The Second Great Awakening was a Christian revival movement during the early 19th century in the United States. The movement began around 1790, had begun to gain momentum by 1800, and was in decline by 1870.^[1] The Second Great Awakening expressed Arminian theology, by which every person could be saved through revivals. It enrolled millions of new members, and led to the formation of new denominations. Many converts believed that the Awakening heralded a new millennial age. The Second Great Awakening stimulated the establishment of many reform movements designed to remedy the evils of society before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.^[2]

During the Second Great Awakening, church membership rose sharply.

Spread of revivals[link]

Burned-over district[link]

Upstate New York was called the "Burned-over district" because of the numerous revivals that crisscrossed the region.^[3][4]

On the frontier the Awakening, which sent missionaries out to the people, supported the growth of membership among Methodists and Baptists, based on a view of man's spiritual equality before God. Baptists and Methodist revivals were successful in some parts of the Tidewater, where an increasing number of common planters, plain folk and slaves were converted. Revivalists techniques were based on the camp meeting, with its Scottish Presbyterian roots.^[5]

Adventism[link]

The Advent Movement emerged in the 1830s and 1840s in North America, and was preached by ministers such as William Miller, whose followers became known as Millerites. The name refers to belief in the soon Second Advent of Jesus (popularly known as the Second coming) and resulted in several major religious denominations, including Seventh-day Adventists and Advent Christians.^[6]

Church membership soars[link]

1839 Methodist camp meeting

The Methodist circuit riders and local Baptist preachers made enormous gains; to a lesser extent the Presbyterians gained members. Among the new denominations that were rooted in the religious ferment of the Second Great Awakening are the Churches of Christ, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (nicknamed the Mormons), the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada.^[7][8]

Frontier[link]

In the newly settled frontier regions, the revival was implemented through camp meetings, which often was the first contact the settlers had with organized religion. The camp meeting was a religious service of several days' length with multiple preachers. Settlers in thinly populated areas gathered at the camp meeting for fellowship as well as worship. The sheer exhilaration of participating in a religious revival with crowds of hundreds and perhaps thousands of people inspired the dancing, shouting, and singing associated with these events. The revivals followed an arc of great emotional power, with an emphasis of the individual's sins and need to turn to Christ, restored by a sense of personal salvation. Upon their return home, most converts joined or created small local churches, which grew rapidly.^[9]

One of the early camp meetings took place in July 1800 at Gasper River Church in southwestern Kentucky. A much larger gathering was held at Cane Ridge, Kentucky in 1801, attracting perhaps as many as 20,000 people. Numerous Presbyterian, Baptist and Methodist ministers participated in the services. Thanks to such leaders as Barton W. Stone (1772–1844) and Alexander Campbell (1788–1866), the camp meeting revival became a major mode of church expansion for denominations such as the Methodists and Baptists.^[10]

The Cumberland Presbyterian Church emerged in Kentucky. Cane Ridge was also instrumental in fostering what became known as the Restoration Movement. This was made up of non-denominational churches committed to what they saw as the original, fundamental Christianity of the New Testament. They were committed to individuals' achieving a personal relationship with Christ. Churches with roots in this movement include the Churches of Christ, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Evangelical Christian Church in Canada^[7] and the Christian churches and churches of Christ.^[11]

Restoration Movement[link]

The idea of restoring a "primitive" form of Christianity grew in popularity in the U.S. after the American Revolution.^[12]:89–94 This desire to restore a purer form of Christianity played a role in the development of many groups during the Second Great Awakening, including the Mormons, Baptists and Shakers.^[12]:89 Several factors made the restoration sentiment particularly appealing during this time period.^[12]:90–94

• To immigrants in the early 19th century, the land in America seemed pristine, edenic and undefiled – "the perfect place to recover pure, uncorrupted and original Christianity" – and the tradition-bound European churches seemed out of place in this new setting.^[12]:90
• A primitive faith based on the Bible alone promised a way to sidestep the competing claims of all the many denominations available and find assurance of being right without the security of an established national church.^[12]:93

The Restoration Movement began during, and was greatly influenced by, the Second Great Awakening.^[13]:368 While the leaders of one of the two primary groups making up this movement, Thomas Campbell and Alexander Campbell, resisted what they saw as the spiritual manipulation of the camp meetings, it was an important factor in the development of the other major branch, led by Barton W. Stone.^[13]:368 The Southern phase of the Awakening "was an important matrix of Barton Stone's reform movement" and shaped the evangelistic techniques used by both Stone and the Campbells.^[13]:368

Culture and society[link]

Congregationalists set up missionary societies to evangelize the western territory of the northern tier. Members of these groups acted as apostles for the faith and also as educators and exponents of northeastern urban culture. Publication and education societies promoted Christian education; most notable among them was the American Bible Society, founded in 1816. Social activism influence abolition groups and supporters of the temperance movement. They began efforts to reform prisons and care for the handicapped and mentally ill. They believed in the perfectibility of people and were highly moralistic in their endeavors. The Second Great Awakening served as an "organizing process" that created "a religious and educational infrastructure" across the western frontier that encompassed social networks, a religious journalism that provided mass communication, and church related colleges.^[13]:368

Ritual and theology[link]

Long (2002) notes that since the 1980s, scholars have connected American religious camp meetings to Scottish holy fairs of the 17th–18th centuries. Formerly they were thought to have originated in the unique conditions of the American frontier experience. The great wave of Scots-Irish immigrants to the colonies before the American Revolution brought such traditions with them.

Long examines the sacramental theology in communion sermons given by James McGready in Kentucky during the first decade of the 19th century. McGready's sermons demonstrated adherence to reformed theology, a Calvinist understanding of salvation, and a sacramental emphasis. A central theme of McGready's sermons was that of believers' meeting Christ at the communion table.

Slaves[link]

Baptists and Methodists in the South preached to slaveholders and slaves alike. Conversions and congregations started with the First Great Awakening, resulting in Baptist and Methodist preachers being authorized among slaves and free blacks more than a decade before 1800. Early congregations were formed among slaves and free blacks in South Carolina and Virginia. Especially in the Baptist Church, blacks were welcomed in multiple roles. By the early 19th century, there were independent black congregations numbering in the several hundred in some cities of the South, such as Charleston, South Carolina, and Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia.^[14] With the growth in congregations and churches, Baptist associations formed in Virginia, for instance, as well as Kentucky and other states.

The revival also inspired slaves to demand freedom. In 1800, out of black revival meetings in Virginia, a plan for slave rebellion was devised by Gabriel Prosser, although the rebellion was discovered and crushed before it started.^[15] Despite white attempts to control independent black congregations, especially after the Nat Turner Uprising of 1831, a number of black congregations managed to maintain their separation, even when laws passed requiring them always to have a white man present at their worship meetings.^[16]

Prominent figures[link]

• Richard Allen, African Methodist Episcopal Church
• Lyman Beecher, Presbyterian
• Alexander Campbell, Presbyterian, then early leader of the Restoration Movement
• Thomas Campbell Presbyterian, then early leader of the Restoration Movement
• Peter Cartwright, Methodist
• Lorenzo Dow, Methodist
• Timothy Dwight IV, Congregationalist
• Charles Finney, Presbyterian, but anti-Calvinist
• William Miller, Millerism, forerunner of Adventism
• Asahel Nettleton, Reformed
• Barton Stone, Presbyterian non-Calvinist, then early leader of the Restoration Movement
• James Brainerd Taylor (no relation to Nathaniel William Taylor), Reformed, mentored by Asahel Nettleton
• Nathaniel William Taylor, heterodox Calvinist
• Ellen G. White, Seventh-day Adventist Church

The great revival quickly spread throughout Kentucky, Tennessee and southern Ohio. Each denomination had assets that allowed it to thrive on the frontier. The Methodists had an efficient organization that depended on ministers known as circuit riders, who sought out people in remote frontier locations. The circuit riders came from among the common people, which helped them establish rapport with the frontier families they hoped to convert.

The Second Great Awakening exercised a profound impact on American religious history. The numerical strength of the Baptists and Methodists rose relative to that of the denominations dominant in the colonial period—the Anglicans, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and Reformed. Efforts to apply Christian teaching to the resolution of social problems presaged the Social Gospel of the late 19th century.

