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by Mary Moss | |
| 1 | What part did the Puritan religion play in the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692? Judge Samuel Sewall and the Reverend Cotton Mather were two well-educated and religiously devout Puritans who participated in this tragic event. Yet they both lent a hand to the ignorance and fear that sent 19 guiltless people to the gallows. How could this happen? The answer to this question is not solid and sure, but elusive and vague as the demons that tormented those young Salem girls. Nevertheless, a study of the writings of these two men and other early American writers reveals characteristics of the Puritan faith that heavily influenced the Salem witch-hunt. |
| 2 | Samuel Sewall was born 1652 in Bishopstoke, England of a well-to-do family of merchant class. His family, who provided him with a strict Calvinistic upbringing, moved to New England when he was 19 years old. There they participated in the lofty effort to build a “Christian civilization, a new world order” and “a city set upon a hill” (Miller and Galli 41). From 1667-1671, he attended Harvard College where a passion for both head and heart became ingrained in his character. These powerful influences during his formative years played a great role in the reputation he was to hold in the future. Sewall’s diary testifies that he was a sensible merchant and landowner, highly educated magistrate and judge, and prayerful, loving father. Moses Coit Tyler, a distinguished historian of early American letters claims, “By his great wealth, his great offices, his learning, his strong sense, his wit, his warm human sympathy, his fearlessness, his magnanimity, he was a visible potentate among men” (qtd. in Strandness viii). |
| 3 | Cotton Mather was another important leader in colonial America. He was also educated at Harvard College and a highly respected minister of Boston’s Old North Church from 1685 until his death in 1728. Mather's interest in science prompted him to champion inoculations against smallpox in 1721 and, with the American physician Zabdiel Boylston, he did much to conquer public prejudice against the practice. Because of these achievements Mather was the first native-born American inducted into the Royal Society of London. His numerous books include works on history, science, biography, and theology. His Magnalia Christi Americana (1702), an ecclesiastical history of New England, ranks among the most important and scholarly works produced during America's first 100 years. |
| 4 | Both Sewall and Mather were accomplished and successful men. They stood on equal ground with many of the strong and dedicated men and women who founded this country. Many would say that it was their rigid Puritan foundations that made them into great men. But like giant buildings that are shaken to the core, even great men can fall. Like all good Puritans, Sewall and Mather believed in hell-fire and damnation. They maintained an unyielding fear of God, while sometimes ignoring His higher laws of love and mercy. In 1692, God and19 of his innocent children would have been better served by kindness and compassion. Intellectual and religious piety made our Puritan forefathers strong, but it also led to the atrocities of the Salem witchcraft trials. |
| 5 | The first characteristic of the Puritan religion that influenced the Salem witch-hunt was the staunch belief in predestination. Puritans believed that “the human state was one of sin and depravity; that after the Fall [of Adam] all but an elect group were irrevocably bound for hell. There was nothing one could do about the condition of one’s soul but try to act as one would expect a heaven-bound soul to act” (Atkins 1). This belief encouraged feelings of hopelessness, especially for women and children who had so little control over their lives. From Samuel Sewall’s diary we learn that his daughter Betty, was often in a state of turmoil because of the doubt she felt about whether or not she was one of the Lord’s elect:
Jan. 11. 1696. It seems Betty Sewall had given some signs of dejection and sorrow; but a little after dinner she burst out into an amazing cry, which caused all the family to cry too; her mother asked the reason; she gave none; at last said she was afraid she should goe to hell, her sins were not pardoned. She was first wounded by my reading a sermon of Mr. Norton’s…Text John 7.34. Ye shall seek me and shall not find me. And those words in the sermon, John 8.21. Ye shall seek me and shall die in your sins, ran in her mind, and terrified her greatly. And staying at home Jan. 12, she read out of Mr. Cotton Mather - Why hath Satan filled thy heart, which increased her fear. Her mother asked her whether she prayed. She answered Yes; but feared her prayers were not heard because her sins not pardoned…The Lord bring sight and comfort out of this dark and dreadful cloud, and grant that Christ’s being formed in my dear child, may be the [end] of these painful pangs. (Yazawa 142-43) |
| 6 | In his book, Wayward Puritans, Kai T. Erikson, tells more of what it was like for a Puritan who was uncertain of his or her spiritual status:
Life was a long and often painful search for signs of grace; the seeker had to explore every corner of his own consciousness for signs of conversion, weighing his own thoughts, testing his own moods, probing his every impulse, permitting himself no relief from this self scrutiny for fear that sin would seep into his soul when his guard was down. (51) |
