<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the United States . The movement began around 1790, gained momentum by 1800 and, after 1820, membership rose rapidly among Baptist and Methodist congregations whose preachers led the movement . It was past its peak by the late 1850s . The Second Great Awakening reflected Romanticism characterized by enthusiasm, emotion, and an appeal to the super-natural . It rejected the skeptical rationalism and deism of the Enlightenment . </P> <P> The revivals enrolled millions of new members in existing evangelical denominations 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 anticipated Second Coming of Jesus Christ . </P>

What characterized the second period of christian expansion