Review Of The Salem Witch Trials: The Wonders Of The Invisible World
The Salem Witch Trials are regarded as one of North America's most infamous cases of mass hysteria. In 1693, Cotton Mather, a Puritan minister, wrote The Wonders of the Invisible World, an account of the Salem Witch Trials. Throughout the account, he states that witchcraft existed and that the devil exhibited its power through witchcraft. Mather, in the creation of this book, used religious pretext referenced from Against Modern Sadducism by Joseph Glanvill, which was a book that explored the concept of witchcraft and its application to society. Witchcraft had been a part of the scholarly conversation for decades leading up to the Salem Witch Trials, with those two works being the hallmark sources of witchcraft in the late 1600s. Those works …show more content…
The ministers’ intended effect of re-establishing trust in the Puritan community towards ministry in Salem backfired. Soon after the witch trials ended, scholars started to write about their opinions on whether the Witch trials were necessary or unnecessary and harmful. Most people agreed that the events that unfolded in Salem were horrendous. One of these opinions expressed was by a cloth merchant named Robert Calef. Calef wrote a book named after Mathers’s Wonders of the Invisible World, except Calef’s work, denounced Mather’s. Calef mentions how Mather took “bewitched” girls home and encouraged testimonies from the girls against accused witches in the trials (92). While these claims may be unfounded, it shows the already prevalent viewpoints of regular people on ministers, which highlights why the purpose of the trials backfired. The trials resulted in a more rapid decline of ministerial power, which further contributed to the decline of Puritanism as a congregationalist religion and …show more content…
More Wonders of the Invisible World, Or the Wonders of the Invisible World Displayed in Five Parts. London, printed by Nathaniel Hillard and Joseph Collyer, 1700, Early English Books Online.
Chevers, Ezekiel. “SWP No. 063: Sarah Good Executed July 19, 1692.” Salem Witch Trials: Documentary Archive and Transcription Project, https://salem.lib.virginia.edu/n63.html#n63.2.
Como, David R. “Women, Prophecy, and Authority in Early Stuart Puritanism.” Huntington Library Quarterly, vol. 61, no. 2, 1998, pp. 203–22. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3817798.
Glanvill, Joseph. A Blow at Modern Sadducism in Some Philosophical Considerations About Witchcraft and the Relation of the Famed Disturbance at the House of M. Mompesson. With Reflections on Drollery and Atheism. London, printed by E. Cotes and James Collins, 1668, Early English Books Online.
Harthorne, John. “SWP No. 019: Examination of Mary Black and Clearance by Proclamation. April 22, 1692.” Salem Witch Trials: Documentary Archive and Transcription Project, https://salem.lib.virginia.edu/n15.html
King, Ernest W., and Franklin G. Mixon. “Religiosity and the Political Economy of the Salem Witch Trials.” The Social Science Journal, vol. 47, no. 3, 2010, pp. 678–88, JSTOR, DOI:
How Important Is Cotton Mather's Participation In The Salem Witch Trials
1302 Words | 6 PagesThe Salem Witch Trials will always be known as one of the worst uses of the law against people. Thanks to them and the people who took part in the trials we now have a more fair and equal law system in the United States. One of the most prominent people from these trials is Cotton Mather. Cotton Mather was a teacher at the Old North Church, Boston, where his father was minister. Cotton Mather’s support of, and unrelenting participation in, the Salem Witch Trials is staggering to say the least.
Salem Witch Trial Essay
482 Words | 2 PagesCotton Mather accounts the witch trial of Martha Carrier through reporting the accusations and crimes prosecuted against her. This trial was unjust because prosecution occurred to explain unnatural events by using unfounded, spectral evidence. All unnatural events affected the witnesses negatively in matters of health or occupation. This led the people of Salem to create a scapegoat for their misfortune and other ‘witches’ to persecute those near to them in the fear of death.