| 7 | In his journal, Massachusetts’s governor, John Winthrop reported how the gnawing uncertainty about one’s salvation could erupt into terrible violence:
A woman of the Boston congregation, having been in much trouble of mind about her spiritual estate, at length grew into utter desperation, and could not endure to hear of any comfort…so as one day she took her little infant and threw it into a well, and then came into the house and said, now she was sure she would be damned, for she had drowned her child… (Erikson 51-52) |
| 8 | Puritans had many reasons to be afraid. Small pox, Indian attacks, any small illness or accident could lead to death. Out of Samuel Sewall’s 14 offspring, only six lived to be adults, seven never lived to be three years old and only two were alive when he died (Yazawa 8). It seems very sad indeed that the Puritans were haunted not only by the fear of death, but also by the fear of damnation. |
| 9 | The belief in predestination became especially weighty to American Puritans when they learned that the elect were also called to build a New World order. When Puritan leader, John Winthrop, sailed to America with 700 followers, he preached a classic sermon that taught his people about their awesome responsibility:
…wee must be knit together in this worke as one man, wee must entertaine each other in brotherly Affection, wee must be willing to abridge our selves of our superfluities for the supply of others necessities… Consider that wee shall be as a Citty upon a Hill, the eyes of all people are uppon us; soe that if wee shall deale falsely with our god in this worke wee have undertaken and soe cause him to withdrawe his present help from us, wee shall be made a story and a byword through the world…But if our heartes shall turn away soe that wee will not obey, but shall be seduced and worship other Gods our pleasures, and proffitts, and serve them; it is propounded unto us this day, wee shall surely perish out of the good Land… |
| 10 | Thus the Puritans made a covenant with God to live according to his will in return for a divine mandate in the New World. Because the Puritans fervently believed they were God’s chosen people, it stands to reason that they would also believe in Satan’s determination to destroy them. In the Wonders of the Invisible World, Cotton Mather explained that it was part of Satan’s devious plan to torment the Puritans with witchcraft:
The New-Englanders are a People of God settled in those, which were once the Devil’s Territories; and it may easily be supposed that the Devil was exceedingly disturbed, when he perceived such a People here accomplishing the Promise of old made unto our Blessed Jesus, That He should have the Utmost parts of the Earth for his Possession… The Devil thus Irritated, immediately try’d all sorts of Methods to overturn this poor Plantation… I believe, that never were more Satanical Devices used for the Unsetling of any People under the Sun, than what have been Employ’d for the Extirpation of the Vine which God has Planted… |
| 11 | Individual citizens felt a tremendous responsibility for keeping themselves free from sin so that the entire community could be blessed. Illness, disease, crop failure, extreme weather, and Indian attacks were not thought to be the results of bad luck, but rather, the just rewards of sin. Health and prosperity were seen as a clear indication of God’s blessing upon the obedient and righteous. Everything and anything could be seen as a sign or omen. |
| 12 | Because of the fear generated by the belief in predestination, Puritans put a great emphasis on rooting out the sin in their society. They became suspicious not only of their own weaknesses, but also of the weaknesses of their neighbors. In spite of religious devotion and faultless behavior, many girls, like Sewall’s 14-year-old Betty, could still find signs of God’s displeasure towards them. Imagine the consuming fear of the Salem girls who were tempted to do evil. |
| 13 | In November of 1691, several girls began meeting in the parsonage to have their fortunes told by a slave woman named Tituba. Among them were eight-year-old Betty Parris and 11-year-old Abigail Williams, the daughter and niece of the Reverend Samuel Parris. Although they tried to keep it a secret, word of their entertainment spread and the circle of girls expanded. The guilt they felt at keeping secrets from their elders and the anxiety about being discovered must have been overwhelming. Even the youngest of the girls would have been acutely aware of the forbidden nature of their gatherings. “To consort with the devil…risked God’s punishment on the entire community” (Pelka 3). They knew that if they were caught, punishment and humiliation would follow. |
| 14 | The coercive arm of the theocratic state was another very important factor in the Salem witchcraft trials. The church was the center of everything and everybody, member or not, Puritan or not. All had to attend church if he or she could stand up and put one foot in front of the other. In order to vote, a man not only had to own land, but also be a church member. Because the local minister could dictate who was thrown out of the church, the clergy was in full political control. |
| 15 | Sinning or breaking away from the church in anyway was considered an act of treason. Early Massachusetts records show that Puritans also used punishment to drive seditious Quakers out of their community:
