Cotton Mather: Witch Hunter or Not?

576 Words2 Pages

“History is the story of events, with praise or blame (Brainynotes).” The intelligent, clergyman Cotton Mather stated this quote. Cotton Mather was a very well educated revered man of his time, and he came from a very prominent family. He wrote a collection of works to help create a written documentation of the history of New England. In his work The Wonders of the Invisible World he describes a very difficult time for New England—the Salem Witch Trials; When describing this horrific time he uses a very serious but informative tone which probably led readers to believe that he was a “depraved witch hunter”, and even with this negative reputation today, a person cannot take away the fact that he was a major scholar of his time.

In Cotton Mather The Wonders of the Invisible World, Mather keeps a very serious tone. Mather’s goal of his works is to keep an account of the daily activities of New England. In The Wonders of the Invisible World, he also creates a very informative tone. He gets right to the point in his work by stating “ I shall no longer detain my reader from his...

Show More
Related

  • Escaping Salem The Other Witch Hunt Of 1692 Summary

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    The problem with this is the fact that he only used one case. The case he uses shows how it was not the same as Salem but does not give the reader the idea that this was the norm. Salem is the most well known witch hunt and trial in American History, and most Americans know about it. But, for the ones who are not aware or educated on the event, Godbeer’s purpose of writing the book would be hard for the reader to understand. This is a downfall in this writing. If he would have included other sources and other accounts of witch trials in New England, his argument that Salem was not the norm would be more effective. The book does a good job of explaining how the trial was handled in Stamford and how the judges and townspeople took into consideration the evidence, although not all townspeople did this. Some were very quick to judge and wanted the accused put to death. Godbeer’s thesis would be much stronger if he would have included the other accounts around New

    Read More

  • Sociological Analysis Of Arctic Hysteria

    1222 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Salem, Massachusetts Witch Trials have generated extensive evaluation and interpretation. To explain the events in Salem, psychological, political, environmental, physical, and sociological analysis have all been examined. The authors Linnda Caporael, Elaine Breslaw, Anne Zeller, and Richard Latner all present differing perspectives to speculate about the events of the Salem Witch Trials. This changing interpretation and perspective has resulted in an extensive historiography to explain the

    Read More

  • Here Are No Newters By Richard Latner Summary

    636 Words  | 2 Pages

    The thoroughness is one of its key strengths, allowing for people of varying knowledge about Salem to gain an understanding of the events and background of the witch trials. The author includes multiple sources to show the exceptionally varying ideals and their effects on Salem. “the peace that came under Joseph Green's conciliatory leaders... the important role religious strife played in the events of 1692”(Latner, 2006, 118). Joseph Green completely paralleled his predecessors, he was responsible for restoring order to Salem. This is significant because it shows the impact that ministers had, they had the power to change the town completely, Green was one of the first to not cause strife. Compared to Christine Leigh Heyrman’s “Witchcraft in Salem Village: Intersections of Religion and Society” Latner’s article correlates with the central idea that religious leaders and religion itself started the witch

    Read More

  • The Devil in Massachusetts Book Review

    790 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Salem Possessed: The Social Origins Of Witchcraft

    1028 Words  | 3 Pages

    In order to understand the outbreak of the witchcraft hysteria in Salem, Massachusetts in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, authors of Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft, explore the social and economic divisions and tensions within Salem and the surrounding communities. Both Boyer and Nissenbaum have a strong background in history. Paul Boyer (1935-2012) was the Merle Curti Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as well as a cultural and intellectual historian who authored several other books. Stephen Nissenbaum was a Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst who authored several other books as well. In Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of

    Read More

  • The Crucible And Half Hanging Mary Analysis

    769 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the beginning of the late seventeenth century a sense of fear and panic was sweeping throughout the colonies of North America this fear began in a small town in Massachusetts called Salem and would lead to the death of nineteen people. This fear was caused by young Puritan girls who started randomly convulsing and accusing people of being witches many of the accused were women many single or widowed who owned land and this event was titled The Salem Witch Trails, but another smaller very significant event also took place during this period of time that event is the attempted hanging of Mary Webster. Both of these events are very significant in the fact that they would become a basis of American literature and would bring about a very big theme even in today`s literature that theme being “A majority does not always make the right decision.” Both of these events would lead to the writing of two significant pieces

    Read More

  • The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson

    1031 Words  | 3 Pages

    The setting is London in 1854, which is very different to anything we know today. Johnson’s description of this time and place makes it seem like a whole other world from the here and now....

    Read More

  • The Crucible Wiccaphobia

    1396 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the 1690’s in Salem, Massachusetts, one of the most disgraceful events in American history took place. 20 innocent people were sentenced to death on charges of witchcraft (Kortuem). At the time there was a witch scare sweeping across the North East of America in a time we know today as the Salem Witch Trials. The witch trials was one of the most shameful events in American history. In fact, it was compared to another event by a man named Arthur Miller. Arthur Miller was a playwright from New York who wrote many famous plays like Death of a Salesman, All my Sons, and of course The Crucible (Kortuem). In The Crucible, Miller was comparing the McCarthy Hearings at the time to the events hundreds of years earlier in the

    Read More

  • Religion in Colonial America

    1514 Words  | 4 Pages

    Wise, P. M. (2005). Cotton mathers's wonders of the invisible world: An authoritative edition. (dissertation, Georgia State University)Retrieved fromhttp://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=english_diss

    Read More

  • The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

    1074 Words  | 3 Pages

    Franklin looks back on his fervent love of books, particularly Dr. Cotton Mather’s Essays to do good wherein the minister preaches about the importance of human courtesy and doing good unto others. He concludes that Dr. Mather’s essays “gave [him] a Turn of

    Read More

  • Jazz in Invisible Man

    1453 Words  | 3 Pages

    Shmoop Editorial Team. “Ralph Ellison: Writing Invisible Man.” Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 26 Jan 2014.

    Read More

  • Invisible Man Essay: Importance of Setting

    1100 Words  | 3 Pages

    Howe, Irving. "Review of: Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man" Pub. The Nation. 10 May 1952. 30 November 1999. <http://www.english.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/howe-on-ellison.html.

    Read More

  • Cause Of The Salem Witch Trials

    2192 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Salem witch trials happened in Colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. More than 200 people were suspected of being involved with witchcraft or the “Devil's magic” and more than 19 were executed. Ultimately, the society confessed the trials were an inaccuracy and remunerated the families of those who were found guilty. Since then, the tale of the trials has become indistinguishable with fear and discrimination, and it remains to lure the general mind more than 300 years later. These rare trials intensely change the way that people look at their world. These witchcraft trials in Salem during the summer of 1692 did just that. The misfortune of Salem, which saw nineteen alleged witches hanged and some more accused witches die in prison, caused colonists to reconsider both their association with the supernatural world and the sort of procedural devices necessary to protect accused persons. It is commonly assumed that madness similar to that seen 308 years ago in Massachusetts could never again poison our justice system.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Wonders Of The Invisible World

    1064 Words  | 3 Pages

    “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.

    Read More

  • Around The World In 80 Days

    2113 Words  | 5 Pages

    The setting for this novel was a constantly shifting one. Taking place during what seems to be the Late Industrial Revolution and the high of the British Empire, the era is portrayed amongst influential Englishmen, the value of the pound, the presence of steamers, railroads, ferries, and a European globe.

    Read More

More about Cotton Mather: Witch Hunter or Not?

Open Document