Cotton Mather was a prominent figure during the Salem witch trials of 1692 in Massachusetts. He was a Puritan minister and one of the key instigators of the witch hunt. Mather believed in the existence of witches and demons and saw it as his duty to rid the community of these perceived threats. Mather played a significant role in shaping public opinion and spreading fear and hysteria surrounding the accused witches. He published several books and articles discussing witchcraft and its potential dangers. His most famous work, "The Wonders of the Invisible World," detailed the trials and provided a theological justification for the execution of the accused.
His most famous work, "The Wonders of the Invisible World," detailed the trials and provided a theological justification for the execution of the accused. Mather's influence extended beyond his writings. He actively participated in the trials, attending court proceedings and supporting the prosecution.
Cotton Mather and the witch trials of 1692 in Salem
CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS RELATING
TO THE SALEM WITCHCRAFT TRIALS
1629: Salem is settled.
1641: English law makes witchcraft a capital crime.
1684: England declares that the colonies may not self-govern.
1688: Following an argument with laundress Goody Glover, Martha Goodwin, 13, begins exhibiting bizarre behavior. Days later her younger brother and two sisters exhibit similar behavior. Glover is arrested and tried for bewitching the Goodwin children. Reverend Cotton Mather meets twice with Glover following her arrest in an attempt to persuade her to repent her witchcraft. Glover is hanged. Mather takes Martha Goodwin into his house. Her bizarre behavior continues and worsens.
1688: Mather publishes Memorable Providences, Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions
November, 1689: Samuel Parris is named the new minister of Salem. Parris moves to Salem from Boston, where Memorable Providence was published.
October 16, 1691: Villagers vow to drive Parris out of Salem and stop contributing to his salary.
January 20, 1692: Eleven-year old Abigail Williams and nine-year-old Elizabeth Parris begin behaving much as the Goodwin children acted four years earlier. Soon Ann Putnam Jr. and other Salem girls begin acting similarly.
Mid-February, 1692: Doctor Griggs, who attends to the "afflicted" girls, suggests that witchcraft may be the cause of their strange behavior.
February 25, 1692: Tituba, at the request of neighbor Mary Sibley, bakes a "witch cake" and feeds it to a dog. According to an English folk remedy, feeding a dog this kind of cake, which contained the urine of the afflicted, would counteract the spell put on Elizabeth and Abigail. The reason the cake is fed to a dog is because the dog is believed a "familiar" of the Devil.
Late-February, 1692: Pressured by ministers and townspeople to say who caused her odd behavior, Elizabeth identifies Tituba. The girls later accuse Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne of witchcraft.
February 29, 1692: Arrest warrants are issued for Tituba, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne.
March 1, 1692: Magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin examine Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne for "witches teats." Tituba confesses to practicing witchcraft and confirms Good and Osborne are her co- conspirators.
March 11, 1692: Ann Putnam Jr. shows symptoms of affliction by witchcraft. Mercy Lewis, Mary Walcott, and Mary Warren later allege affliction as well.
March 12, 1692: Ann Putnam Jr. accuses Martha Cory of witchcraft.
March 19. 1692: Abigail Williams denounces Rebecca Nurse as a witch.
March 21, 1692: Magistrates Hathorne and Corwin examine Martha Cory.
March 23, 1692: Salem Marshal Deputy Samuel Brabrook arrests four-year-old Dorcas Good.
March 24, 1692: Corwin and Hathorne examine Rebecca Nurse.
March 26, 1692: Hathorne and Corwin interrogate Dorcas.
March 28, 1692: Elizabeth Proctor is accused of witchcraft.
April 3, 1692: Sarah Cloyce, after defending her sister, Rebecca Nurse, is accused of witchcraft.
April 11, 1692: Hathorne and Corwin examine Sarah Cloyce and Elizabeth Proctor. On the same day Elizabeth's husband, John, who protested the examination of his wife, becomes the first man accused of witchcraft and is incarcerated.
Early April, 1692: The Proctors' servant and accuser, Mary Warren, admits lying and accuses the other accusing girls of lying.
April 13, 1692: Ann Putnam Jr. accuses Giles Cory of witchcraft and alleges that a man who died at Cory's house also haunts her.
April 19, 1692: Abigail Hobbs, Bridget Bishop, Giles Cory and Mary Warren are examined. Deliverance Hobbs confesses to practicing witchcraft. Mary Warren reverses her statement made in early April and rejoins the accusers.