The United States was becoming a more culturally diverse nation in the early-to-mid-19th century, and the growing differences within American Protestantism reflected and contributed to this diversity. The Awakening influenced numerous reform movements, especially abolitionists.

Political implications[link]

In the midst of shifts in theology and church polity, American Christians took it upon themselves to reform society during this period. Known commonly as antebellum reform, this phenomenon included reforms in temperance, womens' rights, abolitionism, and a multitude of other questions faced by society.^[17]

The religious enthusiasm of the Second Great Awakening was echoed by the new political enthusiasm of the Second Party System .^[18]

Historians stress the understanding common among participants of reform as being a part of God's plan. As a result, local churches saw their roles in society in purifying the world through the individuals to whom they could bring salvation, and through changes in the law and the creation of institutions. Interest in transforming the world was applied to mainstream political action, as temperance activists, antislavery advocates, and proponents of other variations of reform sought to implement their beliefs into national politics. While religion had previously played an important role on the American political scene, the Second Great Awakening highlighted the important role which individual beliefs would play.^[2]

See also[link]

• Abolitionism
• Adventist
• Advent Christian Church
• Seventh-day Adventist Church
• Burned-over district
• Christian revival
• Christianity in the 19th century
• Day-Year principle
• First Great Awakening
• William Miller (preacher)
• Millerites
• Restoration Movement
• Temperance movement
• Third Great Awakening
• Fourth Great Awakening

Part of a series on the
History of Christian Theology
Background
Four Marks of the Church Early Christianity · Timeline History of Christianity Theology Ecclesiastical polity Trinitarianism Nontrinitarianism Christian primitivism Christology · Mariology Biblical Canon (Deuterocanonical and Apocryphal books)
Creeds
Apostles' · Nicene Chalcedonian · Athanasian
Patristic theology and Councils
Church Fathers · Augustine Nicaea · Chalcedon Ephesus
Post-Nicene development
Heresy · Monophysitism Monothelitism Iconoclasm · Gregory I Alcuin · Photios East-West Schism Scholasticism Aquinas · Anselm William of Ockham Gregory Palamas Old Believers
Reformation
Protestant Reformation Luther · Melanchthon Indulgences · Justification Sola fide · 95 Theses Book of Concord Predestination · Calvinism Arminianism English Reformation Counter-Reformation Trent
Since the Reformation
Pietism · Revivalism John Wesley Great Awakenings Holiness movement Restoration Movement Existentialism · Liberalism Modernism (Roman Catholicism) Postmodernism · Vatican II Radical orthodoxy Jean-Luc Marion Hermeneutics Deconstruction and religion Liberation Theology Christian Anarchism
Christianity portal
v t e

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Abzug, Robert H. Cosmos Crumbling: American Reform and the Religious Imagination (1994) (ISBN 0-195-04568-8)
• Ahlstrom, Sydney. A Religious History of the American People (1972) (ISBN 0-385-11164-9)
• Billington, Ray A. The Protestant Crusade. New York: The MacMillian Company, 1938.
• Birdsall Richard D. "The Second Great Awakening and the New England Social Order", Church History 39 (1970): 345–364. in JSTOR
• Bratt, James D. "Religious Anti-revivalism in Antebellum America", Journal of the Early Republic (2004) 24(1): 65–106. ISSN 0275–1275 Fulltext: in Ebsco.
• Brown, Kenneth O. Holy Ground; a Study on the American Camp Meeting. Garland Publishing, Inc., 1992.
• Brown, Kenneth O. Holy Ground, Too, the Camp Meeting Family Tree. Hazleton: Holiness Archives, (1997).
• Bruce, Dickson D., Jr. And They All Sang Hallelujah: Plain Folk Camp-Meeting Religion, 1800–1845 (1974)
• Butler Jon. "Enthusiasm Described and Decried: The Great Awakening as Interpretative Fiction", Journal of American History 69 (1982): 305–325. in JSTOR, highly influential essay
• Butler Jon. Awash in a Sea of Faith: Christianizing the American People. 1990.
• Carwardine, Richard J. Evangelicals and Politics in Antebellum America. Yale University Press, 1993.
• Carwardine, Richard J. "The Second Great Awakening in the Urban Centers: An Examination of Methodism and the 'New Measures'", Journal of American History 59 (1972): 327–340. in JSTOR
• Conforti; Joseph A. Jonathan Edwards, Religious Tradition and American Culture, (1995).
• Cott, Nancy F. "Young Women in the Second Great Awakening in New England," Feminist Studies, Vol. 3, No. 1/2 (Autumn, 1975), pp. 15–29 in JSTOR
• Cross, Whitney, R. The Burned-Over District: The Social and Intellectual History of Enthusiastic Religion in Western New York, 1800–1850, (1950).
• Foster, Charles I. An Errand of Mercy: The Evangelical United Front, 1790–1837, University of North Carolina Press, 1960.
• Griffin, Clifford S. "Religious Benevolence as Social Control, 1815–1860", The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Vol. 44, No. 3. (Dec., 1957), pp. 423–444. in JSTOR
• Hambrick-Stowe, Charles. Charles G. Finney and the Spirit of American Evangelicalism. (1996).
• Hankins, Barry. The Second Great Awakening and the Transcendentalists. Greenwood, 2004.
• Hatch Nathan O. The Democratization of American Christianity (1989).
• Johnson, Charles A. "The Frontier Camp Meeting: Contemporary and Historical Appraisals, 1805–1840", The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Vol. 37, No. 1. (Jun., 1950), pp. 91–110. in JSTOR
• Kyle III, I. Francis. An Uncommon Christian: James Brainerd Taylor, Forgotten Evangelist in America's Second Great Awakening (2008). See Uncommon Christian Ministries
• Long, Kimberly Bracken. "The Communion Sermons of James Mcgready: Sacramental Theology and Scots-Irish Piety on the Kentucky Frontier", Journal of Presbyterian History, 2002 80(1): 3–16. Issn: 0022-3883
• Loveland Anne C. Southern Evangelicals and the Social Order, 1800–1860, (1980)
• Marsden George M. The Evangelical Mind and the New School Presbyterian Experience: A Case Study of Thought and Theology in Nineteenth-Century America (1970).
• Matzko, John A. "The Encounter of the Young Joseph Smith with Presbyterianism," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 40/3, 2007.
• McLoughlin William G. Modern Revivalism, 1959.
• McLoughlin William G. Revivals, Awakenings, and Reform: An Essay on Religion and Social Change in America, 1607–1977, 1978.
• Noll; Mark A. ed. God and Mammon: Protestants, Money, and the Market, 1790–1860 (2002).
• Posey, Walter Brownlow. The Baptist Church in the Lower Mississippi Valley, 1776–1845 (1957)
• Raboteau, Albert. Slave Religion: The "invisible Institution' in the Antebellum South, (1979)
• Roth Randolph A. The Democratic Dilemma: Religion, Reform, and the Social Order in the Connecticut River Valley of Vermont, 1791–1850, (1987)
• Shiels Richard D. "The Second Great Awakening in Connecticut: Critique of the Traditional Interpretation", Church History 49 (1980): 401–415. in JSTOR
• Smith, Timothy L. Revivalism and Social Reform: American Protestantism on the Eve of the Civil War (1957)

