The Great Awakening was a turning point in the life of the American people. Before it was over, it had swept the colonies of the Eastern seaboard, transforming the social and religious life of land. Although the name is not really what it sounds, the Great Awakening was not one continuous revival; rather it was several revivals in a variety of locations. The awakening altered the way people were educated by adding new universities, their identities, and also the way everyone thought of the authorities and how they began to question them. It says a great deal about the state of religion and change that took place in the colonies. .
There are many factors that caused the life of all citizens in the colonies to change dramatically. Many people that attended church complained about the "dead dogs," which were those priests that made extensive and dull sermons from the head of the church. Not only this, but many ministers were worried about all of those who attended the church regularly. They believed their souls were started by the "hellfire of the orthodox Calvinism." .
Many new ideas began to rise and people left the ideas of the modern colonial man and thought of new and innovating deliberations. Individuals began to question the authority of the church and what they really needed to believe in. Worshipers began to proclaim that people were not preordained to hell and by the doings of good, there souls could be saved. These ideas mainly came from the doctrines of the Arminians, followers of the Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminians. Sinners professed conversion and those who were saved "rolled in the snow from religious excitation." .
The Great Awakening in America during the 1730's and 1740's had tremendous results. The number of people in the church multiplied, and the lives of the converted revealed a true Christian devotion. As a result, many new universities were built. Some of these included Yale, Princeton, and Harvard.