Benjamin Franklin's 'The Witch Trails At Mount Holly'

When someone believes in something they will go to extraordinary lengths to explain it which leads their explanation to an illogical answer. In Benjamin Franklin's story, “The Witch Trails at Mount Holly,” he criticizes how the puritans prove if someone is evil or not. Benjamin Franklin tells his audience what the two trails are and how the trails determines if someone is evil or not. Benjamin Franklin points out, form a scientific point of view, how and why these trails are ridiculous.

Someone has to be accused of using witchcraft for these two trails to take place. In Benjamin Franklin’s story it starts out with the pigs dancing, “their neighbours sheep dance in an uncommon manner, and with causing hogs to speak, and sing Psalms,” (Franklin page 1). Someone claimed their neighbours were bewitching their animals, and without any proof they, the puritans, believed this outrageous claim at once and put these neighbours on trail. Benjamin Franklin is trying to point out to his audience how ridiculous it is to blindly believe in witchcraft just because no one has taken the steps to give a logical answer.

Why did people trust what he had to say, because he was the Einstein of the late 1700’s. He owned Pennsylvania Gazette, one of the most popular papers at the time. He was also one of the most respected people in the colonies and a great scientist at the time. Benjamin Franklin wasn’t born into the high class society, his father was a candle maker, but he earned his way to the top with hard work. He helped the US gain “independence and was one of the writers of the Declaration of Independence,” (David page 1). So the question is not why would someone listen to Benjamin Franklin, it is who would not listen to