Cotton Mather And Salem Witchcraft Trials

It is often difficult to understand the thought process that other people’s might have had many years ago. A college professor and writer, Richard Godbeer attempts to explain the thought process of the people who were involved in witch trials in the year 1692 in his text “How Could They Believe That?”. He often tells students in college and high school that we can relate to how society was in 1692 and how their views on life, and specifically the supernatural forces, are completely justifiable. In this article he explains the social atmosphere, the environment in which the settlers lived in, as well as how thorough the process of persecution was.

The Salem Witch Trials was a very dark period in our history that occurred in the colony of Salem, Massachusetts. These trials began in February 1692 and ended in May of 1693. There were over two hundred individuals who were accused of practicing witchcraft. Of those two hundred accused, nearly twenty innocent souls were lost. This was one of the most severe cases of mass hysteria in recorded history. There was a great effort exhorted by the Massachusetts General Court to declare a guilty verdict, that the framers of the United States Constitution went to great lengths to never let this type of tragedy occur again; commonly known as the eighth amendment. Remarkably so, some may argue that there were similarities in Salem and the

In January 1692, when a group of juvenile girls began to display bizarre behavior, the tight-knit Puritan community of Salem, Massachusetts couldn’t explain the unusual afflictions and came to a conclusion. Witches had invaded Salem. This was the beginning of a period of mass hysteria known as The Salem Witch Trials. Hundreds of people were falsely accused of witchcraft and many paid the ultimate price of death. Nineteen people were hung, one was pressed to death, and as many as thirteen more died in prison. One of the accused Elizabeth Bassett Proctor, a faithful wife and mother, endured her fictitious accusation with honor and integrity.

Cotton Mather exemplified the essence of Puritan beliefs. He was originally from Boston, but he then moved to Salem, Massachusetts where he took the position of a clergyman. Mather authored many works on witchcraft throughout the course of the trials. Through his Puritanical belief, Mather embodied reasoning through faith. He wrote as the quintessential Puritan trying to rid humanity of its ills. These works included On Witchcraft and The Wonders of the Invisible World, as well as many letters he sent to fellow clergy on the subject of witchcraft. In his day, he was considered an authority on witchcraft due to his involvement in the well-publicized Salem Witch Trials.

Many people are aware of the witch hunt that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts in the year 1692, however these same people may not be as familiar with the other witch hunt that also occurred in New England during the same year. Escaping Salem: the other witch hunt of 1692, written by Richard Godbeer, is a historical monograph that reconstructs the, mostly unheard-of witch hunt, that occurred in Stamford, Connecticut. The book also gives its readers insight into the minds of early American citizens. Thus, the theme of Escaping Salem, beside witchcraft, is human nature and Richard Godbeer’s thesis is that humans demonize others before recognizing their own share of human frailty. It is evident that he is biased toward the witches and sympathizes with them. This, of course, is not surprising since they were irrationally punished because of their neighbours unsubstantiated accusations. Richard Godbeer is currently a Professor of History at the University of Miami, who offers courses on a broad range of topics, including sex and gender in early America, witchcraft in colonial New England, religious culture in early America, and the American Revolution. He is also the author of 11 other historical monographs.

The Salem witch trials were a difficult time for the citizens of the Massachusetts Colony in the late seventeenth century. They were accused of practicing the Devil’s magic, which many believed to be real; so real that people were being imprisoned and executed for it. Between the years 1692 and 1693 there were over two hundred accusations and about 20 people and two dogs were killed altogether.

“In three hundred years, we have not adequately penetrated nine months of Massachusetts history.If we knew more about Salem, we might attend to it less, a conundrum that touches on something of what propelled the witch panic in the first place” (5).

In Cotton Mather’s The Wonders of the Invisible World, he explores the evidence presented at the Salem witch trial of Martha Carrier. Mather explains the spectral evidence presented at the trial as strange phenomena worked by the devil, when in reality it is simply the exploitation and fear that brewed underneath the surface colonial America.

