| Lesson 14: Meeting House
1 class period (85 minutes)
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| Key Content Ideas Taught in this Lesson and
Teacher Background |
Between the First and Second Great Awakenings,
Massachusetts saw a trend toward the disestablishment of the church
-- a democratization of religion. The First Amendment in the new
Federal Constitution forbade the adoption of an officially established
church, perhaps because of past religious conflicts in Europe, which
plagued the continent over the centuries.
The gradual disestablishment of the Congregational
Church in Massachusetts during the post-Federal period reflects
this movement. Such legislation illustrated the waning influence
of the Congregational Church on the secular and religious daily
lives of the inhabitants. Although the church still occupied a prominent
place in the lives of the Deerfield residents, the building was
now owned by the congregation and used only for worship. Although
grander in scale, the building retained its early English Puritan
attributes of simplicity, piety, and order.
Teacher Background Essay: Development of the Meeting House
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| Intended Learning Outcomes |
Understandings
Students will understand:
- Deerfield became prosperous because
of the river trade and improved agricultural practices. This prosperity
led to increased refinement.
Skills
Students will be able to:
- Make the connections between the changing
ideals of "decencies" of life, new modes of behavior,
and consumption, which together resulted in what is known as the
middle class.
- Use information gained from this and other periods to
develop a continuum showing the growth of the Deerfield community
- "Read" a building and understand architectural
terminology.
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| In Preparation for Teaching |
1. Read Teacher Background Essay: Development of the Meeting House
Further Background reading:
McGowan, Susan and Amelia Miller. Family and Landscape.
Deerfield, Massachusetts: Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association,
1996.
Editor: Peter Benes. New England Meeting
House and Church: 1630-1850. Dublin Seminar: Boston: Boston
UP, 1979.
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Primary and Secondary Sources:
Unless otherwise noted, all are available
on the American Centuries website.
- Meeting House references and images.
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| Activity |
Materials in Context |
- Invite the students to research the First
and Second Great Awakenings in New England. Identify the following
in terms of the "awakenings": Solomon Stoddard,
Jonathan Edwards, and George Whitefield.
- Reassemble in the class and discuss the events and the
ramifications of those events.
- Read the teacher/student essay.
- Ask students to sketch the floor plan of the fourth Deerfield
Meeting House, its exterior design, location in the town,
interior seating arrangements, symbolism, and ornamentation.
Assignment:
Summarize the changing role of the church from the Colonial
Period (1680-1720) to the Federal Period (1780-1820) in Deerfield
as it impacted your selected family.
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Written summary of the changing role of the church.
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