Compare And Contrast The Salem Witch Trials
2240 Words | 9 PagesLife in Puritan Massachusetts was the eternal struggle against Satan, and when faced with the threat of the Devil’s agents working among them, they reacted with pious fear, with the trials acting as a means by which they demonstrated determination to stamp out the devil’s lies. Scottish Presbyterianism offered similarly a negative view of human nature and susceptibility to sin. Everything in life came from God or the devil and, as witchcraft came not from God, so it must be from Satan. Presbyterian preaching was zealous in its “glamorising,” of witchcraft, believed by Burton to have fuelled the Scottish enthusiasm for witch hunts. The hunts in the 1690s came at a time of moral panic, with ‘the identification and abolition of witchcraft… part of the new pattern of moral endeavour.’
Identification And Evaluation Of Source: The Connecticut Witch Trials
2185 Words | 9 PagesThe recent origin of this book is constricting because it has not been widely accredited by historians who study seventeenth century witch trials. Furthermore, Boynton is not an expert in this topic: her field of study in school was medicine and science, not history. In her introduction, Boynton stated her biased viewpoint that the Connecticut witch trials were much more deadly than those of Salem. This bias may have caused her to exaggerate some of the details of the witch trials and thus inaccurately portray the content she analyzes.
Role Of Martha Corey's Involvement In The Salem Witch Trials
776 Words | 4 PagesOn at least one other occasion in seventeenth-century New England, the admission to church membership of a woman with a checkered sexual past fomented an uproar among her neighbors. The same could well have happened in the case of Martha Corey, causing speculation about the validity of her reputed adherence to Christianity,” this shows that the trials were mostly due to hight standards and a rigid culture in where people were discriminated against. The arrival of Parris’ traditions and prejudices made it possible for all the outcasts to be blamed of witchcraft and therefore a type of genocide was occurring in which people were targeted according to how well they fit in society. The
Shape Of Women, Witchcraft In Colonial New England By Carol F. Karlsen
812 Words | 4 PagesIn the reading “The Devil in the Shape of a Women, Witchcraft in Colonial New England,” by Carol F. Karlsen reveals the social constructions the people from New England had about witchcraft during the seventeenth century and the gender relationship amongst its people. Karlsen address the Salem Witch Trials and the large number of “witchcraft cases” that arose due to such beliefs. She focuses on the females who were accused of being witches in colonial New England and discusses the role and the position of women in the Puritan society. During the seventeenth century, sex was seen as an act of impureness, even among married couples sex was seen as an illicit behavior.
Who Is Hale's Responsibility In The Crucible
501 Words | 3 PagesIn Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible," Reverend John Hale is portrayed as a man of great faith who is called upon to investigate the mysterious occurrences in Salem, Massachusetts, during the witch trials of the late 17th century. Although Hale initially believes that he is doing God's work by rooting out the supposed witches in the community, he eventually comes to realize that the accusations are baseless and that innocent people are being condemned to death. In this essay, we will explore how Reverend Hale could have prevented the events in Salem by using his knowledge and authority to challenge the prevailing hysteria and superstition. Firstly, Reverend Hale could have used his knowledge of the Bible and his position as a respected member of the community to challenge the accusations of witchcraft.
Salem Witch Trials Research Paper
873 Words | 4 PagesIn the spring of 1692 people all around salem were being hung for the belief of them practicing witchcraft. With a town of only around 500 people living there having 200 or more people being accused of being a witch was a very big deal. “People had begun acting weird and doing very strange things such as dancing and acting as if they were possessed by the devil himself”, no one knew how to explain these weird behaviors. Little girls accusing grown men and women of being witches and practicing the devil’s work, harming innocents in the community. Believing that they watched a group of women perform a satanic ritual.
Salem Witch Trials: How Religion And Gender Played A Big Role In History
1695 Words | 7 PagesAlana Alvarado Professor Krammer March 7, 2023 Salem Witch Trials Throughout this class, we have learned what witches are throughout history and how they have had an impact on our history, and some of the misfortunes that took place. Learning about the history of witches and witchcraft helped us understand the build-up to the witch trials in Salem Massachusetts, which began in 1692 and lasted until 1693. During these witch trials in Salem about 150 people were accused of being a witch, and about 25 people died as a result of these trials. Many things had an impact on the unfortunate event in history from warfare, gender, and economic issues, but I will be focusing on how Religion and Gender played a big part in the Salem witch trials.