v t e History of Christianity Centuries:1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st Eras: Early Roman Medieval Modern Jesus & Apostolic Age Background Ministry Good News Crucifixion & Resurrection Holy Spirit Gospels Acts The 12 Paul Acts 15 Ante-Nicene Period Judaism split Justin Martyr Ignatius Persecution Fathers Irenaeus Marcionism Canon Tertullian Montanism Origen Christian Empire Constantine the Great Monasticism Councils: Nicaea I Creed Athanasius Arianism Jerome Augustine Councils II III IV Eastern Christianity Orthodoxy Greece Church of the East Oriental Orthodoxy Coptic Nestorianism Syria Armenia Ethiopia Chrysostom Iconoclasm Bulgaria Great Schism Fall Ottoman Russia America 20th century Middle Ages Pelagianism Gregory I Celtic Germanic Scandinavian Kievan Rus' Investiture Anselm Abelard Bernard of Clairvaux Crusades Inquisition Scholasticism Dominic Francis Bonaventure Aquinas Wycliffe Avignon Papal Schism Hus Conciliarism Protestant Reformation Protestantism Erasmus Five solas Eucharist Calvinist v. Arminian Arminianism Dort Wars Lutheranism Martin Luther 95 Theses Diet of Worms Melanchthon Orthodoxy Eucharist Book of Concord Reformed Zwingli Calvin Calvinism history Scotland Knox TULIP Dort Westminster Anglicanism Timeline Henry VIII Cranmer Settlement 39 Articles Common Prayer Puritans Civil War Anabaptism Radical Reformation Grebel Swiss Brethren Müntzer Martyrs' Synod Menno Simons Smyth Catholicism Primacy development Papacy Timeline Lateran IV Trent Counter-Reformation Thomas More Leo X Guadalupe Jesuits Jansenists Xavier Monastery dissolution Wars Teresa Vatican I & II Modernism Modern Christianity and Revivalism English denominations Baptists Congregationalism Great Awakening Methodism Millerism Pietism Neo- & Old Lutherans Restoration Movement Jehovah's Witnesses Mormonism Seventh-day Adventism Industrial Age Camp meeting Holiness movement Independent Catholic Churches Second Great Awakening Third Great Awakening After World War I Azusa Revival Ecumenism Evangelicalism Jesus movement Mainline Protestant Pentecostalism Charismatics Liberation Theology Christian Right Timeline Missions Timeline Martyrs Theology Eastern Orthodoxy Oriental Orthodoxy Protestantism Catholicism

The term Great Awakening is used to refer to several periods of religious revival in American religious history. Historians and theologians identify three or four waves of increased religious enthusiasm occurring between the early 18th century and the late 19th century. Each of these "Great Awakenings" was characterized by widespread revivals led by evangelical Protestant ministers, a sharp increase of interest in religion, a profound sense of conviction and redemption on the part of those affected, an increase in evangelical church membership, and the formation of new religious movements and denominations.

First Great Awakening[link]

The First Great Awakening began in the 1730s and lasted to about 1750. Ministers from various evangelical Protestant denominations supported the Great Meowzers.^[1] Additionally, pastoral styles began to change. In the late colonial period, most pastors read their sermons, which were theologically dense and advanced a particular theological argument or interpretation. Leaders of the Awakening such as Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield had little interest in merely engaging parishioners' minds; they wanted far more to an emotional response from their audience, one which might yield the workings and evidence of saving grace.

Joseph Tracy, the minister, historian, and preacher who gave this religious phenomenon its name in his influential 1842 book The Great Awakening, saw the First Great Awakening as a precursor to the American Revolution. The evangelical movement of the 1740s played a key role in the development of democratic thought, as well as the belief of the free press and the belief that information should be shared and completely unbiased. These concepts ushered in the period of the American Revolution. This helped create a demand for religious freedom.^[2] Although the Great Awakening represented the first time African Americans embraced Christianity in large numbers, Anglican missionaries had long sought to convert blacks, again with the printed as well as the spoken word. ^[3]

Second Great Awakening[link]

The Second Great Awakening was a religious revival that occurred in the United States beginning in the late eighteenth century and lasted until the middle of the nineteenth century. While it occurred in all parts of the United States, it was especially strong in the Northeast and the Midwest. It is also noteworthy to point out that this awakening was unique in that it moved beyond the educated elite of New England to those that were less wealthy and less educated. The epicenter of revivalism was the so-called Burned-Over District in western New York. Named for its overabundance of hellfire-and-damnation preaching, the region produced dozens of new denominations, communal societies, and reform movements.

In addition to a religious movement, other reform movements such as temperance, abolition, and women's rights also grew in antebellum America. The temperance movement encouraged people to abstain from consuming alcoholic drinks in order to preserve family order. The abolition movement fought to abolish slavery in the United States. The women's rights movement grew from female abolitionists who realized that they too could fight for their own political rights. In addition to these causes, reforms touched nearly every aspect of daily life, such as restricting the use of tobacco and dietary and dress reforms. The abolition movement emerged in the North from the wider Second Great Awakening 1800-1840.

Third Great Awakening[link]

The Third Great Awakening in 1880-1910 was characterized by new denominations, very active missionary work, and also the Social Gospel approach to social issues.^[4] The effects of such an awakening are immeasurable. It resulted in the addition of approximately one million converts to the church¬es of the United States. It tied the gospel with social work in a manner that had not been seen in this country before. It prepared the nation for the blood bath it would soon experience in the war years of 1861-1865. It gave birth to the great revivals which swept the armies of the South during the days of the war. Out of the 1858 Awakening came the introduction of the Y.M.CA. into American cities. It produced the leadership, such as that of Dwight L. Moody, out of which came the religious work carried on in the armies during the civil war. It gave impetus to the creation of the Christian and Sanitary Commissions and numerous Freedmen's Societies that were formed in the midst of the war.

Fourth Great Awakening[link]

The Fourth Great Awakening is a debated concept that has not received the acceptance of the first three. Advocates such as economist Robert Fogel say it happened in the late 1960s and early 1970s. At that time the "mainline" Protestant denominations weakened sharply in both membership and influence while the most conservative religious denominations (such as the Southern Baptists and Missouri Synod Lutherans) grew rapidly in numbers, spread across the United States, had grave internal theological battles and schisms, and became politically powerful. Most of these organizations still stand today.

There is no consensus on whether a fourth awakening has actually taken place.^[5]

Terminology[link]

The idea of an "awakening" implies a slumber or passivity during secular or less religious times. Awakening is a term which originates from and is embraced often and primarily by evangelical Christians.^[6] In recent times, the idea of "awakenings" in US history has been put forth by conservative US evangelicals.^[7]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Ahlstrom, Sydney E. A Religious History of the American People (1972) the standard history
• Butler, Jon. "Enthusiasm Described and Decried: The Great Awakening as Interpretative Fiction." Journal of American History 69 (1982): 305-25. in JSTOR, influential article
• Butler, Jon. Awash in a Sea of Faith: Christianizing the American People. (1990). excerpt and text search
• Hatch, Nathan O. The Democratization of American Christianity (1989). excerpt and text search
• Heimert, Alan. Religion and the American Mind: From the Great Awakening to the Revolution (1966) online in ACLS e-books
• Lambert, Frank. Inventing the Great Awakening Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999.
• Kelleter, Frank. Amerikanische Aufklärung: Sprachen der Rationalität im Zeitalter der Revolution (2002)
• Kidd, Thomas S. The Great Awakening: The Roots of Evangelical Christianity in Colonial America (2007), 412pp exxcerpt and text search
• Lambert, Frank. Pedlar in Divinity: George Whitefield and the Transatlantic Revivals; Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994
• William G. McLoughlin; Revivals, Awakenings and Reform: An Essay on Religion and Social Change in America, 1607-1977 (1978)
• Najar, Monica. Evangelizing the South: A Social History of Church and State in Early America. (2008). 252 pp.
• Tracy, Joseph. The Great Awakening: A History of the Revival of Religion in the Time of Edwards and Whitefield, 1997, Banner of Truth, ISBN 0-85151-712-9. This is a reprint of the original work published in 1842.
• Stout, Harry. The Divine Dramatist: George Whitefield and the Rise of Modern Evangelicalism;Grand Rapids, William B. Eerdmans, 1991

Primary sources[link]

• Alan Heimert and Perry Miller ed.; The Great Awakening: Documents Illustrating the Crisis and Its Consequences; New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1967
• Collection of Resources: Biographies, Essays, Sermon Texts, etc.

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: The article lacks structure and needs more background information (as well as sources).. Please help improve this article if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (December 2011)

This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. You can assist by editing it. (December 2011)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2011)

There are many people in history who are commonly appended with the phrase "the Great", or who were called that or an equivalent phrase in their own language. Other languages have their own suffixes such as e Bozorg and e azam in Persian and Urdu respectively.

In Persia, the title "the Great" at first seems to be a colloquial version of the Old Persian title "Great King". This title was first used by the conqueror Cyrus II of Persia.^[1]

The Persian title was inherited by Alexander III of Macedon (336–323 BC) when he conquered the Persian Empire, and the epithet "Great" eventually became personally associated with him. The first reference (in a comedy by Plautus)^[2] assumes that everyone knew who "Alexander the Great" was; however, there is no earlier evidence that Alexander III of Macedon was called "the Great".

