Norton offers a belief that the cause of the Salem witchcraft trials was a combination of psychological, social, and political factors. He argues that the trials were not solely the result of superstition or religious fanaticism, but rather a manifestation of broader tensions within the community. Norton suggests that the people of Salem were living in a time of great insecurity and instability, both economically and politically. The threat of attacks from Native Americans, as well as ongoing conflicts with neighboring settlements, created a sense of fear and paranoia among the residents. Furthermore, Norton points to the social hierarchy of Salem as a contributing factor to the witch trials. He notes that there were clear divisions within the community, with prominent families holding power and influence over others.

Logical Causes of the Salem Witch Trials

In 17th century New England, people lived in constant fear of the Devil. As a result of this fear, innocent people were blamed for doing the work of the Devil as witches. Many people were brought into court, tried and then sometimes executed for not admitting to something they did not do. People who did confess to doing witchcraft however were often spared. They made their names evil but kept themselves alive. Today, in the 21st century, it is presumed that witches do not exist and all the commotion in New England during this time period was a result of speculation. Presumably, idea of witchcraft is in fact fallacious. Historians have used evidence from the time period to attribute the cause of these accusations to something more believable and possible. Two theories that have been proposed are that the afflicted accusers in Salem were suffering from post traumatic stress disorder from family deaths in the wars with the native Indians, and that the afflicted suffered from a very rare but feasible disease, ergotism.

In the article They Called it Witchcraft by Mary Beth Norton, an alternate theory is proposed explaining a somewhat logical explanation of how the Salem witch trials came to be. Norton first explains how even the most normal life occurrences, like illnesses, household disasters, and financial issues were attributed to supernatural evil spirits all leading back to the Devil’s work by a witch. Norton believes that these accusations were a result of post traumatic stress disorder wars fought between Puritans and American Indians. In the story of the trials, one of the first people accused of being a witch was the household slave of the town Reverend Parris who was believed to have come from Barbados. Norton suggests that the slave, Tituba, was not actually from the Barbados and that she was in fact and American Indian. Her evidence to support this bold statement was that most slaves in Massachusetts during this time period were from North America, more specifically from Florida and Georgia. Tituba’s accusation sparked the later accusations. Puritans held such a grudge against the Indians as they believed they were god’s chosen people. This conflicted with the Indians as the Puritans believed that that had the devil on their side and this was why the Indians were beating them in the war. After losing loved ones in the war with Indians, it is natural that people would accuse the Indians for their daily problems. If in fact Tituba was an American Indian and not from the Barbados, Norton proposes a logical argument especially because the other accusations stemmed from that of Tituba.

In the article Ergotism: The Satan Loosed in Salem? By Linnda R. Caporael, another possible explanation to the crisis known as the Salem witch trials is proposed. Caporael proposes that the afflicted or “bewitched” people had the disease called ergotism. Ergotism came from the ergot fungus that grew on rye grains during warm and damp springs and summers. Ergotism was developed from eating bread contaminated with ergot. Ergotism has symptoms of “crawling sensations in the skin, tingling in the fingers, vertigo, tinnitus aurium, headaches, disturbances in sensation, hallucination, painful muscular contractions…” and so forth. With its symptoms, ergotism presents itself as a very possible explanation for the behavior of the afflicted people in Salem. Some of these feelings like crawling in the skin may seem impossible and supernatural like the devil must be responsible for it. Ergotism is one of the only other things that can explain these sensations. The symptom of hallucination can explain how the afflicted “saw” the people accused with the Devil. Furthermore, Caporael shows even more extensive evidence for the presence of ergotism in Salem. The northern Atlantic coast is in fact a prime growing spot for rye, one of the main hosts for ergot. The puritans’ system of grain storage fits with the time sequence of the crisis. The contaminated grain would have been used around the Thanksgiving period which would support the fact that the young girls started having these supernatural symptoms in December 1961. Ergotism, although rare, is a very possible and feasible explanation for the Salem crisis.

