Boston Earthquake
by November 18, 1755, Two hundred miles off the coast of Massachusetts An earthquake of magnitude eight occurred offshore from Gloucester and damaged coastal areas; it was the largest earthquake experienced in Massachusetts up to that time.
The Gloucester earthquake, often referred to by the name “Cape Ann,” was interpreted in the popular mind as a judgment from God for bad behavior. There were similar interpretations in other locations, at different times, including the United States today, despite our present understanding of the causes of earthquakes. In the case of the Gloucester quake there were additional reasons for attributing causation to the direct action of God. Widespread religious revivals had been taking place throughout New England under the leadership of Jonathan Edwards and they carried warnings of the imminent judgment of God against all who did not repent. Historians have identified a consistent theme in all the published sermons of that time, namely that the ground had shaken because of the moral imbalance in human behavior. In some southern states the influence of earthquakes on religious behavior was dramatically expressed in the increase of people attending Methodist churches. From 1811 to 1812, the dates of the Madrid quakes, their numbers jumped by 50 percent. For the prior decade this denomination’s numbers had changed very little.
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