The early Seleucid kings, who succeeded Alexander in Persia, used "Great King" in local documents, but the title was most notably used for Antiochus the Great (223–187 BC).

Later rulers and commanders began to use the epithet "the Great" as a personal name, like the Roman general Pompey. Others received the surname retrospectively, like the Carthaginian Hanno and the Indian emperor Ashoka the Great. Once the surname gained currency, it was also used as an honorific surname for people without political careers, like the philosopher Albert the Great.

As there are no objective criteria for "greatness", the persistence of later generations in using the designation greatly varies. For example, Louis XIV of France was often referred to as "The Great" in his lifetime but is rarely called such nowadays, while Frederick II of Prussia is still called "The Great". A later Hohenzollern - Wilhelm I - was often called "The Great" in the time of his grandson Wilhelm II, but rarely later.

Rulers[link]

• Abbas I of Persia (1571–1629), Shah of Iran
• Akbar (1542–1605), ruler of the Mughal Empire of South Asia, mainly India
• Alain I of Albret (1440–1522), French aristocrat
• Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), King of Macedonia, Persia, Greece, Egypt, and all of Mesopotamia
• Alexander I of Georgia (1386–1446), King of Georgia
• Alfonso III of León (c. 848-910), King of León, Galicia and Asturias
• Alfred the Great (848/849-899), King of Wessex
• Antiochus III the Great (c. 241–187 BC), ruler of the Seleucid Empire
• Ashoka the Great (c. 304–232 BC), Indian emperor of the Maurya dynasty
• Ashot I of Iberia “the Great”(died 826/830), presiding prince of Iberia (modern Georgia),
• Askia Mohammad I (c. 1442–1538), ruler of the Songhai Empire
• Bhumibol Adulyadej (born 1927), King of Thailand
• Bolesław I Chrobry (967-1025), sometimes called "the Great", first King of Poland
• Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the following section)
• Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (1736–1809), founder and ruler of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (in what is now Thailand)
• Cnut the Great (c. 985 or 995-1035), King of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden
• Casimir III the Great (1310–1370), King of Poland
• Catherine the Great (1729–1796), Empress of Russia
• Chandragupta II (reigned 375-413/415), also known as Vikramaditya, ruler of the Gupta empire in India
• Charlemagne (died 814), King of the Franks and Emperor of the Romans
• Chulalongkorn (1853–1910), King of Siam (now Thailand)
• Chlothar II (584-629), King of Neustria and King of the Franks
• Conrad, Margrave of Meissen (c. 1097-1157), Margrave of Meissen
• Constantine I (c. 272-337), Roman emperor
• Cyaxares the Great (c. 625-585 BC), third king of Media
• Cyrus the Great (c. 600 BC or 576 BC–530 BC), founder and ruler of the Persian or Achaemenid Empire
• Darius the Great (550 – 486 BC), third ruler of the Persian Empire
• Devapala (died 850), ruler of the Pala Empire in the Indian subcontinent
• Dionysius I, Greek tyrant of Syracuse^[3]
• Ferdinand I of León and Castile (c. 1015–1065), King of León and Count of Castile
• Frederick the Great (1712–1786), King of Prussia
• Genghis Khan (1162?-1227), founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire
• Gero (c. 900–965), ruler of Marca Geronis, a very large march in Europe
• Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (1594–1632), King of Sweden, founder of the Swedish Empire, and noted military leader
• Gwanggaeto the Great, King of Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea^[4][5]
• Hanno the Great, the name of three leaders of Carthage, in the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd centuries BC
• Henry I, Duke of Burgundy (946–1002)
• Henry IV of France (1553–1610), King of France and King of Navarre
• Herod the Great (73/74 BC-4 BC), King of Judea
• Hugh the Great (898-956), Duke of the Franks and Count of Paris
• Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France
• Hugh I, Count of Vermandois (1057–1101)
• Humphrey I de Bohun (died c. 1123), Anglo-Norman aristocrat
• Ivan III of Russia (1440–1505), Tsar of Russia
• John I of Portugal (1358–1433), King of Portugal and the Algarve
• John II of Aragon (1398–1479), King of Aragon and, through his wife, King of Navarre
• Justinian I (483-565), Byzantine Emperor
• Kamehameha I (c. 1758-1819), first King of Hawai'i
• Kanishka (died c. 127), ruler of the Kushan Empire in Central Asia and parts of India
• Kvirike III of Kakheti (1010–1029), King of Kakheti in eastern Georgia
• Kublai Khan (1215–1294), Mongol ruler in the 13th century and Emperor of China; founder of the Yuan Dynasty
• Llywelyn the Great (c. 1172–1240), Prince of Gwynedd and de facto ruler of most of Wales
• Louis I of Hungary (1326–1382), King of Hungary, Croatia and Poland
• Mangrai the Great (1238–1317), Lanna, northern Thailand
• Emperor Meiji (1852–1912), Emperor of Japan
• Mircea I of Wallachia (1355–1418)
• Mithridates II of Parthia (died 88 BC), ruler of the Parthian Empire (in present day Iran)
• Mithridates VI of Pontus (134 BC–63 BC), ruler of Pontus and the Bosporan Kingdom
• Mstislav I of Kiev (1076–1132), Grand Prince of Kievan Rus
• Naresuan (1555–1605), King of Ayutthaya
• Narai (1633–1688), King of Ayutthaya (in what is now modern Thailand)
• Odo the Great (died c. 735), Duke of Aquitaine
• Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (912-973)
• K'inich Janaab' Pakal (603-683), ruler of the Mayan city-state of Palenque
• Parakramabahu I of Polonnaruwa (1123–1186), King of Sri Lanka
• Peter Krešimir IV of Croatia (died 1075), King of Croatia
• Peter the Great (1672–1725), Tsar of Russia
• Peter III of Aragon (1239–1285), King of Aragon and King of Sicily
• Pompey (106 BC-48 BC), military and political leader of the late Roman Republic, rival of Julius Caesar
• Radama I (1793–1828), first king of greater Madagascar
• Raja Raja Chola I (c. 947-1014), Indian emperor of the Cholas.^[6][7][8]
• Rajendra Chola I (reigned 1014–1044), Tamil King of India
• Ramesses II (reigned 1279 BC – 1213 BC), considered the greatest pharaoh of Ancient Egypt
• Ram Khamhaeng (around 1237 to 1247-1298), King of Sukhothai (in present day Thailand)
• Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona (1082–1131), also Count of Provence and various other counties
• Rhodri the Great (c. 820–878), King of Gwynedd (in present day Wales)
• Roman the Great (after 1160-1205), Grand Prince of Kiev
• Saladin (c. 1138-1193), Kurdish Sultan of Egypt and Syria, founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, and victor over the Crusaders
• Samudragupta (c. 335–375), ruler of the Gupta empire in the Indian subcontinent
• Sancho III of Navarre (c. 992-1035), King of Kingdom of Navarre
• Sargon of Akkad (died c. 2215 BC), ruler of the Akkadian Empire
• Sejong the Great (1397–1450), Korean king^[9]
• Shapur II (309-379), king of the Sassanid Empire, Persia
• Simeon I of Bulgaria (864/865-927), ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire
• Stephen III of Moldavia (1433–1504), Prince of Moldavia (Romania)
• Stephen Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia (c. 1308-1355), King of Serbia and Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks
• Taksin (1734–1782), King of the Thonburi Kingdom (Thailand)
• Tamar (1160-1123), Queen of the Georgian Empire
• Timur (1336–1405), better known as Tamerlane, founder of the Timurid Dynasty
• Theobald II, Count of Champagne (1090–1151), Count of Blois and of Chartres as Theobald IV, Count of Champagne and of Brie
• Theodoric the Great (454-526), King of the Ostrogoths, regent of the Visigoths and a viceroy of the Byzantine Empire
• Theodosius I (347-395), Roman emperor
• Tigranes the Great (140-55 BC), Emperor of Armenia
• Tiridates III of Armenia (285-339), King of Armenia
• Umar (c. 586 to 590–644), second caliph of the Muslim Empire
• Valdemar I of Denmark (1131–1182), King of Denmark
• Valentinian I (364-375), Roman Emperor
• Vladimir I of Kiev (c. 958-1015), ruler of Kievan Rus
• Vytautas (c. 1350-1430), archduke of the Lithuanian Grand Duchy
• William I, Count of Burgundy (1020–1087), Count of Burgandy and Mâcon
• William V, Duke of Aquitaine (969-1030), also Count of Poitou
• Xerxes I (519-465 BC), King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire (Persia)
• Yu the Great (c. 2200-2100 BC), legendary ruler in ancient China