Essay On The Salem Witch Trials Dbq
480 Words | 2 PagesIn Salem, Massachusetts, Puritans were strong believers in the Bible. The Bible states, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” The Puritans beliefs led to them accusing 20 innocent people of being a witch, this resulted in their deaths in 1692. Even though the Puritans couldn’t see it at the time, their accusations were really based off jealousy, lies, and Salem being divided into two parts. One cause of the Salem witch trial hysteria was jealousy.
Salem Witch Trials Essay
614 Words | 3 PagesPuritan society was characterized by strict religious beliefs, rigid social hierarchies, and a climate of fear and suspicion. The trials provided an outlet for societal tensions and anxieties, allowing individuals to redirect their frustrations and grievances onto perceived witches. The accusations and trials brought attention to existing rivalries, land disputes, and personal vendettas, enabling individuals to settle scores under the guise of religious righteousness. Furthermore, the trials revealed the power dynamics and gender inequalities prevalent in colonial society.
Religious Rhetoric
1221 Words | 5 PagesCuriously, the rhetoric and actions of the Puritan people seems to be parallel with whichever presence they believed to be active in their community. During the creation of the community, the rhetoric of John Wintrhop’s speech practically made the whole being-peaceful a religious act, as long as they were at peace the presence of God was assured (Winthrop, 1630). This is reiterated nearly 27 years later when, Richard Mather, father of Increase Mather, father of Cotton Mather, told his community in 1657, “Husbands and wives must live in peace so that their prayers for their children would not be hindered,” once again reaffirming this peace as an religious requirement for the spiritual standing of their family and community (Hall, 1988, p.22). However, when it came to the Salem Witch Trials, the people of Salem believed that their community was being invaded by Satan and their rhetoric and actions mimicked the cold, tormenting, and cruel characteristics of his presence (Boyer, 1972). Cotton Mather told John Cotton that God has been working miracles by executing five witches, the tone almost turns sadistic and overzealous because he is happy that these people were killed, but it did not at the time due to Puritans belief that the execution of convicted witches was the correct way to purify their community and rid themselves of the afflictions that their community supposedly suffered under
Salem Witch Trials Rhetorical Analysis
1066 Words | 5 PagesThe Salem Witch Trials; Madness or Logic In Stacey Schiff’s, List of 5 Possible Causes of the Salem Witch Trials and Shah Faiza’s, THE WITCHES OF SALEM; Diabolical doings in a Puritan village, discuss in their articles what has been debated by so many historians for years, the causes of the Salem Witch trials. Schiff and the Faiza, purpose is to argue the possible religious, scientific, communal, and sociological reasons on why the trials occurred. All while making word by word in the writer’s testimony as if they were there through emotion and just stating simply the facts and theories. They adopt the hectic tone in order to convey to the readers the significance, tragedy, logic, loss, and possible madness behind these life changing events,
Cotton Mather Wonders Of The Invisible World Analysis
911 Words | 4 PagesCotton Mather: Wonders of the Invisible World In this writing, Cotton Mather, a Puritan Theologian and a renowned reverend talks about his fears of the Christian religion being slowly obliterated from the country, which he believes is being taken over by the devil and his minions by the use of Witchcraft. In 1963 Cotton Mather was asked to create a literary piece, in defense of the persecutions, one year after the events of the Salem witch trials actually took place, where questionable events happened were depicted. This work was called the Invisible Wonders of the World. Throughout the writing, Mather is always depicting the devil as a real and tangible being (e.g. “invisible hands” and supernatural happenings).
The Causes And Effects Of The Salem Witch Trials
1008 Words | 5 PagesMany practicing Christians, at the time, believed that the Devil could persuade people to use the powers that he gave them to harm others. The Salem Witch Trials occurred because of resource struggles, many women were accused and tortured, and in the end the Governor realized that it was a big mistake. (“Salem Witch Trials”, 1). In 1689, English rulers William and Mary started a war with France in the American colonies which sent many refugees into the Essex County and Salem Village.
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