The period of the Salem Witch Trials was an extremely dark time in New England because mass hysteria ran rampant, and over 200 people were accused of witchcraft (Blumburg). Trials were held for the accused “witches”, and author Cotton Mather was given the task of documenting a number of the trial proceedings. Mather was an esteemed adult in the Puritan community. Looking back at the accomplishments in his early life it is quite easy to see why he was held in such high regard. Cotton Mather was born February 12th, 1663 to a family of highly reputed New England Puritan priests (Walker). At only 12 years old, following in his father’s footsteps, Mather began his education at Harvard College. Mather faced many hardships and trying times throughout his life. As a child, Mather developed a bad stammer; because of his speech impediment, many presumed that he would never be able to enter the ministry (Franklin). Mather was also prone to nervous disorders that “drove him to ecstasy and despair” (150). Along with these hindrances, he faced numerous hardships. Mather lost his first two wives and then lost his third to insanity. As well as losing his wives, he lived to see all but two of this fifteen children pass away. Increase Mather, Cotton’s father, was President of Harvard, where both he and his son attended. Trying to live up to his father, Cotton aspired to become president of the college as well, but he was declined and never received the position. Multiple peers of Mather said

Cotton Mather’s character was distinguished before the Puritans began their witch hunt. According to Brandt, Mather’s reputation has been “smeared for three hundred years by the abuse and harsh criticism” of those readers who perceive him as an instigator to the Salem Witch Trials (Brandt 232). Before the Salem Witch Trials, Cotton Mather had an interest for “all extraordinary things wherein the existence and agency of the invisible

The Salem Witch Trials were a series of accusations, trials, and executions based on the supposed outbreak of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. The trials began during the spring of 1692, and the last of them ended in 1693. It all started when two young girls, Abigail and Betty Parris, began experiencing violent convulsions and outbursts, which were thought to be brought about by witchcraft. Whether they were faking these symptoms, were afflicted with an actual sickness, or were experiencing them because of some sort of psychological reason is widely debated, though it is known that the sisters accused their maid, Tituba, of forcing them to participate in witchcraft with her. Some who theorize about the causes of the trials dismiss the Parris girls involvement in the beginning and instead attribute the outbreak of accusations to judgement upon the members of society who break social or religious rules, or who struck the upright members of society as ‘strange’ and ‘suspicious’, such as the homeless, the poor, and old or widowed women. The cause of the hysteria that went on in Salem after this is what is speculated by so many. There are probably hundreds of theories out there, but a few in particular are more widely known, accepted, and supported than others.

Throughout time, historians have relied on first person encounters to accurately depict the world and the people at a certain time. Cotton Mather’s, The Wonders of the Invisible World, does exactly that by giving the reader a perspective into the Salem witch trials as well as a first person view from Mather himself. Through this work, Mather shares his opinions on the actions taken in the trials and the works of the Devil and God inside of New England. During this time period, religion played a significant part in society such that it was a driving force behind the hysteria created. This hysteria doesn’t seem to reach Mather, but rather he seems to be compelled to write due to his pre-existing concern for society against the Devil and witchcraft.

Cotton Mather was interesting to read as I have heard of The Salem Witch Trials through television and other works I have read. Of course television has a more dramatized version of this experience, but some events were well articulated in the reading. Cotton Mather was very well accomplished, graduating Harvard at the age sixteen and becoming an ordained pastor of Old North Church. Christianity was very big during this era, so Mather’s success to pastor was more than just an accomplishment. Though his intellect was well attained, his choices were not that great and caused much confusion with the witch trials giving his unexpected support being that his is a pastor. I just wonder how can he call himself a pastor of the church

Many people know of the Salem witch trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts in the year 1692 spilling over into the year 1693. But for those who do not know, the Salem witch trials were a series of trials against men, women, and children accused of being a witch and or practicing witchcraft. In “The Devils Snare: The Salem Witch Trials of 1692” by Mary Beth Norton, the author recollects the stories of real life accounts of those accusers and the accused in Salem during that time. Mary Beth Norton explains the Salem witch trials differently than other books and articles by giving wide-ranging background on incidents leading toward the trials and how events in history were related to the trials.

The 17th- Century Colonial New England historical website was produced and maintained by Margo Burns. Margo Burns is an independent scholar with a bachelor’s degree in English from Mount Holyoke College. While she has no academic background in history, she has a growing reputation for specializing in the Salem witch trials, especially those in North Andover. There is much history to explore in the 17th century; however, the witch trials of Salem have attracted more scholarly attention than most events in colonial America. Although some of the recent scholarship examines these trials, there is still so much more to learn about this revolutionary event that impacted the American society. The Web site, 17th-Century Colonial New England, can help mitigate interested researchers.