Religious figures[link]

• Abraham the Great of Kashkar (ca. 492-586), monk and saint of the Assyrian Church of the East
• Abraham Kidunaia (died c. 366, hermit, priest, and Christian saint of Mesopotamia
• Albertus Magnus (1193/1206–1280), medieval German philosopher and theologian
• Anthony the Great (c. 251–356), early Christian saint of Egypt
• Babai the Great (c. 551–628), Assyrian church leader
• Basil of Caesarea (330-379), Greek bishop and theologian
• Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the previous section)
• Euthymius the Great (377-473), abbot and Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint
• Gertrude the Great (1256-c. 1302), German Benedictine, mystic, theologian and Roman Catholic saint
• Pope Gregory I (c. 540-604)
• Hiyya the Great, 3rd-century rabbi, Palestine
• Pope John Paul II (1920–2005)
• Pope Leo I (c. 391 or 400-461)
• Macarius of Egypt (c. 300-391), Egyptian hermit
• Pope Nicholas I (c. 800-867)
• Photius I of Constantinople (c. 810–c. 893), Eastern Orthodox saint and Patriarch of Constantinople
• William of Maleval (died 1157), founder of the Catholic congregation of Williamites

Other[link]

• Beli Mawr, a figure in medieval Welsh literature and genealogies
• Emmy the Great, folk singer
• Matteo Rosso the Great, Roman politician and father of Pope Nicholas III
• Prokop the Great, Hussite general in Bohemia

See also[link]

• Epithet
• List of monarchs by nickname
• List of nicknames of European Royalty and Nobility: G-I
• James, son of Zebedee, also known as James the Greater, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus
• Ajax (mythology), called Ajax the Greater
• Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, whose common honorific "Mahatma" means "Great Soul"

Notes[link]

Fireball Ministry is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California formed in 1999.

Biography[link]

Conceived in Cincinnati in the late '90s by James A. Rota II and Emily Burton, the band moved to New York City before settling in Los Angeles. In 2000 they performed at the two-day "November Dismember" metal-music festival in San Bernardino California, playing on the second day. The festival was situated at the National Orange Show fairgrounds in two hangars.

After several years appearing with various big name bands in the genre (Danzig, Anthrax, Motörhead, Slayer) but without a breakthrough in album sales they have polished their own sound to continue gaining a wider following. The tracks "King" and "Flatline" appeared in the big wave surfing documentary Billabong Odyssey (2003). The track "King" was also selected by Bam Margera and appeared on his Viva La Bands compilation. The band teamed up with Bam's brother Jess Margera when they toured Europe with CKY in 2004.^[1] In addition, the track "The Broken" was included in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) video game WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2006 for the Sony PlayStation 2.

The band went through four different bass players, starting with Helen Storer, who played on the Ou Est La Rock? CD and was replaced by Fu Manchu bassist Brad Davis on FMEP, who was himself replaced by former L7 bass player Janis Tanaka on The Second Great Awakening. Former Systematic 4-stringer Johny Chow then took the place of Tanaka for the Their Rock Is Not Our Rock album, which was recorded at Dave Grohl's 606 West studio and like their previous works was produced by genre legend Nick Raskulinecz. In another connection helped by Margera they supported CKY on their 2005 Adio Footwear-sponsored tour, having already opened for them on their UK Tour in 2004. Original drummer John Oreshnick took a leave of absence due to family issues in the Fall of 2006 to be replaced by Yael during their recent tour. Yael and Johny Chow were former bandmates in My Ruin. Yael subsequently left the band in Winter 2006, and Oreshnick rejoined.

Rota considered becoming an ordained minister, but was persuaded not to on account of possible legal and taxation issues. However, he did eventually become ordained and performed wedding ceremonies for Matt Deis of CKY and Erica Beckmann in November 2005, and Bam Margera and Melissa Rothstein in February 2007.

In an interview for blabbermouth.net in May 2007, James Rota stated that "we (Fireball Ministry) are in the stages of writing a new album". In the same Interview, Rota also referred to what would later become The Company Band EP, Sign Here, Here and Here. On the 14th of June 2008, Rota stated that 3 tracks have been recorded for the as yet unnamed fifth Fireball Ministry album, and is also working on a full length Company Band Album and a third, unspecified project to be announced by the end of 2008. However, the present status of these is somewhat uncertain, as Johny Chow is presently on tour playing bass guitar with Cavalera Conspiracy and Soulfly.

Inspiration[link]

The band's imagery draws heavily from Christianity, with "ministry" in their name, the albums The Second Great Awakening, and Their Rock Is Not Our Rock, a reference to Deuteronomy 32:31. MTV.com described the band's music as having "a musical chemistry between the members... that makes their songs buzz with warmth".^[2]

The song "The Broken" contains references to Robert E Howard's Conan the Barbarian series. Specifically the short story Tower of the Elephant Which takes place in the nation of Zamora; home to an evil sorcerer named Yara.

From the song
"Four winds calling to Zamora. Four winds of defeat. For winds to the ghost of Yara. For winds of deceit"

Current members[link]

James A. Rota II – Guitar/Vocals
Emily Burton – Guitar
John Oreshnick – Drums
Johny Chow – Bass

Former members[link]

Helen Storer – Bass, founding member (1999–2001)
Brad Davis – Bass (2001–2002)
Janis Tanaka – Bass (2002–2004)
Yael – Drums (2006)

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• Ou Est La Rock? (August 16, 1999)
• FMEP (May 15, 2001)
• The Second Great Awakening (October 7, 2003)
• Their Rock Is Not Our Rock (October 18, 2005)
• Fireball Ministry (March 16, 2010)

Compilations[link]

• Right In The Nuts: A Tribute to Aerosmith (July 10, 2000) Small Stone Records
• Bam Margera presents: Viva La Bands (June 21, 2005) 456 Entertainment

Notes[link]

Glenn Beck
Beck speaking at the Values Voter Summit in 2011
Born	Glenn Edward Lee Beck[1] (1964-02-10) February 10, 1964 (age 48) Everett, Washington, U.S.
Residence	Fort Worth, Texas[2]
Nationality	American
Education	Sehome High School
Occupation	Radio host, vlogger, author, entrepreneur, political commentator and former television host
Home town	Mount Vernon, Washington, U.S.
Salary	US$32 million (2009–10)[3][4]
Net worth	US$65 million (2011)
Religion	The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon)[5][6][7][8]
Spouse	Claire (1983–1994) Tania (m. 1999); 4 children total
Awards	Defender of Israel Award, Zionist Organization of America 2011[9]
Website
Glenn Beck's Official Website

Glenn Edward Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative radio host, vlogger, author, entrepreneur, political commentator and former television host. He hosts the Glenn Beck Program, a nationally syndicated talk-radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. He formerly hosted the Glenn Beck television program, which ran from January 2006 to October 2008 on HLN and from January 2009 to June 2011 on the Fox News Channel. Beck has authored six New York Times–bestselling books.^[3] Beck is the founder and CEO of Mercury Radio Arts, a multimedia production company through which he produces content for radio, television, publishing, the stage, and the Internet. It was announced on April 6, 2011, that Beck would "transition off of his daily program" on Fox News later in the year but would team with Fox to "produce a slate of projects for FOX News Channel and FOX News' digital properties".^[10] Beck's last daily show on the network was June 30, 2011.^[11] In 2012, The Hollywood Reporter named Beck on its Digital Power Fifty list.^[12]

Beck's supporters praise him as a constitutional stalwart defending traditional American values,^[13] while his critics contend he promotes conspiracy theories and employs incendiary rhetoric for ratings.^[14]

Personal life[link]

Early years[link]

Glenn Edward Lee Beck was born in Everett, Washington, to William and Mary Beck, who lived in Mountlake Terrace, Washington at the time of their son's birth.^[15] The family later moved to Mount Vernon, Washington,^[16] where they owned and operated City Bakery in the downtown area.^[17] He is descended from German immigrants who came to the United States in the 19th century.^[18] Beck was raised as a Roman Catholic and attended Immaculate Conception Catholic School in Mount Vernon.