It is hereby ordered, that what person or persons soever shall revile the office or persons of magistrates or ministers, as is usual with the Quakers, such persons shall be severely whipped or pay the sum of five pounds… And it is further ordered, that if any Quaker shall presume, after they have once suffered what the law requireth, to come into this jurisdiction, every such male Quaker shall for the first offense have one of his ears cut off, and be kept at work in the house of correction till he can be sent away at his own charge, and for the second offense shall have his other ear cut off… and every woman Quaker that hath suffered the law here and shall presume to come into this jurisdiction shall be severely whipped… and for every Quaker, he or she, that shall a third time herein again offend, they shall have their tongues bored through with a hot iron… (qtd. in Erickson 116-117) |
| 16 | The Puritan religion was a very complex, subtle, and highly intellectual affair, and its leaders were highly trained scholars, whose education translated into authoritarian positions. It is impossible to overestimate the spiritual and moral influence the Puritan ministers had over their congregations. They were enormously respected. The clergy didn’t hesitate to use their power to condemn from the pulpit and to impose sentences for minor offenses. |
| 17 | Even the best of folks might slip and use bad language, get drunk, or perhaps commit an outrageous immorality. If they were caught sinning or in essence, breaking a law, they were punished in public. In Colonial Living, Edwin Tunis discusses the severe methods used when dealing with sin:
Minor transgressors were locked in the stocks, or the pillory, with some sign of their fault hung upon them where all could see it: A large “D” for the drunkard, a “B” for the blasphemer who, if he blasphemed sulphurously enough, might find his tongue in a cleft stick…Flesh was branded with hot iron; ears were cut off and so were hands, always with the idea that the criminal should be marked and humiliated. (56) |
| 18 | Considering the consequences they might face, it is no wonder that the wayward Salem girls became afflicted with hysteria. Under the shadow of church dogma the girls were assured that bad things would happen to bad people. Beginning in January, they began exhibiting strange behavior, blasphemous screaming, convulsive seizures, trance-like states and mysterious spells. Unable to determine any physical cause for the symptoms and dreadful behavior, physicians concluded that the girls were under the influence of Satan. Reverend Samuel Parris conducted prayer services and community fasting in hopes of exposing the witches that plagued them. |
| 19 | The afflicted girls felt a tremendous pressure to identify the source of their afflictions. They had also grown up cultivating the ability to spot a sin in themselves and others. They had been taught that “Satan lures certain people into compact with him, promising them that all should be well, they need not worry any longer about sin and salvation” (Hall 2). By consorting with the devil, and placing one’s name in his book, one became a witch or wizard. In the article, The Women’s Holocaust, Fred Pelka describes how witches were identified:
The crippled, aged, incurably ill, and spinsters were credited with possessing an affinity for the evil eye - a particularly potent form of malefic witchcraft. Disabled newborns were thought to be Satan’s spawn, the result of sexual relations between the mother and a demon... (5).It wasn’t long before the afflicted girls began accusing individuals of witchcraft. And it wasn’t surprising that most of those accused were women who were poor and destitute or sick and old. |
| 20 | A condescending attitude towards women and children was the third aspect of the Puritan religion that played a role in the terrible witchcraft drama. The proper conduct of a woman was submission to her father’s or husband’s instructions and commands. “He was her superior, the head of the family, and she owed him obedience founded on reverence. He stood before her in the place of God; he exercised the authority of God over her” (Morgan 44-45). By the laws of Massachusetts a married woman could hold no property of her own. When she became a wife, she gave up everything to her husband and devoted herself exclusively to managing his household. |
| 21 | Since most women were physically weaker than men it was also supposed that they lacked the strength for serious intellectual exercise. In his journal, John Winthrop told about the mentally ill wife of Governor Hopkins of Connecticut. Winthrop believed that she had gone insane because she had spent too much time reading and writing:
Her husband, being very loving and tender of her, was loath to grieve her; but he saw his error, when it was too late. For if she had attended her household affairs, and such things as belong to women, and not gone out of her way and calling to meddle in such things as are proper for men, whose minds are stronger, etc., she had kept her wits, and might have improved them usefully and honorably in the place God had set her. (qtd in Morgan 44) |
| 22 | In seventeenth-century New England, women were also thought to be morally weaker than men. In The Devil in the Shape of a Woman, Carol Karlsen further explains the Puritan’s view towards woman:
