Charles Grandison Finney
Title
Charles Grandison Finney
Description
Charles Grandison Finney was the leading evangelist of the Second Great Awakening. He began teaching theology at Oberlin in 1835 and served as Oberlin College president between 1851 and 1865. He was also the pastor at Oberlin's First Congregational church.
Birth Date
August 29, 1792
Birthplace
Warren, CT
Death Date
August 16, 1875
Occupation
Minister, Oberlin College President
Biographical Text
Charles Grandison Finney was born to a farming family in Connecticut in 1792, shortly after the American Revolution. He moved with his family to upstate New York as a child, and while he never attended college, he "read the law" and became a lawyer.
But in 1821, Finney underwent a dramatic conversion experience. He gave up the law and, at the age of 29, began studying to become a Presbyterian minister. Finney, a dramatic speaker, became one of the most important evangelists of the Second Great Awakening. He led massive spiritual revivals in upstate New York, and then in New York City, where he moved in 1832 to become the minister of Chatham Street Chapel.
Finney was an ardent abolitionist and a believer in the equality of the sexes. He referred to slavery as our "great national sin," refused communion to slave owners and traders, and pioneered the practice of having women pray out loud at mixed-sex religious meetings.
In 1835, Finney was recruited by Alfred Tappan and John J. Shipherd to come to Oberlin to develop the new college's first Department of Theology. He agreed on the conditions that the faculty--not the trustees--would have internal control over the school (an agreement known as the "Finney Compact" that still governs Oberlin today) and that he could continue to preach at his New York church. In 1835, the college was debating whether to admit African American students, and Finney made clear that he favored open the college to black students.
In 1837, Finney became the pastor at Oberlin's First Congregational Church, whose members included both blacks and whites. Between 1851 and 1865, he served as the president of the college. Oberlin's Finney Chapel is named after him.
But in 1821, Finney underwent a dramatic conversion experience. He gave up the law and, at the age of 29, began studying to become a Presbyterian minister. Finney, a dramatic speaker, became one of the most important evangelists of the Second Great Awakening. He led massive spiritual revivals in upstate New York, and then in New York City, where he moved in 1832 to become the minister of Chatham Street Chapel.
Finney was an ardent abolitionist and a believer in the equality of the sexes. He referred to slavery as our "great national sin," refused communion to slave owners and traders, and pioneered the practice of having women pray out loud at mixed-sex religious meetings.
In 1835, Finney was recruited by Alfred Tappan and John J. Shipherd to come to Oberlin to develop the new college's first Department of Theology. He agreed on the conditions that the faculty--not the trustees--would have internal control over the school (an agreement known as the "Finney Compact" that still governs Oberlin today) and that he could continue to preach at his New York church. In 1835, the college was debating whether to admit African American students, and Finney made clear that he favored open the college to black students.
In 1837, Finney became the pastor at Oberlin's First Congregational Church, whose members included both blacks and whites. Between 1851 and 1865, he served as the president of the college. Oberlin's Finney Chapel is named after him.
Files
Citation
“Charles Grandison Finney,” Oberlin Community History Hub, accessed May 2, 2024, https://megansmitchell.org/DH694/items/show/212.