Which preacher was a leading figure of the Great Awakening, known for extensive travels preaching across the colonies?

• A. Jonathan Edwards
• B. George Whitefield
• C. William Penn
• D. Benjamin Franklin

Answer: (B)

The key idea here is how revival spread across the colonies: through itinerant preaching that moved from town to town, drawing large crowds and stirring religious renewal wherever it went. George Whitefield became famous precisely for this kind of reach. He traveled extensively, delivering powerful outdoor sermons from New England to the South, attracting huge audiences and generating widespread enthusiasm for the Great Awakening. This widespread, cross-colony preaching helped unify diverse colonial groups around a fresh, emotionally charged religious experience and spread revival beyond regional centers.

Jonathan Edwards was a crucial figure too, especially in New England, with influential theology and revivalist work, but his impact was more localized rather than defined by broad continental travel. William Penn is known for founding Pennsylvania and shaping early colonial governance and religious tolerance, not for preaching tours. Benjamin Franklin contributed as a thinker and civic leader, not as a traveling preacher.