More women than men [were] ministers of the devil…because women were by nature more evil than men: in their wickedness, they imitated the first women, Eve…women were subject to deeper affections and passions, harbored more uncontrollable appetites, and were more susceptible to deception. Unwilling to accept their deficiencies and unable to satisfy their inordinate desires, they more readily turned to Satan to fulfill their needs and to provide them with the power to avenge themselves on those in more fortunate positions. Women were never satisfied…were more given to anger, jealously, and greed, and did not hesitate to seek demonic power to deceive others, to entice them to evil, and to destroy their souls, their bodies, and their possessions. In sum, women became witches because…they were dissatisfied with their natural inadequacies and limitations, and because they wanted revenge and retribution badly enough to sell their souls for it. (155-56) |
| 23 | Of the 140 Salem area citizens accused of witchcraft, 103 were women and only 37 were men (Boyer, Nissenbaum 376-78). The accused men were either unwelcome nonconformists or outsiders. Many were newcomers who threatened the prosperity of the old Salem elite. When accusations were made against honorable men of high standing, the court admonished the accusers and refused to issue a warrant. |
| 24 | If Puritan women were like second-class citizens when compared to Puritan men, then the children in the community were of the lowest class of all. They were the most likely to be abused because of their absolute lack of power. In the sermon titled The Duties of Children to their Parents, Cotton Mather gives us a good idea of how submissive a Puritan child was expected to be:
Come, ye little Children; Hearken unto me, I will teach you the Fear of the Lord…There is no point of Religion, more certainly and commonly Rewarded with Blessings in this world, than that of rendering unto Parents the Dues that pertain to them. A signal Prosperity, even in this world, uses to attend those Children, that are very Obedient or Serviceable unto their Parents… The heavy Curse of God, Will fall upon those Children, That make Light of their Parents. To set Light by one’s Parents, is… to treat them with any Ungodly Contempt… you Set Light your Parents, if your minds are not Struck, with some awful Apprehension of their Superiority over you; if you don’t see an awful Image of God, in their Superiority; if you don’t look upon them, as the very Deputies of God, in their several Families. |
| 25 | Mather’s sermon to the children also gives further explanation of why consuming fear could have encouraged the strange behaviors of the afflicted Salem girls:
Undutiful Children soon become horrid Creatures, for Unchastity, for Dishonesty, for Lying, and all manner of Abomination: And the Contempt which they cast upon the Advice of their Parents, is one thing that pulls down this Curse of God upon them. They who sin against their Parents, are sometimes by God given up to Sin against all the world beside. Mind the Most Scandalous Instances of Wickedness and Villainy; You’ll ordinarily find, they were first Undutiful Children, before they fell into the rest of their atrocious Wickedness… |
| 26 | In 1689, two years before the Salem witchcraft trails, Cotton Mather published a book that was widely read and discussed throughout Puritan New England. Memorable Providences, Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions detailed an episode of supposed witchcraft involving an Irish washerwoman in Boston. The actions of Betty Parris and Abigail Williams of Salem mirrored the actions of the afflicted children described in Mather’s book:
They were not in a constant Torture for some Weeks, but were a little quiet, unless upon some incidental provocations; upon which the Devils would handle them like Tigres … Particularly, Upon the least Reproof of their Parents for any unfit thing they said or did, most grievous woful Heart-breaking Agonies would they fall into… Whatever Work they were bid to do, they would be so snap’t in the member which was to do it, that they with grief still desisted from it. If one ordered them to Rub a clean Table, they were able to do it without any disturbance; if to rub a dirty Table, presently they would with many Torrents be made uncapable. And sometimes, tho but seldome, they were kept from eating their meals by having their Teeth sett when they carried any thing unto their Mouthes… |
| 27 | By strict Puritan standards, the conduct of the Boston and Salem children must have seemed outrageous and bizarre. But by today’s lenient standards, their antics would seem ordinary. These children were probably not possessed by anything more than ornery willfulness. Like today’s children, they didn’t want their parents to correct them, they didn’t want to do chores or housework, they didn’t want to eat food that was icky, and they didn’t want to listen to boring sermons and lectures. |
| 28 | The Puritan ritual of confession was another crucial factor leading to the witchcraft hysteria. When Samuel Sewall joined the church in early New England he was asked to confess his sins. This was an well-accepted step in the process towards salvation. “To confess was to make visible the hidden sin that lurked in everyone” (Hall 3). Along with the principles of predestination, male superiority, punishment and humiliation, confession was a significant part of the puritan life. |
