In June 1863, Charles Dickens found himself among strange companions boarding a ship from London to the United States of America, a country then engulfed by civil war. He was struck by the difference between these people and the Victorian Englanders he was accustomed to. These were clearly poor families, but they were not drinking, used no profanity, had no ill tempers, and could not be found weeping.

Within a couple of hours, the passengers had not only become acquainted but had also settled all matters of organization among themselves. By 9 a.m. the rules, regulations, and division of labor throughout the ship were all in place. They were rigorously literate, with everyone making notes and writing letters, leaving no idle moment to spare. Dickens called them “the pick and flower of England,” finding them to be extraordinarily pleasant and delightful. He was initially puzzled by who these people might be, but he soon discovered that he was on a ship with eight hundred English and Welsh Mormons setting sail for the Salt Lake Valley.

The Second Great Awakening (1790–1850) was not simply a period of religious fervor but of major social upheaval. The revival events touring the countryside disseminated not just new religious ideas but radical democratic ones, including women’s suffrage, economic egalitarianism, and the abolition of slavery. The movement also brought new participants into the fold of political life, gathering women, black Americans, and immigrants into “camp meetings” of over ten thousand people. And, of course, it attracted frauds, seers, zealots, and treasure hunters.