Gilbert Tennent, the son of religious leader William Tennent, became pastor of the Presbyterian Church in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He soon met and was inspired by Dutch Reformed minister Theodorus Frelinghuysen, who emphasized piety and conversion in his sermons. Both Tennent and Frelinghuysen stirred religious fervor and revivalism among their congregations.
Henry Highland Garnet (1815–1882) was a black abolitionist and clergyman. Garnet escaped from slavery with his family as a boy and settled in New York City. He was ordained in the Presbyterian Church in 1841 and soon became a well-known anti-slavery advocate. In 1843, he proposed militant slave uprising, putting him at odds with more centrist abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass. During the Civil War, Garnet helped recruit African Americans for the Union Army. He later supported black emigration to Africa, and in 1881 he was appointed...