleep, meals,alittlecash,andshe reported, were kind.Theygave herrides, schools, openfields.Most people,she preached wherever shecould:inhomes, Printed andPublished fortheAuthor, 1849) . Giving anAccount ofherCall toPreach theGospel (Philadelphia: Jarena Lee,Religious Experience andJournal ofMrs.Jarena Lee, document .php/98759pdf(accessedby M. Waters, 11-18-2016); Baylor University, 2009,http://www Nineteenth-Century America,” TheCenterforChristian Ethics at Sources: arly inhercareer, Jarena Leefought Catherine A.Brekus, “Female Preaching inEarly .She wrote ofonerevival ina Jarena Lee .baylor .edu/content/services/ ” Life Story 1783–1849 continued ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ Why isJarena Lee’s important? story from male itinerantpreachers? How wasJarena Leetreated differently radical socialmovement? What madetheSecond Great Awakening a overcome them? in pursuingherpassions?How didshe What challengesdidJarena Leeface Discussion Questions Saving Washington: The New RepublicandEarly Reformers,1790–1860