| 29 | If an accused witch declared her guilt and agreed to testify against others she was never executed. This not only created a powerful incentive for confession, but also for false accusations against others. As the trials progressed, the majority of the finger pointing came not from the afflicted girls but from confessing witches. In a deposition written by Sarah Ingersoll, she tells how the confession of her friend Sarah Churchill was coerced:
The diposition of Sarah Ingelson Aged about 30 yers: saith that seing Sarah Church after hur exsamination She came to me Crieng and wringing hur hands seming to be mutch trobeled in Sparet I asked hur what she ailed she answered she had undon hur self I asked hur in what she saied in belieng hur salfe and others in saieing she had seat hur hand to the divells Book whairas she saied she naver did I told her I beleved she had saet hur hand to the Book she answered Crieng and said no no no: I naver, I naver did I asked then what had maed hur say she did she answered because they thratened hur: and told hur thay would put her in to the dongin and put hur along with mr Borows and thus saverall times she folowed one up and downe tealing me that she had undon hursalfe in be lieng hur salf and others I asked hur why she did writ it she tould me be Cause she had stood out so long in it that now she darst not she saied allso that If she told mr Noys but ons she had sat hur hand to the Book he would be leve her but If she told the truth and saied she had not seat her hand to the Book a hundred times he would not beleve hur. (Boyer, Salem Witchcraft Papers) |
| 30 | Another accused witch desperately tried to recant her confession and the accusations she had made against her own grandfather:
The humble declaration of Margaret Jacobs unto the honoured court now sitting at Salem, sheweth: That whereas your poor and humble declarant being closely confined here in Salem gaol for the crime of witchcraft, which crime thanks be to the Lord I am altogether ignorant of, as will appear at the great day of judgment: May it please the honoured court, I was cried out upon by some of the possessed persons, as afflicting them; whereupon I was brought to my examination, which persons at the sight of me fell down, which did very much startle and affright me. The Lord above knows I knew nothing, in the least measure, how or who afflicted them; they told me, without doubt I did, or else they would not fall down at me; they told me, if I would not confess, I should be put down into the dungeon and would be hanged, but if I would confess I should have my life; the which did so affright me, with my own vile wicked heart, to save my life; made me make the like confession I did, which confession, may it please the honoured court, is altogether false and untrue. The very first night after I had made confession, I was in such horror of conscience that I could not sleep for fear the devil should carry me away for telling such horrid lies. I was, may it please the honoured court, sworn to my confession, as I understand since, but then, at that time, was ignorant of it, not knowing what an oath did mean. The Lord, I hope, in whom I trust, out of the abundance of his mercy, will forgive me my false forswearing myself. What I said, was altogether false against my grandfather, … which I did to save my life and to have my liberty; but the Lord, charging it to my conscience, made me in so much horror, that I could not contain myself before I had denied my confession, which I did though I saw nothing but death before me, chusing rather death with a quiet conscience, than to live in such horror, which I could not suffer. Where, upon my denying my confession, I was committed to close prison, where I have enjoyed more felicity in spirit, a thousand times, than I did before in my enlargement. And now, may it please your honours, your declarant, having, in part, given your honours a description of my condition, do leave it to your honours pious and judicious discretions, to take pity and compassion on my young and tender years, to act and do with me, as the Lord above and your honours shall see good, having no friend, but the Lord, to plead my cause for me; not being guilty in the least measure of the crime of witchcraft, nor any other sin that deserves death from man; and your poor and humble declarant shall for ever pray, as she is bound in duty, for your honours happiness in this life and eternal felicity in the world to come. So prays your honours declarant. (Boyer, Salem Witchcraft Papers) |
| 31 | The accused witches confessed not only to avoid execution, but also to escape physical torture. For Puritan judges like Sewall, torture was acceptable action to take in the effort to remove sin from society. Incarceration in a dank and filthy dungeon was enough to elicit a confession from 4 ½ year old Dorcus Good, but for some brave souls it took more. Giles Corey was a cantankerous old man who was crushed to death for refusing to cooperate with the court. Two sons of John Procter confessed to witchcraft only after they were bound neck and heels, “till the blood gushed out at the nose” (Pelka 7). Historian Joseph Klaits writes, “Without torture there would have been no witch craze” (qtd. in Pelka 7). |
| 32 | In all, the witch-hunt death toll was 25. Thirteen women and five men were convicted and hung on the gallows. One man was pressed to death, and three women, one man and one unnamed infant died in jail (Hill 229). How much blame should be placed on Judge Samuel Sewall and Reverend Cotton Mather for lives ruined and lost? By Samuel Sewall’s diary we cannot tell how much he suffered. But Sewall’s biographer, T. B. Strandess, believes that because of the Salem witchcraft trials, life for Sewall was not very pleasing:
