<P> Although it had its roots in England, "Amazing Grace" became an integral part of the Christian tapestry in the United States . More than 60 of Newton and Cowper's hymns were republished in other British hymnals and magazines, but "Amazing Grace" was not, appearing only once in a 1780 hymnal sponsored by the Countess of Huntingdon . Scholar John Julian commented in his 1892 A Dictionary of Hymnology that outside of the United States, the song was unknown and it was "far from being a good example of Newton's finest work". Between 1789 and 1799, four variations of Newton's hymn were published in the U.S. in Baptist, Dutch Reformed, and Congregationalist hymnodies; by 1830 Presbyterians and Methodists also included Newton's verses in their hymnals . </P> <P> The greatest influences in the 19th century that propelled "Amazing Grace" to spread across the U.S. and become a staple of religious services in many denominations and regions were the Second Great Awakening and the development of shape note singing communities . A tremendous religious movement swept the U.S. in the early 19th century, marked by the growth and popularity of churches and religious revivals that got their start in Kentucky and Tennessee . Unprecedented gatherings of thousands of people attended camp meetings where they came to experience salvation; preaching was fiery and focused on saving the sinner from temptation and backsliding . Religion was stripped of ornament and ceremony, and made as plain and simple as possible; sermons and songs often used repetition to get across to a rural population of poor and mostly uneducated people the necessity of turning away from sin . Witnessing and testifying became an integral component to these meetings, where a congregation member or even a stranger would rise and recount his turn from a sinful life to one of piety and peace . "Amazing Grace" was one of many hymns that punctuated fervent sermons, although the contemporary style used a refrain, borrowed from other hymns, that employed simplicity and repetition such as: </P> <P> Amazing grace! How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me . I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind but now I see . Shout, shout for glory, Shout, shout aloud for glory; Brother, sister, mourner, All shout glory hallelujah . </P> <P> Simultaneously, an unrelated movement of communal singing was established throughout the South and Western states . A format of teaching music to illiterate people appeared in 1800 . It used four sounds to symbolize the basic scale: fa - sol - la - fa - sol - la - mi - fa . Each sound was accompanied by a specifically shaped note and thus became known as shape note singing . The method was simple to learn and teach, so schools were established throughout the South and West . Communities would come together for an entire day of singing in a large building where they sat in four distinct areas surrounding an open space, one member directing the group as a whole . Most of the music was Christian, but the purpose of communal singing was not primarily spiritual . Communities either could not afford music accompaniment or rejected it out of a Calvinistic sense of simplicity, so the songs were sung a cappella . </P>

Who wrote the song how great thou are