Editing Northampton, Massachusetts (section)

=== The Great Awakening ===
Congregational preacher, theologian and philosopher [[Jonathan Edwards (theologian)|Jonathan Edwards]] was a leading figure in a 1734 [[Christian revival]] in Northampton. In the winter of 1734 and the following spring it reached such intensity that it threatened the town's businesses. In the spring of 1735 the movement began to subside and a reaction set in. But the relapse was brief, and the Northampton revival, which had spread through the Connecticut River Valley and whose fame had reached England and Scotland, was followed in 1739–1740 by the [[Great Awakening]], under the leadership of Edwards.{{Citation needed|date=May 2011}}

For this achievement, Edwards is considered one of the founders of [[evangelical Christianity]].<ref>see Kidd, Thomas, ''The Great Awakening: The Roots of Evangelical Christianity in Colonial America''.</ref>

[[File:Cole Thomas The Oxbow (The Connecticut River near Northampton 1836).jpg|thumb|''[[The Oxbow]]'' (1836) by [[Thomas Cole]]]]
Northampton hosted its own [[Salem witch trials|witch trials]] in the 1700s, although no alleged witches were executed.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ricci |first1=Monica |title=Before Salem: Northampton woman accused of witchcraft |url=https://www.wwlp.com/news/digital-first/before-salem-northampton-woman-accused-of-witchcraft/ |website=wwlp.com |date=October 31, 2019 |publisher=Nextar Broadcasting, Inc. |access-date=29 June 2020}}</ref>