Spiritual Firestorm: How the First Great Awakening Rewired America | The American Story | Ep 3

The Glenn Beck Program

Mercury Radio Arts

News Commentary, News, Politics

4.6 • 25.1K Ratings

🗓️ 25 April 2026

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Dive into the chilling spark of the Salem Witch Trials and how colonial America’s spiritual decay ignited the First Great Awakening. Discover the preachers whose biblical devotion shaped government and defended liberty in the young society. From the pulpit of brilliant pastor Jonathan Edwards to the electrifying rise of George Whitefield – the evangelist who captivated unprecedented American audiences – we trace the massive revival movement that swept the colonies. This awakening cracked old hierarchies, empowered ordinary people, rewired American identity, and quietly laid the groundwork for revolution. From hysteria to hope, rebellion to rebirth, discover the complicated legacies (including ties to slavery) that shaped a nation’s soul. GLENN'S SPONSORS: PreBorn: Together, we can end the tragedy of abortion, one mother and baby at a time. To donate securely, dial #250 and say the keyword “baby,” or visit ⁠https://preborn.com/glenn⁠. Home Title Lock: Go to https://hometitlelock.com/glennbeck and use promo code GLENN to get a FREE title history report and a FREE TRIAL of their Triple Lock Protection! For details visit https://hometitlelock.com/warranty American Financing: American Financing can show you how to put your hard-earned equity to work and get you out of debt. Dial ⁠800-906-2440⁠, or visit ⁠https://www.americanfinancing.net⁠. Relief Factor: If you’re living with aches and pains, see how Relief Factor, a daily drug-free supplement, could help you feel better and live better. Try the three-week QuickStart for just $19.95 by visiting https://ReliefFactor.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's a frigid, bleak January day, 1692.
0:09.0	Slate sky, sharp wind rattling the bare trees in the sleepy Puritan town of Salem Village, Massachusetts.
0:19.0	Two girls, nine-year-old Betty Paris and her 11-year-old cousin, Abigail
0:24.4	Williams, huddled together in the dim glow of a candle. They're just playing a game. Something
0:32.0	silly, but secret. A fortune-telling game involving an egg dropped in a glass of water. You're supposed to
0:41.8	watch the way the ghostly shapes form how the egg white curls in the glass and catch a glimpse of your
0:48.3	future. Maybe great riches, maybe adventure, maybe a tall, handsome husband.
0:55.0	It's a boredom-busting activity that would certainly be forbidden by Betty's father, the Reverend Samuel Paris, if he knew that they were doing it, that is.
1:06.0	But when Betty and Abigail peer into their glass, they don't see husbands or homes or happy futures.
1:13.6	They see a coffin.
1:16.6	Then something goes wrong.
1:19.6	Horribly, horribly wrong.
1:22.6	The girls begin barking like dogs.
1:25.6	They shriek without warning, speaking strange, unintelligible words.
1:29.3	They clutch their heads in agony, convulsing, writhing on the floor,
1:33.3	and curl themselves under the furniture as though trying to escape invisible claws.
1:39.3	The town doctor, William Griggs, is quickly summoned.
1:43.3	He examines them.
1:44.8	His face growing more and more pale.
1:47.2	He can't detect the obvious physical cause.
1:50.1	And so he provides the only diagnosis of Puritan village would accept in New England in the late
1:55.6	1600s.
	...

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