April 22, 1692: Mary Easty, another of Rebecca Nurse's sisters who defended her, is examined by Hathorne and Corwin. Hathorne and Corwin also examine Nehemiah Abbott, William and Deliverance Hobbs, Edward and Sarah Bishop, Mary Black, Sarah Wildes, and Mary English.
April 30, 1692: Several girls accuse former Salem minister George Burroughs of witchcraft.
May 2, 1692: Hathorne and Corwin examine Sarah Morey, Lyndia Dustin, Susannah Martin and Dorcas Hoar.
May 4, 1692: George Burroughs is arrested in Maine.
May 7, 1692: George Burroughs is returned to Salem and placed in jail.
May 9, 1692: Corwin and Hathorne examine Burroughs and Sarah Churchill. Burroughs is moved to a Boston jail.
May 10, 1692: Corwin and Hathorne examine George Jacobs, Sr. and his granddaughter Margaret Jacobs. Sarah Osborne dies in prison.
May 14, 1692: Increase Mather and Sir William Phipps, the newly elected governor of the colony, arrive in Boston. They bring with them a charter ending the 1684 prohibition of self-governance within the colony.
May 18, 1692: Mary Easty is released from prison. Following protest by her accusers, she is again arrested. Roger Toothaker is also arrested on charges of witchcraft.
May 27, 1692: Phipps issues a commission for a Court of Oyer and Terminer and appoints as judges John Hathorne, Nathaniel Saltonstall, Bartholomew Gedney, Peter Sergeant, Samuel Sewall, Wait Still Winthrop, and Lieutenant Governor William Stoughton.
May 31, 1692: Hathorne, Corwin and Gednew examine Martha Carrier, John Alden, Wilmott Redd, Elizabeth Howe and Phillip English. English and Alden later escape prison and do not return to Salem until after the trials end.
June 2, 1692: Bridget Bishop is the first to be tried and convicted of witchcraft. She is sentenced to die.
June 8, 1692: Eighteen year old Elizabeth Booth shows symptoms of affliction by witchcraft.
June 10, 1692: Bridget Bishop is hanged at Gallows Hill. Following the hanging Nathaniel Saltonstall resigns from the court and is replaced by Corwin.
June 15, 1692: Cotton Mather writes a letter requesting the court not use spectral evidence as a standard and urging that the trials be speedy. The Court of Oyer and Terminer pays more attention to the request for speed and less attention to the criticism of spectral evidence.
June 16, 1692: Roger Toothaker dies in prison.
June 29-30, 1692: Rebecca Nurse, Susannah Martin, Sarah Wildes, Sarah Good, and Elizabeth Howe are tried, pronounced guilty and sentenced to hang.
July 19, 1692: Rebecca Nurse, Susannah Martin, Elizabeth Howe, Sarah Good and Sarah Wildes are hanged at Gallows Hill.
August 5, 1692: George Jacobs Sr., Martha Carrier, George Burroughs, John Willard and John and Elizabeth Proctor are pronounced guilty and sentenced to hang.
August 19, 1692: George Jacobs Sr., Martha Carrier, George Burroughs, John Willard and John Proctor are hanged on Gallows Hill. Elizabeth Proctor is not hanged because she is pregnant.
August 20, 1692: Margaret Jacobs recants the testimony that led to the execution of her grandfather George Jacobs Sr. and Burroughs.
September 9, 1692: Martha Corey, Mary Easty, Alice Parker, Ann Pudeator, Dorcas Hoar and Mary Bradbury are pronounced guilty and sentenced to hang.
Mid-September, 1692: Giles Cory is indicted.
September 17, 1692: Margaret Scott, Wilmott Redd, Samuel Wardwell, Mary Parker, Abigail Faulkner, Rebecca Earnes, Mary Lacy, Ann Foster and Abigail Hobbs are tried and sentenced to hang.
September 19, 1692: Sheriffs administer Peine Forte Et Dure (pressing) to Giles Cory after he refuses to enter a plea to the charges of witchcraft against him. After two days under the weight, Cory dies.
September 22, 1692: Martha Cory, Margaret Scott, Mary Easty, Alice Parker, Ann Pudeator, Willmott Redd, Samuel Wardwell, and Mary Parker are hanged. Hoar escapes execution by confessing.
October 3, 1692: The Reverend Increase Mather, President of Harvard College and father to Cotton Mather, denounces the use of spectral evidence.
October 8, 1692: Governor Phipps orders that spectral evidence no longer be admitted in witchcraft trials.
October 29, 1692: Phipps prohibits further arrests, releases many accused witches, and dissolves the Court of Oyer and Terminer.
November 25, 1692: The General Court establishes a Superior Court to try remaining witches.