Glenn and his older sister moved with their mother to Sumner, Washington, attending a Jesuit school^[19] in Puyallup. On May 15, 1979, while out on a small boat with a male companion, Beck's mother drowned just west of Tacoma, Washington, in the Puget Sound. The man who had taken her out in the boat also drowned. A Tacoma police report stated that Mary Beck "appeared to be a classic drowning victim", but a Coast Guard investigator speculated that she could have intentionally jumped overboard.^[19] Beck has described his mother's death as a suicide in interviews during television and radio broadcasts.^[19][20]

After their mother's death, Beck and his older sister moved to their father's home in Bellingham, Washington,^[21] where Beck graduated from Sehome High School in June 1982.^[22] Beck also regularly vacationed with his maternal grandparents, Ed and Clara Janssen, in Iowa.^[23] In the aftermath of his mother's death and subsequent suicide of his stepbrother, Beck has said he used "Dr. Jack Daniel's" to cope. At 18, following his high school graduation, Beck relocated to Provo, Utah, and worked at radio station KAYK. Feeling he "didn't fit in", Beck left Utah after six months,^[24] taking a job at Washington D.C.'s WPGC in February 1983.^[21]

Adulthood[link]

While working at WPGC, Beck met his first wife, Claire.^[26] In 1983, the couple married and had two daughters, Mary and Hannah. Mary developed cerebral palsy as a result of a series of strokes at birth in 1988.^[26] The couple divorced in 1994 amid Beck's struggles with substance abuse. A recovering alcoholic and drug addict,^[27] Beck has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.^[28][29]

By 1994, Beck was suicidal, and imagined shooting himself to the music of Kurt Cobain.^[28] He credits Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) with helping him achieve sobriety. He said he stopped drinking alcohol and smoking cannabis in November 1994, the same month he attended his first AA meeting.^[28] Beck later said that he had gotten high every day for the previous 15 years, since the age of 16.^[21]

In 1996, while working for a New Haven area radio station, Beck took a theology class at Yale University, with a written recommendation from Senator Joe Lieberman, a Yale alumnus who was a fan of Beck's show at the time.^[30] Beck enrolled in an "Early Christology" course, but soon withdrew, marking the extent of his post-secondary education.^[28][31]

Beck then began a "spiritual quest" in which he "sought out answers in churches and bookstores".^[28] As he later recounted in his books and stage performances, Beck's first attempt at self-education involved six wide-ranging authors, comprising what Beck jokingly calls "the library of a serial killer": Alan Dershowitz, Pope John Paul II, Adolf Hitler, Billy Graham, Carl Sagan, and Friedrich Nietzsche.^[28][30] During this time, Beck's Mormon friend and former radio partner Pat Gray argued in favor of the "comprehensive worldview" offered by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, an offer that Beck rejected until a few years later.^[28]

In 1999, Beck married his second wife, Tania.^[28] After they went looking for a faith on a church tour together, they^[28] joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in October 1999, partly at the urging of his daughter Mary.^[32][33] Beck was baptized by his old friend, and current-day co-worker Pat Gray.^[28] Beck and his current wife have had two children together, Raphe (who is adopted) and Cheyenne. Until April 2011, the couple live in New Canaan, Connecticut, with the four children.^[34][35]

Beck announced in July 2010 that he had been diagnosed with macular dystrophy, saying "A couple of weeks ago I went to the doctor because of my eyes, I can't focus my eyes. He did all kinds of tests and he said, 'you have macular dystrophy ... you could go blind in the next year. Or, you might not.'" The disorder can make it difficult to read, drive or recognize faces.^[36]

In July 2011, Beck leased a house in the Fort Worth suburb of Westlake, Texas.^[2]

Career[link]

In 2002 Beck created the media platform Mercury Radio Arts^[30][37] as the umbrella over various broadcast, publishing, Internet, and live show entities.

Radio[link]

In 1983 he moved to Corpus Christi, Texas, to work at radio station KZFM.^[26] In mid-1985, Beck was hired away from KZFM to be the lead DJ for the morning-drive radio broadcast by WRKA in Louisville, Kentucky.^[26] His four-hour weekday show was called Captain Beck and the A-Team.^[38] Beck had a reputation as a "young up-and-comer". The show was not political and included the usual off-color antics of the genre: juvenile jokes, pranks, and impersonations.^[30] The show slipped to third in the market and Beck left abruptly in 1987 amid a dispute with WRKA management.^{[citation needed]}

Months later, Beck was hired by Phoenix Top-40 station KOY-FM, then known as Y-95. Beck was partnered with Arizona native Tim Hattrick to co-host a local "morning zoo" program.^[28] During his time at Y-95, Beck cultivated a rivalry with local pop radio station KZZP and that station's morning host Bruce Kelly. Through practical jokes and publicity stunts, Beck drew criticism from the staff at Y-95 when the rivalry culminated in Beck telephoning Kelly's wife on-the-air, mocking her recent miscarriage.^[26] In 1989, Beck resigned from Y-95 to accept a job in Houston at KRBE, known as Power 104. Beck was subsequently fired in 1990 due to poor ratings.^[26]

Beck then moved on to Baltimore, Maryland and the city's leading Top-40 station, WBSB, known as B104. There, he partnered with Pat Gray, a morning DJ. During his tenure at B104, Beck was arrested and jailed for speeding in his DeLorean.^[28] According to a former associate, Beck was "completely out of it" when a station manager went to bail him out.^[28] When Gray, then Beck were fired, the two men spent six months in Baltimore, planning their next move. In early 1992, Beck and Gray both moved to WKCI-FM (KC101), a Top-40 radio station in Hamden, Connecticut.^[28] In 1995, WKCI apologized after Beck and Gray mocked a Chinese-American caller on air who felt offended by a comedy segment by playing a gong sound effect and having executive producer Alf Gagineau mock a Chinese accent. That incident led to protests by activist groups.^[39] When Gray left the show to move to Salt Lake City, Beck continued with co-host Vinnie Penn. At the end of 1998, Beck was informed that his contract would not be renewed at the end of 1999.^[28]

The Glenn Beck Program first aired in 2000 on WFLA (AM) in Tampa, Florida, and took their afternoon time slot from eighteenth to first place within a year.^[40][41] In January 2002, Premiere Radio Networks launched the show nationwide on 47 stations. The show then moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, broadcasting from new flagship station WPHT. On November 5, 2007, The New York Times reported that Premiere Radio Networks was extending Beck's contract. By May 2008, it had reached over 280 terrestrial stations as well as XM Satellite. It was ranked 4th in the nation with over six and a half million listeners.^[42] Glenn Beck is number three in the ratings behind Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.^[43]

Television[link]

In January 2006, CNN's Headline News announced that Beck would host a nightly news-commentary show in their new prime-time block Headline Prime. The show, simply called Glenn Beck, aired weeknights. CNN Headline News described the show as "an unconventional look at the news of the day featuring his often amusing perspective".^[44] At the end of his tenure at CNN-HLN, Beck had the second largest audience behind Nancy Grace.^[45] In 2008, Beck won the Marconi Radio Award for Network Syndicated Personality of the Year.^[46]

In October 2008, it was announced that Beck would join the Fox News Channel, leaving CNN Headline News.^[47] After moving to the Fox News Channel, Beck hosted Glenn Beck, beginning in January 2009, as well as a weekend version.^[48] One of his first guests was Alaska Governor Sarah Palin^[49] He also has a regular segment every Friday on the Fox News Channel program The O'Reilly Factor titled "At Your Beck and Call".^[50] As of September 2009^[update] Beck's program drew more viewers than all three of the competing time-slot shows combined on CNN, MSNBC and HLN.^[51][52]