The Salem witch trials are a very important point in history displaying how religious beliefs can cause irrational behavior and can lead to the deaths of innocent people. Mary Beth Norton and Linnda R. Caporael believe that the events of this crisis can be attributed to more logical means. Norton believes that the accusations stem from the post traumatic stress disorder of family losses in war with American Indians. Caporael believes that the supernatural occurrences can be linked to the disease ergotism. Although both authors make very convincing arguments, Ergotism is the more feasible explanation. Norton’s argument is inferior merely because there is not enough evidence to support it. Though it may be true that people possessed post-traumatic stress disorder there is no spectral evidence from Salem suggesting that this was the origin of the accusations. On the other hand, Caporael’s argument provides a clear explanation of how Ergotism did exist and how its symptoms can be clearly linked to the actions of the afflicted girls. She also displays the high possibility of Ergotism existing in New England. Ergotism is a very interesting yet convincing possibility of how this crisis came to be in 17th century Salem.

Essay on The Devil’s Snare by Mary Beth Norton: Analysis of the Role of the Salem Witch Trials

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In the Devil’s Snare, written by Mary Beth Norton, is a book reexamining the events taking place that possibly affected the outcome of the Salem Witch Trials. Mary Beth Norton is an award winning historian and a professor at Cornell University (Mary Beth Norton). Opposing all other historians, she looks at many events from all perspectives, giving the readers a fresh and persuasive argument. The Salem Witch trials was a mass hysteria, beginning with three young children, which lead to the conviction and death of twenty different people accused of witchcraft, while dozens more suffered the social consequences of accusations against them. Many people went to jail and were outcasted by their neighbors, until an abrupt ending to the trials and accusations. Most people have heard of the Salem Witch Trials, and everyone who has is fascinated because everyone wants to know one thing. What caused the trials to take place? Mary Beth Norton gives new evaluations and points of view to try to answer this question, ultimately coming to the conclusion that the witchcraft crisis of 1692 can only be fully comprehended when in the context of nearly two decades of conflict between Native Americans and New England setters, as well as religious and cultural customs, and erroneous scientific beliefs (12). Norton re-examins the event with more focus on the context of the events prior, to conclude why the Salem witch trials were unique when compared to other witch trials around the same time and place.

Mary Beth Norton begins the book by determining how Salem town came to be. There were many incidents involving Native American with English setters who lived farther North in Maine. Many families who lived there for a couple generations were forced to leave after major warfare with the Natives. What was called the First and Second Indian War by many of the settlers ( Norton 11) involved entire communities being destroyed causing most settlers to abandon their homes and possessions to seek safety in another settlement. Unfortunately for them, there was a following war in quick succession. The new settlements were yet again abandoned and the settlers now found themselves in Salem, a couple years before the Witch Trials in a fragile state after the tragic and traumatic experiences of war (Norton 98). Certain traditions that the Wabanaki and many stereotypes held by the settlers had caused them to believe that Native Americans were Devil worshipers (Norton 59) . Cave described these stereotypes as being naked and wild savages with little concern for the human life. Human sacrifices were held with men and children and drinking the blood of others as well as eating their flesh (Cave 15). Although much of this was not true, many settlers believed it was and through the Puritan lens could only be described as Devil worshipping (Cave 16).

A few days after January 15, 1692, Abigail Williams became sick with her cousin Betty following soon after. Both were distempered causing the family to believe that this was no ordinary sickness. A physician, Dr. Griggs, diagnosed both of the girls as being “under and evil hand” (Norton 19), and the neighbors quickly excepted the diagnosis as bewitchment. One thing the author notes that makes this trial case different than others in New England at the time was the pre-existing fear following the Indian wars. The fierce attacks from the Native Americans emptied much of the Northern Frontier and left many settlers scarred and in fear- including some of the people making witchcraft accusations. The first person to be accused of bewitchment and witchcraft in Salem Town was Tituba, the family slave and Native American. Around Mid-February is when Tituba, although no legal steps could yet be taken against her because the girls were not of age to testify in court. (Norton 21) Between the days of February 25 and February 28, the girls accused two more people of witchcraft and torment, Sarah Osbourne and Sarah Good. (Norton 22) An interesting note Norton adds in is that while all three of these women looked the part of a stereotypical witch, they also each had reputations in the neighborhood. Tituba was a Native American, so witchcraft was automatically attributed to her native religion. Sarah Osbourne remarried to an indentured servant after the death of her first husband and was involved in land disputes with her father in law. Sarah Good was divorced twice and fell into poverty after coming from a wealthy family (Norton 22,23) Each of the women were known to the neighbors, so it is definitive that the young accusers had heard the names in conversation before.

