Kingdom Of Matthias Analysis

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Pages: 2

In Kingdom of Matthias, Paul Johnson and Sean Wilentz reveal how the Market Revolution and Second Great Awakening affects people's life in the 19th century, and the lives of Elijah Pierson and Robert Matthews were used to narrate the theme.
The Market Revolution had allowed Elijah’s mercantile firm to prosper and thrive in the competitive market (i.e. existence of Erie Canal). Despite being successful, he was alone and "his passage from youth to manhood deferred and confused" (20). To fill up that void, he turned to religion. He met Sarah Stanford, who later became his wife and his source of "domestic and spiritual development" (26). However, he became so involved in religion such that it dictates his lifestyle – diet and cloth-wears. When