As the United States was beginning to industrialize, expand its borders, and embrace secularism inspired by enlightenment thought, many Americans who desired to preserve the country’s religious past questioned, “Can we keep the faith?”
The American Bible Society (ABS), founded in 1816 and headquartered in the increasingly “degenerate” New York City, answered that question with a resounding “yes!,” establishing its own printing department to produce Bibles for distribution to facilitate national evangelization—the mission of the Second Great Awakening. The society employed local Bible groups to manage distribution, but over time found that these auxiliaries would order larger quantities of Bibles than they were able to pay for, which brought the ABS to near bankruptcy.
The ABS also had competition, including publishing companies and other benevolent institutions which capitalized on the momentum of the Second Great Awakening. Because of the demand, publishers began producing more lavish and attractive Bibles intended as impressive centerpieces for display in the home. Furthermore, benevolent organizations published illustrated religious short stories and pamphlets that attracted (and distracted) nineteenth-century audiences away from Bibles. Ultimately, while the ABS sought to evangelize the country through Bible distribution, its challenges demonstrate that the Second Great Awakening was a period of stressful uncertainty in terms of the country keeping its faith.