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The author of A Storm of Witchcraft, Emerson W. Baker is a well known historian, archaeologist, and professor at Salem State University. In addition to receiving a Ph.D. in History from the College of William and Mary, an M.A. in History from University of Maine, and a B.A. in History from Bates College, Baker has also received many commendations and awards for his work. Among those awards, he has earned a membership in the Colonial Society of Massachusetts and was honored with the Maine Historical Society’s Neil Allen Award. Baker has also been the Chairman of Salem State University’s Archaeological Advisory Committee since 1990, and he has been the Chair for Maine Cultural Affairs Council since 2000. Baker has also written four other books, Devil of Great Island, New England Knight, American Beginnings, and Clarke & Lake Co.
A Storm of Witchcraft shows the strife of the American people during the late 1600s concurring with the Salem Witch Trials beginning in 1692. This book goes into depth about the death of the nineteen people convicted and suspected as witches, and the lives of the people surrounding them. Additionally, the setting of A Storm of Witchcraft focuses around the New England and Massachusetts area.
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The main topics of this story are utilized to go into depth on the town and village of Salem, how the structure of the village affected the choices made by the people, and develops the events throughout the trials specifically to the accusers, accused, and the judges. Furthermore, the book A Storm of Witchcraft goes into detail about the aftermath of the trials. The author is trying to prove through a unique style of writing and format of the book, and through an extensive research on the trials, that he approaches the history of the trials without altering or exaggerating the history itself.
The author wrote about this specific subject because of his profession, where he lives, and to clarify any confusions about the actual events of the Salem Witch Trials. The author wrote about the specific people and places mentioned in the book to establish the events of the trial through more than one point of view. By using an unprecedented format for writing, and by retelling the accounts of different people, places, and how they compare, Baker established a sense of confident understanding for his readers to
endure. The author proved his thesis by pulling information from many different sources, and by showing evidence that his resources were reliable. Baker used passed on stories from the ancestors of the people involved in the trials, genealogies of people living in his town, his own ancestry, and by referencing the works of other historians who have researched the Salem Witch Hunt. The audience the author hoped to reach would be other historians looking to research further into the trials, students studying the trials, and anyone interested in the true events of the trials, not the fabricated stories used in media and movies. The author used, as previously mentioned, an extremely uncommon style of writing. Instead of writing his book like most others by using compositions such as comparing and contrasting, chronology, or cause and effect, he presented each chapter as if it were its own book. Each chapter had its own purpose in telling the different subjects of the book. For example, he separated the aftermath of the crisis, the diverse accounts of people, and the town of Salem into completely separate paragraphs. The exceptional components of this book were the vast knowledge Baker had of the trials, the format of the book, and the amount of effort that was put into his research and writing. The author did prove his thesis through these portions of the book. The writing style was employed exceptionally throughout the entirety of the book. The evidence and arguments were not only convincing, but also accurate. A table displaying the accused persons from 1692 that were named in court records were even showed in the appendix of the story. Even though this book proves to be an immensely successful display of Baker’s skill, there were rough parts of the book. For example, even though this good be viewed as positive, he went into so much depth that the reader could get lost in the translation of his words. This does show his effort, but it can be difficult for the reader to fully absorb all of the information put into his book. After careful consideration, A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience was remarkably written and executed. The positives of the book far outweighed the negatives, and it thoroughly presented the events of the trials. The book was a worthwhile read, and it did contribute new information to the study of history. It not only accounted for the written and documented portions of the trials, but the stories and heirlooms of the trials as well. Other books written on the trials would be The Crucible by Arthur Miller, The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent, and The Shape of Mercy by Susan Meissner.
Godbeer follows the incident without any bias and looks into how the accusations and trials are handled by the townspeople and the people in charge of handling the trails. Godbeer’s purpose of writing this book is to prove that Salem was not the norm. Godbeer’s approach of only one using one case, slightly weakens his effectiveness that Salem was not the norm.
Latner’s purpose of writing the article is to inform the reader of the reason why the events at Salem happened due to religious leaders impact and how their actions held significance. “Examining the bitter disputes that wracked Salem Village and Andover suggests that we should accord religion”(Latner, 2006, 93). Latners goal was to prove that the events of Salem happened not because of
The Salem witch trials are a huge part of America's history regardless of whether because of it being an embarrassment or triumph. After reading the novel "The Devil in Massachusetts" by Marion L. Starkey it is evident she is trying to display this in her version of the trials. While it is true to historical documentation Starkey's version seems to be an attempt at an `easy read' for those wishing to learn about a detailed listing of events. I enjoyed the attempt at which she took to make historical facts more appealing and interesting to those who may find it dry. While the objective is supposed to be a more interesting way for those to learn about history, her vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure can often at times be confusing and cause there to be a break in the flow of the sequence of events.
While most people are familiar with the notorious Salem Witch Trials in 1692, many people are unaware that similar events were taking place in other parts of New England in the very same year. The book, Escaping Salem: The Other Witch Hunt of 1692, takes readers through an intriguing narrative of a young girl with claims of being bewitched. Although I was concerned at first about the book being in a narrative style, the author was very concise and used actual evidence from the trial to tell an accurate and interesting story.
Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft explores and breaks down the events that took place in the small village of Salem in 1692. Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, authors of Salem Possessed, use primary sources, both published and unpublished, to tell the crazy and eventful history of Salem. They go into great detail in why some folks were accused of being Witches, the arrests and the so popular Salem Witch Trials. The main reason for this book was to try and find out what caused the terrible outbreak of events that happened in Salem and they do so by looking into the History and Social life in the famed Salem Village. The history of Witchcraft in Salem is a well-known story from High School on and this book goes in depth about why things happened the way they did and how the social aspect played a big role is the story.
Starkey, Marion L. The Devil In Massachusetts: A Modern Inquiry Into The Salem Witch Trials. London: Robert Hale Limited.
During the early years of the colonies, there was a mad witch hunt striking the heart of Salem. Anger, reputation, and even religion play an important part during the play of The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller. The author allows us to witness the vivid idea of the hysteria taking place in Salem, Massachusetts, and why it was so vulnerable during the time.
The Salem Witch trials were when hundreds of citizens of Salem, Massachusetts were put on trial for devil-worship or witchcraft and more than 20 were executed in 1692. This is an example of mass religion paranoia. The whole ordeal began in the home of Reverend Samuel Parris. People soon began to notice strange behavior from Parris’s slave, Tituba, and his daughters. Many claimed to have seen Parris’s daughters doing back magic dances in the woods, and fall to the floor screaming hysterically. Not so long after, this strange behavior began to spread across Salem.
The Salem Witch Trials were a series of prosecutions of men and women who were accused to practice witchcraft or have associations with the devil. The first Salem witch trial began with two girls in 1692, Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams who started to have “fits”, in which they would throw tantrums and have convulsions. The random outburst of the girls threw the town of Salem into a mass of hysteria. Although historians have not found a definite reason or cause for the witch trials, they have taken different approaches to explain the hysteria that took over Salem. Some historians approach a psychological theory by proposing the girls suffered from diseases that made them act out. Other historians refer to factors such as religion, economics, and weather to explain the beginnings of an unforgettable time in Salem, Massachusetts. For over 300 years, historians have tried to reveal the truth about the beginnings of the Salem Witch Trials, but in order to do so historians must look at both the way of life in Salem in the seventeenth century and use knowledge that is available now to explain the phenomenon.
Godbeer, Richard. The Salem Witch Hunt A Brief History with Documents. Boston, New York: Bedford/St. Martins 2011
Kent, Deborah. Witchcraft Trials: Fear, Betrayal, and Death in Salem. Library ed. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow, 2009. Print.
The term witchcraft is defines as the practice of magic intended to influence nature. It is believed that only people associated with the devil can perform such acts. The Salem Witch Trials was much more than just America’s history, it’s also part of the history of women. The story of witchcraft is first and foremost the story of women. Especially in its western life, Karlsen (1989) noted that “witchcraft challenges us with ideas about women, with fears about women, with the place of women in society and with women themselves”. Witchcraft also confronts us too with violence against women. Even through some men were executed as witches during the witch hunts, the numbers were far less then women. Witches were generally thought to be women and most of those who were accused and executed for being witches were women. Why were women there so many women accused of witchcraft compared to men? Were woman accused of witchcraft because men thought it was a way to control these women? It all happened in 1692, in an era where women were expected to behave a certain way, and women were punished if they threatened what was considered the right way of life. The emphasis of this paper is the explanation of Salem proceedings in view of the role and the position of women in Colonial America.
The Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692 were the largest outbreak of witch hunting in colonial New England up to that time. Although it was the largest outbreak, it was not something that was new. Witch-hunting had been a part of colonial New England since the formation of the colonies. Between the years 1648 to 1663, approximately 15 witches were executed. During the winter of 1692 to February of 1693, approximately 150 citizens were accused of being witches and about 25 of those died, either by hanging or while in custody. There is no one clear-cut answer to explain why this plague of accusations happened but rather several that must be examined and tied together. First, at the same time the trials took place, King William's War was raging in present day Maine between the colonists and the Wabanaki Indians with the help of the French. Within this war, many brutal massacres took place on both sides, leaving orphaned children due to the war that had endured very traumatic experiences. Second, many of the witch accusations were based on spectral evidence, most of which were encounters of the accused appearing before the victim and "hurting" them. There were rampant "visions" among the colonies' citizens, which can only be explained as hallucinations due to psychological or medical conditions by virtue of disease, or poisoning.
In 1692 the area of Salem town and Salem village became very vulnerable to conflict. Severe weather such as hurricanes had damaged land and crops, the effects of King Phillips War began to impact New England society, and colonists were being forced off of the frontiers by Native peoples. The Church and the government were in heavy conflict. And those residing in Salem began to grow suspicious of one another when some prospered and others hadn’t (Marcus, p13).
“The Wonders of the Invisible World”, written by Cotton Mather, is an account of the Salem Witch Trials. He retells information that has been passed down to him without actually being present at the trial and simultaneously explains his theory to why witches were suddenly emerging in Salem, Massachusetts. There were quite a few holes in the Salem Witch Trials, especially regarding whether or not these events occurred the way they are said to. Mather’s book shows us how intense the Puritan ideals were, attaching anything out of the ordinary to a higher power and in doing this shows the flaws of the religion which caused to Salem Witch Trials.