(1823) A Presbyterian minister who started a series of revivals in Upstate New York. Through his sermons, he appealed to the audiences' emotions and fear of damnation and would persuade thousands to declare their faith. He believed that everybody could be saved through faith and hard work. These ideals largely appealed to the middle class. Due to Finney's influence, western New York became known as the "burned-over district" for its frequent "hell-and-brimstone" revivals.
Shakers
A very early, religious communal movement founded by Ann Lee Stanley. Believed in celibacy and that God had both a female and male component. They had about 6,000 members by the 1840s. They also held property in common and held men and women completely separate. The Shakers eventually died out by the mid-1900s due to a lack of new recruits.
Mormons
Founded by Joseph Smith in 1830 in the Church of the Latter-Day Saints. Beliefs were based off the idea that that Native Americans had connections with the lost tribes of Israel. Smith gathered followers and moved from New York to Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois where he was killed by a mob. The Mormons fled to the Great Salt Lake of Utah and established New Zion, under the leadership of Bringham Young. They attempted to prosper in the wilderness, practiced polygamy, and gained hostility from the U.S. government.