On March 12, Ann Jr. accuses Martha Corey of witchcraft, one week later Abigail claims Rebecca Nurse, and later in the same month Elizabeth Procter is accused (Linder “Chronology of Events”). By March 23 Dorcas Good, a four year old girl, was arrested on suspicions of witchcraft. Rather than rebut Dorcas Good’s arrest, many people lived in fear during the trials that if a little girl could be a witch that anyone sitting next to them could be as well. The situation begins to change in early April, as there are a couple events that diverge from the recent trends. The first man to be accused of witchcraft in Salem Town is accused on April 11, John Proctor by his servant Mary Warren. This is a turning point in the Salem witch trials because after John Proctor’s accusation Mary Warren then admitted to lying about her sufferings and accused the other girls of lying (Linder “Chronology of Events”). Besides John Proctor not believing Mary Warren, this is the first point at which the accusers are believed to be lying.

While each of these incidents were going on, there was another war being waged between the settlers and the Native Americans, King Williams War from 1688 to 1697 (Norton 93). Just a single week after the first accusation of witchcraft, in York, a group of Wabanaki fighters banded together and killed around fifty people but captured about one hundred more. Many of the people involved in the trials, be it accusations, judges, or jury, were familiar with the scenes of war and had seen it first hand. The descriptions from those afflicted seemed to be quite similar to the descriptions from the witnesses of torture and death during the first war. The witnesses that survived these attacks were mentally and physically affected traumatized; the fear of the devil perverting their sense of reality. The devil was often called the “black man” by the accusers, a common name for Native Americans (Norton 35).

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An important factor that must be taken into account according to the author was the time the trials were taking place in relevance to technology. The New World had not had the experience of the Scientific Revolution including the discovery of bacteria and pathogens. To many of these people the invisible world of spirits was just as real as the visible. The little explanation for fits and sicknesses experienced by those accusing others (Norton 19) could only be understood by the works of demons and Satan operating at once with the mortal world. But even when compared to other witch trials in New England, the witch trials in Salem remain unique. The vast number of accusers and others who played parts in the trials as well as the large pool of victims show the abundance of hysteria. Those who accused others were put in a sort of spot light by the community, given a chance to voice their opinion in a society that denies women, children, and servants power. During the short period of the trials, these people became very powerful, and society became “topsy-turvy” (Norton 10).

September 22 is the last day that anyone is executed for witchcraft during these trials and October 29 is the day that any further arrests are prohibited by Governor Phipps (Lindor “Chronology of Events”). As the witchcraft hysteria began suddenly, support of the trials disappeared just as suddenly. Within a couple of weeks the trials were over, and there was only a single accuser who went back into the town of Salem. Society reclaimed it’s gender defined roles and everyone returned to their normal lives. In many other cases of trials, witchcraft accusations was baggage someone carried for the remainder of their lives. Those who survived the trials in 1711 were restored their rights and good names by the colony and granted 600 pounds in restoration. There are many documents missing in the accounts of the trials, believed by Norton to be a purposeful removal of certain people out of a distasteful ad humiliating history some did not want to be associated with (13). Although the accusers can be considered at fault for the deaths of the innocent, those who confessed to witchcraft should also be held accountable for those deaths for allowing the accusations to take root by their false admissions of guilt.

Throughout the book, Norton uses many sources both primary and secondary. She used numerous amounts of primary sources, and was able to get direct quotes from people at the trials on nearly every subject. The book was filled with primary sources, which helped to validify her thesis. I believe that one of the most important primary sources used in the book was the account from Sarah Osbourne, in the diary of Cotton Mather, that she was “frightened in her sleep” (Norton 27) by a Native American all black who pinched her neck and pulled her by her hair. This sets up a lot of comparisons through the rest of the trials and helps readers to understand how a lot of the settlers equated Native Americans with demons and Satan. An account like this would be familiar to anyone who had heard of the testimonies from the war, and goes to show how future accusations could be inspired from the recent war.