His show's high ratings have not come without controversy.^[47] The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz reported that Beck's use of "distorted or inflammatory rhetoric" has complicated the channel's and their journalist's efforts to neutralize White House criticism that Fox is not really a news organization.^[47] Television analyst Andrew Tyndall echoed these sentiments, saying that Beck's incendiary style had created "a real crossroads for Fox News", stating "they're right on the cusp of losing their image as a news organization."^[47]

In April 2011, Fox News and Mercury Radio Arts, Beck's production company, announced that Beck would "transition off of his daily program" on Fox News in 2011.^[53] His last day at Fox was later announced as June 30.^[54][55] FNC and Beck announced that he would be teaming with Fox to produce a slate of projects for Fox News and its digital properties.^[10] Fox News head Roger Ailes later referenced Beck's entrepreneurialism and political movement activism, saying, "His [Beck's] goals were different from our goals ... I need people focused on a daily television show."^[56] Beck hosted his last daily show on Fox on June 30, 2011, where he recounted the accomplishments of the show and said, "This show has become a movement. It's not a TV show, and that's why it doesn’t belong on television anymore. It belongs in your homes. It belongs in your neighborhoods."^[11] In response to critics who said he was fired, Beck pointed out that his final show was airing live.^[11] Immediately after the show he did an interview on his new GBTV internet channel.^[11]

GBTV[link]

Glenn Beck's Fox News one-hour show ended June 30, 2011,^[57] and a new two-hour show began streaming his subscription-based internet TV network, GBTV, on September 12, 2011.^[58][59] Using a subscription model, it was estimated Beck is on track to generate $27 million in his first year of operation.^[60] This was later upgraded to $40 million by the Wall Street Journal when subscriptions topped 300,000. ^[61]

Books[link]

Beck has reached #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List in four separate categories as of 2010^[update]: Hardcover Non-Fiction,^[63][64] Paperback Non-Fiction,^[63] Hardcover Fiction,^[65] and Children's Picture Books.^[66]

Non-fiction

• The Real America: Messages from the Heart and Heartland. Simon and Schuster. 2003. ISBN 978-0-7434-9696-4. http://www.amazon.com/dp/0743496965. ^[67]
• An Inconvenient Book: Real Solutions to the World's Biggest Problems. Simon and Schuster. 2007. ISBN 978-1-4391-6857-8. 
• America's March to Socialism: Why We're One Step Closer to Giant Missile Parades. 2008. http://www.amazon.com/dp/0743598547.  (Audiobook)
• An Unlikely Mormon: The Conversion Story of Glenn Beck, Deseret Book 2008 (Audiobook). ISBN 978-1-59038-944-7^[68]
• America's March to Socialism: Why We're One Step Closer to Giant Missile Parades, Simon & Schuster Audio 2009 (Audio CD). ISBN 978-0-7435-9854-5
• Glenn Beck's Common Sense: The Case Against an Out-of-Control Government, Simon & Schuster 2009. ISBN 978-1-4391-6857-8^[69][70][71]
• Arguing with Idiots: How to Stop Small Minds and Big Government, Simon & Schuster 2009. ISBN 978-1-4165-9501-4
• Idiots Unplugged, Simon & Schuster 2010 (Audio CD). ISBN 1-4423-3396-0
• Idiots Unplugged, 2010 (Audiobook)^[72]
• Broke: The Plan to Restore Our Trust, Truth, and Treasure, Simon & Schuster 2010. ISBN 1-4423-3457-6.^[73]
• The 7: Seven Wonders That Will Change Your Life, Keith Ablow, co-author; Threshold Editions, 2011; ISBN 978-1-4516-2551-6.
• The Original Argument: The Federalists' Case for the Constitution, Adapted for the 21st Century, with Joshua Charles; Threshold Editions, 2011; ISBN 978-1-4516-5061-7.
• Being George Washington: The Indispensable Man, As You've Never Seen Him. Simon and Schuster. 2011. ISBN 978-1-4516-5931-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=WCHGmGTdnk8C&dq. 
• Cowards: What Politicians, Radicals, and the Media Refuse to Say. Simon and Schuster. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4516-9347-8. http://books.simonandschuster.com/Coward/Glenn-Beck/9781451693478. 

Fiction

• The Christmas Sweater, Simon & Schuster 2008. ISBN 978-1-4165-9485-7
• The Overton Window. Threshold Editions. June 2010. ISBN 978-1-4391-8430-1. http://www.amazon.com/dp/1439184305. ^[74][75]
• Beck, Glenn; Baart, Nicole (2011). The Snow Angel. Threshold Editions. ISBN 978-1-4391-8720-3. 

Children's

• The Christmas Sweater: A Picture Book, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing 2009. ISBN 978-1-4169-9543-2
• Beck, Glenn; Schoebinger, Chris; Dorman, Brandon (illustrator) (2011). The Snow Angel. Aladdin Books. ISBN 978-1-4424-4448-5. 

Beck also authorized a comic book:

• Political Power: Glenn Beck, by Jerome Maida, Mark Sparacio (illus.); Bluewater Productions, 2011; ISN B004VGB4FO^[76]

Stage shows and speeches[link]

Since 2005, Beck has toured American cities twice a year, presenting a one-man stage show. His stage productions are a mix of stand-up comedy and inspirational speaking. In a critique of his live act, Salon Magazine's Steve Almond describes Beck as a "wildly imaginative performer, a man who weds the operatic impulses of the demagogue to the grim mutterings of the conspiracy theorist".^[77] A show from the Beck `08 Unelectable Tour was shown in around 350 movie theaters around the country.^[78]

In Beck's hometown of Mt. Vernon, Washington, supporters and detractors hold handmade signs on the day Beck was honored by the mayor.

The finale of 2009's Common Sense Comedy Tour was simulcast in over 440 theaters.^[79] The events have drawn 200,000 fans in recent years.^[80]

In March 2003, Beck ran a series of rallies, which he called Glenn Beck's Rally for America, in support of troops deployed for the upcoming Iraq War. On July 4, 2007, Beck served as host of the 2007 Toyota Tundra "Stadium of Fire" in Provo, Utah. The annual event at LaVell Edwards Stadium on the Brigham Young University campus is presented by America's Freedom Foundation.^[81] In May 2008, Beck gave the keynote speech at the NRA convention in Louisville, Kentucky.^[82]

In late August 2009, the mayor of Beck's hometown, Mount Vernon, Washington, announced that he would award Beck the Key to the City, designating September 26, 2009, as "Glenn Beck Day". Due to local opposition, the city council voted unanimously to disassociate itself from the award.^[83] The key presentation ceremony sold-out the 850 seat McIntyre Hall and an estimated 800 detractors and supporters demonstrated outside the building. Earlier that day, approximately 7,000 people attended the Evergreen Freedom Foundation's "Take the Field with Glenn Beck" at Seattle's Safeco Field.^[84]

In December 2009, Beck produced a one-night special film titled "The Christmas Sweater: A Return to Redemption".^[85] In January and February 2010, Beck teamed with fellow Fox News host Bill O'Reilly to tour several cities in a live stage show called "The Bold and Fresh Tour 2010". The January 29 show was recorded and broadcast to movie theaters throughout the country.^[86]

Philanthropy[link]

In 2011, Beck founded the non-profit organization Mercury One, designed to sustain itself through its entreneurship and without grants or donations.^[87] In early 2011, Beck began work toward developing a clothing line to be sold to benefit the charity and October 2011, Mercury One began selling the minuscule, upscale clothing line labeled 1791 exclusively at its website 1791.com. The line's maiden offering was manufactured by American Mojo of Lowell, Massachusetts.^[88]

Projects and rallies[link]

9-12 Project and Tea Party protests[link]

In March 2009 Beck put together a campaign, the 9-12 Project, that is named for nine principles and twelve values that he says embody the spirit of the American people on the day after the September 11 attacks.^[89] The Colorado 9-12 Project hosted a "Patriot Camp" for kids in grades 1–5, featuring programs on "our Constitution, the Founding Fathers, and the values and principles that are the cornerstones of our nation".