January 3, 1693: Judge Stoughton orders execution of all suspected witches who were exempted by their pregnancy. Phipps denied enforcement of the order causing Stoughton to leave the bench.
January 1693: 49 of the 52 surviving people brought into court on witchcraft charges are released because their arrests were based on spectral evidence.
1693: Tituba is released from jail and sold to a new master.
May 1693: Phipps pardons those still in prison on witchcraft charges.
January 14, 1697: The General Court orders a day of fasting and soul-searching for the tragedy at Salem. Moved, Samuel Sewall publicly confesses error and guilt.
1697: Minister Samuel Parris is ousted as minister in Salem and replaced by Joseph Green.
1702: The General Court declares the 1692 trials unlawful.
1706: Ann Putnam Jr., one of the leading accusers, publicly apologizes for her actions in 1692.
1711: The colony passes a legislative bill restoring the rights and good names of those accused of witchcraft and grants 600 pounds in restitution to their heirs.
1752: Salem Village is renamed Danvers.
1957: Massachusetts formally apologizes for the events of 1692.
1992: On the 300th anniversary of the trials, a witchcraft memorial designed by James Cutler is dedicated in Salem.
Some people doubted the wild accusations that were tearing apart the communities. For example, Reverend Cotton Mather, a Boston minister, believed in witchcraft but had initial doubts about the outbreak. He questioned the use of spectral evidence, because in English law it was grounds for suspicion but not proof. Mather offered to provide spiritual guidance to the afflicted and cure their ills through prayer and counseling. Unlike the case in most witch hunts, in this one, only those who refused to confess were hanged, for clinging obstinately to Satan.
He used his position as a minister to rally the congregation and gain support for the witch hunt. His sermons fueled the anxiety and paranoia surrounding witchcraft, leading to the imprisonment and execution of numerous individuals. However, Mather's role in the witch trials remains controversial. While some view him as a villain responsible for the tragedy, others argue that he genuinely believed in the reality of witchcraft and acted out of religious conviction. Regardless of his intentions, it cannot be denied that Mather played a significant role in the Salem witch trials. The events of 1692 resulted in the deaths of 20 individuals accused of witchcraft and left a lasting scar on the community. The trials served as a chilling reminder of the dangers of mass hysteria and the consequences of unchecked power. Cotton Mather's involvement in the witch trials serves as a cautionary tale of the dangers of religious extremism and the importance of critical thinking in the face of fear and paranoia..
Reviews for "Cotton Mather's Theories on Witchcraft and the Salem Witch Trials"
1. Jessica - 2 stars
I was really excited to read "Cotton Mather and the Witch Trials of 1692 in Salem" because I love historical non-fiction, especially about infamous events like the Salem witch trials. However, I was disappointed by this book. I found the writing to be dry and lacking in depth. It felt more like a regurgitation of facts rather than a captivating narrative that brought the events to life. I also found the author's focus on Cotton Mather to be too narrow. While he was certainly an important figure in the trials, I was hoping for a more comprehensive exploration of the entire event. Overall, I feel like there are better books out there on this topic.
2. Michael - 3 stars
As someone with a keen interest in the Salem witch trials, I was eager to delve into "Cotton Mather and the Witch Trials of 1692 in Salem." However, I found the book to be underwhelming. The author's writing style was difficult to follow at times, with long-winded sentences and excessive use of jargon. It felt like they were trying too hard to impress rather than effectively communicate the information. Additionally, I was hoping for more analysis and interpretation of the events, rather than just a straightforward retelling. While the book did provide some interesting insights into Cotton Mather's role, it fell short of my expectations in terms of depth and readability.
3. Sarah - 2 stars
"Cotton Mather and the Witch Trials of 1692 in Salem" was a disappointment for me. I felt like the author lacked impartiality and presented a biased view of Cotton Mather's actions during the trials. It seemed like they were trying to portray him as a hero rather than objectively analyzing his involvement. I also found the writing to be overly academic, making it difficult to engage with the book on an emotional level. The lack of primary sources and first-hand accounts further detracted from the overall credibility of the narrative. Overall, I would not recommend this book to anyone looking for a comprehensive and unbiased exploration of the Salem witch trials.
4. John - 1 star
I couldn't finish "Cotton Mather and the Witch Trials of 1692 in Salem." The author's writing style was so dry and monotonous that it felt like a chore to read. There was a severe lack of storytelling and narrative structure, which made it difficult to stay engaged with the book. I was hoping for a more captivating account of the events, but instead, I was met with a dull and uninspiring retelling. I would not recommend this book to anyone looking for an enjoyable and informative read on the Salem witch trials.