This book was truly unique compared to books written by other historians. The author’s use of sources, particularly primary sources, was profound and filled up 90 pages for her citations. Her sources, in my opinion, were used extremely well to help build her argument. Having many sources allowed her to provide evidence in nearly every paragraph of the book, and this helps to validate her thesis. When studying the witch trials, many historians do not take the time to look at the context that the witch trials are going on in, and end up leaving out many important details like the previously mentioned comparison between the accusations and war testimony (Norton 27). The author proved her thesis that without the background knowledge of the trials, the trials can not be truly understood by us today. As well as proving the author’s thesis, the context of the trials gave the book a story-like feel rather than a historical analysis and made it enjoyable to read. Her argument was easy to follow and the storyline was very clear. The only fault of the book was the author’s bias. Mary Beth Norton is an older professor researching at Cornell University. She has no first hand experience in the world and culture that the settlers from 1692 lived in. This book is written through a twentieth century lens, and although she does not look at the accusers as crazy for making accusations of witchcraft (something you would be assumed crazy for if you did that when this book was written) there is an undertone of questioning about the common sense of these people. The storyline is set up in a way that makes these settlers seem crazy. An example of this can be seen when Norton explains that Tituba is accused of witchcraft, but no legal steps can be taken against her because the girls are too young (21). In the next following pages, Ann Jr. one of the girls too young to testify in court accuses two more women of witchcraft, and these women end up going to court. There was not much of an explanation for this because someone today would not be able to understand for certain what people then were thinking. There was just more of an accounting of the events which was one of the biases Norton has in this book.

The Salem Witch Trials were an iconic even in our Nations history that mystifies many people and historians today. Providing the context of the First and Second Indian Wars as well as scientific development and culture help to provide an idea of why and how the trials ended with the deaths of nineteen people. With the use of many primary and secondary sources, Norton is able to recount a well verified and well accurate account to the Salem Witch Trials in hopes of understanding what truly happened.

He notes that there were clear divisions within the community, with prominent families holding power and influence over others. This created a competitive atmosphere, with individuals vying for status and control. Norton argues that the accusations of witchcraft provided an opportunity for some to attain power and settle personal vendettas.

Works Cited

1. Cave, Alfred A. New England Puritan Misperceptions of Native American Shamanism. Vol. 67, Pi Gamma Mu, 1992.
2. Linder, Douglas. Chronology of Events Relating to the Salem Witchcraft Trial of 1692, http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/ASAL_CH.HTM.
3. Linder, Douglas. “The Witch Craft Trials in Salem: A Commentary.” UMKC School of Law, http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SAL_ACCT.HTM.
4. “Mary Beth Norton.” Cornell Research, 10 July 2019, https://research.cornell.edu/researchers/mary-beth-norton.
5. Norton, Mary Beth. In the Devils Snare: the Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692. Vintage Books, 2003.

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Norton, Mary Beth. In the Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002.

Salem Witch Trials must be understood in the context of war in New England (King William's, King Phillip's) (see intro). Must also consider theocratic worldview of Puritans (pre-Enlightenment). Argues for a larger picture outside of courtroom into the neighboring areas, as well as looking at men who were accused (and previously ignored). Notes a shift in accusers in prev. cases from adult men to women 25 and younger. Charges changed, too, from "maleficium" to torture & temptation. To the settlers, warring Native Americans and witches proved to be enemies brought by Satan.

Time: Early 1690s

Geography: Essex County, MA

Organization:

• Title Page
• Dedication
• Praise
• Introduction
• Chapter One - Under an Evil Hand
• Chapter Two - Gospel Women
• Chapter Three - Pannick at the Eastward
• Chapter Four - The Dreadfull Apparition of a Minister
• Chapter Five - Many Offenders in Custody
• Chapter Six - Endeavors of the Judges
• Chapter Seven - Burroughs Their Ringleader
• Chapter Eight- All Sorts of Objections
• Appendices I-IV
• Conclusion - New Witch-Land
• Acknowledgments
• Epilogue
• Notes
• About the Author

Type:

Methods:

Sources: Correspondence, journals, court records, gossip

Historiography: Previous studies focus too heavily on women only, on1692 itself, and in the courtroom

Keywords: Salem Witchcraft Crisis

Themes: Class (note that many women accusers are not considered high-status) (introduction)

Critiques:

Questions:

Quotes:

"New Englanders instead suffered repeated, serious losses of men and women, houses, livestock, and shipping. In the aftermath of each devastating defeat, they attributed their failures not to mistakes by their military and political leaders but rather to God’s providence. He had, they concluded, visited these afflictions upon them as chastisements for their many sins of omission and commission." (conclusion)

"Accordingly, as in no other event in American history until the rise of the women’s rights movement in the nineteenth century, women took center stage at Salem: they were the major instigators and victims of a remarkable public spectacle."

"The influential Salem Possessed (1974), by Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, attributes the crisis to long-standing political, economic, and religious discord among the men of Salem Village, denying the significance of women’s prominence as both accused and accuser."