Restoring Honor rally[link]

The Restoring Honor rally was promoted by Beck and held at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. on August 28, 2010. The rally — which purported to embrace religious faith and patriotism — was co-sponsored by the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, promoted by FreedomWorks, and supported by the Tea Party movement.^[90]

[edit] America's First Christmas

In December 2010, Beck went to Wilmington, Ohio, a town devastated by the late-2000s recession, to host live events to encourage his fans to go to the town to boost the local economy in a project called "America's First Christmas".^[91] He hosted an event and his radio and television shows from the local theater.^[92]

2011 international tour[link]

Beck headlined his "Restoring Courage" events in Jerusalem, Israel, in August 2011 in a campaign Beck said was designed to encourage people worldwide "to stand with the Jewish people".^[93][94] After Jerusalem, Beck visited Cape Town, South Africa, and was scheduled to visit Venezuela.^[95]

Political views[link]

Beck has described himself as a conservative with libertarian leanings.^[96] Among his core values Beck lists personal responsibility, private charity, the right to life, freedom of religion, limited government, and family as the cornerstone of society.^[97] Beck believes in low national debt, and has said "A conservative believes that debt creates unhealthy relationships. Everyone, from the government on down, should live within their means and strive for financial independence."^[98] He supports individual gun ownership rights and is against gun control legislation.^[99]

In an O'Reilly Factor interview in August 2010, when Beck was asked if he "believe(s) that gay marriage is a threat to [this] country in any way", he stated, "No I don't…I believe that Thomas Jefferson said: 'If it neither breaks my leg nor picks my pocket what difference is it to me?'"^[100]

Beck believes that there is a lack of evidence that human activity is the main cause of global warming.^[101] He holds that there is a legitimate case that global warming has, at least in part, been caused by mankind, and has tried to do his part by buying a home with a "green" design.^[102] He also views the American Clean Energy and Security Act as a form of wealth redistribution, and has promoted a petition rejecting the Kyoto Protocol.^[103]

Opposition to progressivism[link]

During his 2010 keynote speech to Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Beck wrote the word "progressivism" on a chalkboard and declared, "This is the disease. This is the disease in America", adding "progressivism is the cancer in America and it is eating our Constitution!"^[104][105] According to Beck, the progressive ideas of men such as John Dewey, Herbert Croly, and Walter Lippmann, influenced the Presidencies of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson; eventually becoming the foundation for President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal.^[104] Beck has said that such progressivism infects both main political parties and threatens to "destroy America as it was originally conceived".^[104] In Beck’s book Common Sense, he argues that "progressivism has less to do with the parties and more to do with individuals who seek to redefine, reshape, and rebuild America into a country where individual liberties and personal property mean nothing if they conflict with the plans and goals of the State."^[104]

A collection of progressives, whom Beck has referred to as "Crime Inc.", comprise what Beck contends is a clandestine conspiracy to take over and transform America.^{[107][108][109]} Some of these individuals include Cass Sunstein, Van Jones, Andy Stern, John Podesta, Wade Rathke, Joel Rogers and Francis Fox Piven.^[107][110] Other figures tied to Beck's "Crime Inc." accusation include Al Gore, Franklin Raines,^[111] Maurice Strong, George Soros,^[112] John Holdren and President Barack Obama.^[108] According to Beck, these individuals already have or are surreptitiously working in unison with an array of organizations and corporations such as Goldman Sachs, Fannie Mae, ACORN, Apollo Alliance, Tides Center, Chicago Climate Exchange, Generation Investment Management, Enterprise Community Partners, Petrobras, Center for American Progress, and the SEIU; to fulfill their progressive agenda.^[108][112] In his quest to root out these "progressives", Beck has compared himself to Israeli Nazi hunters, vowing on his radio show that "to the day I die I am going to be a progressive-hunter. I’m going to find these people that have done this to our country and expose them. I don’t care if they’re in nursing homes."^[30]

Liberal historian Sean Wilentz has denounced what he describes as Beck's progressive-themed conspiracy theories and "gross historical inaccuracies", countering that Beck is merely echoing the decades-old "right-wing extremism" of the John Birch Society.^[113] According to Wilentz, Beck's "version of history" places him in a long line of figures who have challenged mainstream political historians and presented an inaccurate opposing view as the truth, stating:

Glenn Beck is trying to give viewers a version of American history that is supposedly hidden. Supposedly, all we historians — left, right and center — have been doing for the past 100 years is to keep true American history from you. And that true American history is what Glenn Beck is teaching. It's a version of history that is beyond skewed. But of course, that's what Beck expects us to say. He lives in a kind of Alice in Wonderland world, where if people who actually know the history say what he's teaching is junk, he says, 'That's because you're trying to hide the truth.'^[113]

Conservative David Frum, the former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, has also alleged Beck's propensity for negationism, remarking that "Beck offers a story about the American past for people who are feeling right now very angry and alienated. It is different enough from the usual story in that he makes them feel like they’ve got access to secret knowledge."^[30]

Influences[link]

Political and historical[link]

An author with ideological influence on Beck is W. Cleon Skousen (1913–2006), a prolific conservative political writer, American Constitutionalist and faith-based political theorist.^[114][115] As an anti-communist supporter of the John Birch Society,^[116] and limited-government activist,^[117] Skousen, who was Mormon, wrote on a wide range of subjects: the Six-Day War, Mormon eschatology, New World Order conspiracies, even parenting.^[117] Skousen believed that American political, social, and economic elites were working with Communists to foist a world government on the United States.^[104] Beck praised Skousen's "words of wisdom" as "divinely inspired", referencing Skousen's The Naked Communist^[118] and especially The 5,000 Year Leap (originally published in 1981),^[117] which Beck said in 2007 had "changed his life".^[117] According to Skousen's nephew, Mark Skousen, Leap reflects Skousen's "passion for the United States Constitution", which he "felt was inspired by God and the reason behind America's success as a nation".^[119] The book is touted by Beck as "required reading" to understand the current American political landscape and become a "September twelfth person".^[117] Beck authored a foreword for the 2008 edition of Leap and Beck's on-air recommendations in 2009 propelled the book to number one in the government category on Amazon for several months.^[117] In 2010, Matthew Continetti of the conservative Weekly Standard criticized Beck's conspiratorial bent, terming him "a Skousenite".^[104] Additionally, Alexander Zaitchik, author of the 2010 book Common Nonsense: Glenn Beck and the Triumph of Ignorance, which features an entire chapter on "The Ghost of Cleon Skousen",^[120] refers to Skousen as "Beck's favorite author and biggest influence", while noting that he authored four of the 10 books on Beck's 9-12 Project required-reading list.^[121]

In his discussion of Beck and Skousen, Continetti said that one of Skousen's works "draws on Carroll Quigley’s Tragedy and Hope (1966), which argues that the history of the 20th century is the product of secret societies in conflict",^[104] noting that in Beck's novel The Overton Window, which Beck describes as "faction" (fiction based on fact), one of his characters states "Carroll Quigley laid open the plan in Tragedy and Hope, the only hope to avoid the tragedy of war was to bind together the economies of the world to foster global stability and peace."^[104]

Princeton University historian Sean Wilentz says that alongside Skousen, Robert W. Welch, Jr., founder of the John Birch Society, is a key ideological foundation of Beck's worldview.^[122] According to Wilentz: "[Beck] has brought neo-Birchite ideas to an audience beyond any that Welch or Skousen might have dreamed of."^[122]

Other books that Beck regularly cites on his programs are Amity Shlaes's The Forgotten Man, Jonah Goldberg's Liberal Fascism, Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen's A Patriot's History of the United States, and Burton W. Folsom, Jr.'s New Deal or Raw Deal.^[104] Beck has also urged his listeners to read The Coming Insurrection, a book by a French Marxist group^[104] discussing what they see as the imminent collapse of capitalist culture,^[123] and The Creature from Jekyll Island, which argues that aspects of the U.S. Federal Reserve system assault economic civil liberties, by G. Edward Griffin.^[124]

On June 4, 2010, Beck endorsed Elizabeth Dilling's 1936 work The Red Network: A Who's Who and Handbook of Radicalism for Patriots, remarking "this is a book, The Red Network, this came in from 1936. People — [Joseph] McCarthy was absolutely right ... This is, who were the communists in America."^[125] Beck was criticized by an array of people, including Menachem Z. Rosensaft and Joe Conason, who stated that Dilling was an outspoken anti-Semite and a Nazi sympathizer.^{[126][127][128]}