democratic society

The Great awakening gave Americans more religious freedom and opportunities and was one of the first steps towards democracy, whereas immigration added to the diversity of the colonies and laid the foundation for a democratic society.
The great diversity and the constant additions to this diversity through immigration brought many different believes, languages, and cultures to America. In the American colonies there were almost no different social classes, except for slavery. Many people were farmers, which made everybody equal from the very beginning. This led a good foundation for a democracy, because this way later on a Scott-Irish person would have the same right to vote as, for example, a German person.
Starting in the early 18th century religion became less fervid. Many liberal ideas began to challenge the old, strict Puritan believes. Americans started to believe that human beings were not predestinate to damnation, but that you could save yourself by good behavior during your lifetime. The Great Awakening was a religious revival that swept throughout all the colonies and it increased the number of competitiveness of American churches, which gave the individual a bigger choice. “The Great Awakening was the first spontaneous mass movement of the American people”(95). It was the first step for American people to act as one and state their opinion and bring through a change that they wanted.