To Begin the World Over Again: A Reimagining of Millennial Expectations in Colonial America as Source to the Revolution

The study’s controlling question is to determine the extent millennialism as an intellectual movement informed the thinking of Colonial America. The evidence gathered suggests a kind of smorgasbord with no uniform thought. What can be deduced from the literature, however, is the fluidity of millennialism and its ability to adapt and contort to the political ideology of the era. Moreover, millennialism provided a sense of purpose for the American continent with the Great Awakening serving as the legitimizing movement which both popularized and diffused the millennium. From the 1750s, American millennialism began its evolution from a spiritual consummation of all things to a more politicized millennium, mirroring England. By the time of the Revolution, millennial themes, symbols, and language dominated the American continent far more than Whig ideology.