If we grant that Sewall’s life was somehow satisfying, even sweet, it is still hard not to feel that his was a grim existence. A too-demanding God, an ever-scheming Satan, children crying out for fear of being damned, a brutal scheme of election and reprobation, ominous portents on every side, witches riding the midnight air - these are not elements of a happy life. (Strandness 157) |
| 33 | Cotton Mather, who was supposed to be the authority on witchcraft, encouraged Samuel Sewall and the other witchcraft judges to rely on spectral evidence, the hallucinations of the afflicted. This gave the afflicted girls an enormous amount of power to manipulate the court. Of those accused, the most devout in their religion and those with the most faith in divine justice were also the least likely to survive the justice of the court. |
| 34 | Mary Easty, on the eve of her execution, drafted a letter to the court that stands as an eloquent and courageous call to reason. It is too bad the judges did not listen:
I petition to your honours not for my own life for I know I must die and my appointed time is set… but by my own innocency I know you are in the wrong way. But [I pray] that no more innocent blood be shed, which undoubtedly can not be avoided in the way and course you go in…I would humbly beg of you that your honours would be pleased to examine these afflicted persons strictly and keep them apart some time and likewise to try some of these confessing witches, I being confident there is several of them has belied themselves and others as will appear if not in this world I am sure in the world to come whither I am now agoing…(qtd. in Hill 183) |
| 35 | The charges of witchcraft came at a time when the institutions of the Puritan theocracy, the church, the commercial community and the government felt most threatened. In 1689, the Puritan charter had been revoked. The new charter, in 1692, doomed Puritan political dominion. Quakers, Anglicans and others would have to be tolerated and given a voice in government. The turn of the century was coming as well, and sermons were filled with references to the Day of Judgment. The Puritans way of life was being threatened on every side. It is a shame that instead of uniting together in peace, they tore each other apart with fear. |
| 36 | Before the Salem witchcraft trials, Puritans were very demanding and suspicious of each other. After the trials hearts began to soften. Even Samuel Parris changed his ways. He was the father of Betty Paris and the uncle of Abigail Williams. During the witch-hunt, Parris’ sermons warned of a conspiracy in the village against himself and the church. He attributed the evil to the forces of Satan taking hold in Salem. He terrified the community when he repeatedly lectured, “One of you is a devil.” Two years later his sermons reflected the transformation that had come over the community:
(Eph. 4:31) Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil-speaking be put away from you, with all malice; and be ye kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ’s sake, hath forgiven you. (qtd. in Boyer, Salem-Village Witchcraft 299) |
| 37 | In January of 1696, at a day of solemn fasting and prayer, Samuel Sewall was also ready to admit his error. A month earlier, his son Sam had recited a scripture that “did awfully bring to mind the Salem tragedie.” (Mat. 7:12) “But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless” (Yazawa 160-61). Before the South Church congregation, the pastor read aloud a note that Sewall had given him:
Samuel Sewall, sensible of the reiterate strokes of God upon himself and family; and being sensible, that as to the Guilt contracted upon the opening of the late [Salem witchcraft trials]…he is upon many accounts, more concerned than any that he knows of, Desires to take the Blame and shame of it, Asking pardon of men…(qtd. in “1696,” 104) |
| 38 | But what about Cotton Mather - did he ever change his opinions concerning witchcraft? According to Douglas Linder, coordinator of the Famous American Trials web site, Cotton Mather didn’t become doubtful of spectral evidence until his mother was about to be accused of witchcraft. Even the governor’s wife came under scrutiny. That is when the trials finally came to a screeching halt. At this time, Mather was given the official trial transcripts for use in preparation of the book, Wonders of the Invisible World. The five Salem judges, three whom were Mather’s close friends, hoped the book would favorably describe their role in the embarrassing affair. Mather never officially apologized for his own large role in the Salem tragedy; but in his book, he did his best to minimize it. Later in his life he turned completely away from the supernatural. |
| 39 | In 1692, the intellectual and religious piety of Cotton Mather and Samuel Sewall had carried them away to almost inhuman extremes. For Sewall, his warm and humble heart brought him back, full circle to love and mercy. In contrast, Mather remained steadfast in his pride - hoping the world would overlook his mistakes. Though he tried to wash his hands of the matter, he could not remove the stain of innocent blood. |
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Nominated by Emily Orlando, Literature Instructor
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