it was led by people such as charles grandison finney, henry ward beecher, lyman beecher, edward everett and joseph smith. it started in upstate new york in the 1790s, but spread to new england and the midwest. during the second great awakening, thousands of people gathered at large religious meetings called revivals. the people of the second great awakening thought they could bring about a golden age in america through religion. the second great awakening led to new religious movements such as the holiness movement and the mormons, and helped groups like the methodist church grow.