Cotton Mather's Wonders Of The Salem Witch Trials

In January 1692 a group of young girls in Salem Village in Massachusetts became consumed by disturbing fits, seizures, violent actions and really loud screams. A doctor in the village diagnosed the girls as being victims of black magic. A few months later the infamous salem witch trials began in February of 1692 and ended May of 1693 in Massachusetts. More than 200 people were wrongly accused of witchcraft and 20 of them were executed. 19 of the executed where hung and one of them was crushed to death. Some of the judges during the witch trials where Samuel sewall, william stoughton and Jonathan corwin. The most notorious of them was Jonathan corwin he was a very

Cotton Mather is known for his scientific thinking and his beliefs in the Puritan religion. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts on March 19, 1663 and died in Boston, Massachusetts on February 13, 1728. Cotton was married three times and had many children. Cotton did not live up to his father's legacy in politics, however, he left his mark on history with his publications and studies. Throughout his lifetime he wrote over four hundred books and sermons in topics relating to smallpox, witchcraft and many other subjects. Mather was a leading scientist of his time; he promoted the smallpox cure and was elected to the prestigious scientific organization the Royal Society of London. His parents instilled important values in his mind at a young age. His father Increase Mather was a

Kappanadze, Margaret. "Baker, Emerson W.: A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience." Library Journal 15 Sept. 2014: 92. General OneFile. Web. 14 Sept. 2014.

The history of America and Americans hold great victories: Independance as a nation, The Battle of New Orleans, Iwo Jima, etc. It also holds great falls and moments of great weakness: Our Civil War, The Vietnamese War, Large debts owed to China, and my topic of choice, The Salem Witch Trials and the involvement of Cotton Mather, in Salem Village, Massachusetts 1692. This case in particular might just be the most popular recorded case of mass hysteria in our history although was recognized as a serious problem punishable by death and influenced by people held to a high religious standard like Cotton Mather, as opposed to what it actually was - “The airborne mental

From this place, the downward spiral only steepens. Tituba confesses (it was a forced confession) to witchcraft, and by February of 1692, Betty and Abigail accused two more women, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne, making three total accused “witches.” Accusations, examinations, and imprisonment continued, and by the end of April, 23 more people are jailed under accusations of witchcraft. “Salem was possessed.”

John Hathorne was a judge during the Salem Witch Trials and he examined people to see if they were involved in witchcraft. John Hathorne was a seaman first. John Hathorne then became an investigator of the Salem Witch Trials to see who was doing witchcraft. Lastly, John Hathorne was appointed to Supreme Court.

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

The author of this particular excerpt was none other than Cotton Mather who lived in Salem Massachusetts, a small village 20 miles north of Boston.During this time the accounts and turmoil within the community was at an all-time high. The conspiracy that there were pacts being made with the devil and that witches were a grave threat , are revealed to us today through the accounts of writers like Cotton Mather’s being notable within the New England Colonies during early colonization.

During the Salem Witch Trials, many women and some men were accused of witchcraft. The Salem Witch Trials took place from February of 1692 to May of 1693. The result was an execution of 20 people. Fourteen of them were women and all but one was hanged. Five others died in confinement.

Betty, Samuel's daughter, thought she had become afflicted from the wrath of a witch so she made Tituba help her in preparing a "witchcake" which was simply rye and Betty's urine. This cake was then fed to a dog in hopes of learning the identity of the person tormenting Betty. Sooner or later, Samuel got wind of the use of witchcraft in his household and became enraged. He beat Tituba until she confessed that she indeed was a slave and was teaching Betty her ways.<br><br>Tituba was the first to confess for one reason: to avoid further punishment. By admitting her guilt, Tituba could then name other witches, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne, and come away from Salem with her neck intact. She spent thirteen more months in prison until an anonymous person paid her bail and bought her. There has been no record of her existence since.<br><br><b>Cotton Mather</b><br>A religious leader of New England and authentic follower of witchcraft, Cotton Mather led the army of righteous judges to convict dozens of innocent people of something they only read about. It seemed extremely convenient that three of the five judges on the court of oyer (to hear) and terminer (to decide) were Cotton's friends. He wrote letters telling how evidence should be weighed and basically ran the trials from his own home.<br><br><b>Giles Cory</b><br>Of the witches accused in Salem, Giles Cory is the only one to refuse to stand trial. Unfortunately, this determination cost him his life. Of

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.

Church was the foundation of life in New England. People in Massachusetts were Puritans colonists seeking freedom and religious acceptance by leaving England. The Puritan lifestyle was self-controlled and firmly enforced. Since Puritans were expected to live by a resistant code; they believed that all sins committed should be punished and that God would punish sinful behavior. When someone went against their codes, Puritans saw it as God’s will to not help them. In keeping up with the Puritan code of obedience, the many women to be accused of witchcraft in Salem were seen as divergent and social

Witchcraft. It is mysterious, dangerous, and intriguing. In today’s world, it is almost obsolete, maybe because of its dark history. During the American colonial times, there were countless instances of supposed witchcraft. The greatest reason why witchcraft was considered malicious, was because it was believed that witches channeled their power from the devil. Two famous accounts of witchcraft in the americas are the Salem witch trials and the Wonders trial. Both of these trials exhibit specific events of alleged magical acts performed by accused witches. Although they are different accounts of witchcraft, many similar patterns show up in both Mather's work and Miller's drama.

The Salem witch trials was a story of envy, lies, and the danger of the people. Others wouldn’t defend those accused, and if they did, they themselves were eventually charged as witches. In many ways, defending others was condemning yourself. Such was the case for John Proctor in “The Crucible”. John Proctor was someone who had made mistakes, but through his own crucible made peace with himself and defended the honor of himself and the others that would not admit to witchcraft.

In the spring of 1692, 4 girls claimed to be possessed by the Devi, and said that some other women were also possessed. With the town in an uproar, a special court in Salem was setup to trial all of the convicted. Bridget Bishop was the first to be tried, and she was hung in July. 18 more were hung. But, more than 150 men, women, and children were condemned. By September of that same year, the town started to turn against the trials, and thus the Salem Witch Trials were ended. Although the general court annulled the guilty verdicts, and granted indemnities to the loved ones, anger remained in their hearts for hundreds of years. (History.com)