"In the Devil’s Snare, though, contends that the dramatic events of 1692 can be fully understood only by viewing them as intricately related to concurrent political and military affairs in northern New England."

"Regardless of the specific interpretations they advance, most historians have adopted the same metanarrative, in which the examinations and trials of accused women constitute the chief focus. Accounts of legal proceedings fill their books. Scholars emphasize the common characteristics of many of the accused and largely ignore the background of the key accusers. Few pay much attention to accused men (even the six who were executed), to the important role played by the many confessors who validated the accusers’ charges, or to the judges’ possible motivations."

"In the Devil’s Snare moves out of the legal realm to examine the origins and impact of the witchcraft charges in Salem Village, Andover, Essex County, and Boston as well."

"A large proportion of those accused at Salem were indeed the quarrelsome older women, some with dubious reputations, who fit the standard seventeenth-century stereotype of the witch. Most of them were accused of practicing maleficium—of harming their neighbors’ health, property, children, or livestock—over a period of years, just as had been the case with other suspected New England witches for the previous half- century. Many others among the Salem accused were closely related to such stereotypical women; husbands, sisters, daughters, mothers, and sons of witches also had long been vulnerable to the same charges."

"Moreover, key accusers in previous witchcraft cases had most often been adult men; at Salem, the key accusers were women and girls under the age of twenty-five."

"the conviction and execution rates are rendered even more difficult to interpret because the young women who instigated the Salem witchcraft outbreak were precisely the sort of people commonly given short shrift by the high-status men who served as magistrates in the Massachusetts Bay Colony."

"any of those involved in the crisis, it turns out, had known each other previously on the frontier. Most notably, as already mentioned briefly, a significant number of the key accusers and confessors came from Maine."

"New Englanders instead suffered repeated, serious losses of men and women, houses, livestock, and shipping. In the aftermath of each devastating defeat, they attributed their failures not to mistakes by their military and political leaders but rather to God’s providence. He had, they concluded, visited these afflictions upon them as chastisements for their many sins of omission and commission."

"This is not to say that the war “caused” the witchcraft crisis, but rather that the conflict created the conditions that allowed the crisis to develop as rapidly and extensively as it did."

(Quotes from intro)

Notes: Much of this goes through a single court. (intro)

Salem Witchcraft Trials Analysis

1. How did the Salem witchcraft trials reflect attitudes toward women and the status of women in colonial New England?
The Salem witchcraft trials, according to author Carol Karlsen, reflected attitudes towards the status of and attitudes towards women in Colonial New England. In these colonies, women were held in relatively high regard, but much was expected from them. Although families and wives were highly valued in the Puritan culture of New England, Puritanism reinforced the idea of almost total male authority. As a result, women were expected to marry and to almost fully devote themselves to the needs of their husbands and families.
In Carol Karlsen 's The Devil in the Shape of a Woman, she demonstrated through deep examination of records …show more content…
Puritans had a worldview in the seventeenth century that proclaimed witchcraft to be an entirely plausible concept, so judging by how devoted they were to their faith in other matters, it is easy to conclude that they would believe in this too. Because of the tension between social classes and the witchcraft accusations often resulting in death, it is inferable that many would take advantage of this opportunity to indirectly act against those of the upper class by accusing them of witchcraft and pretending to believe in such accusations. Whether through innocuous or more sinister intentions, the belief in witchcraft by the colonists of New England proved disastrous for the women who were …show more content…
The more recent book, Mary Beth Norton’s In the Devil’s Snare, stated that the witchcraft trials were influenced by events during that time period, particularly the Indian Wars. These wars caused refugees from towns that were destroyed by the Indians to move to Salem in droves, boosting fear and social instability. The author asserts that the primary difference between these theses is that the former would have you believe that accusations of witchcraft were made solely out of devotion to faith, while the latter adds the variable of a troubled time

Another factor highlighted by Norton is the role of religious beliefs and practices in the trials. He suggests that the Puritan religious culture of the time played a significant role in shaping the events. The intense focus on sin and the devil made it easier for accusations of witchcraft to gain traction and for individuals to be labeled as witches. Norton also notes that the Puritans believed in a malevolent supernatural presence and were quick to attribute misfortune to witchcraft. Overall, Norton's belief is that the Salem witchcraft trials were the result of a complex web of psychological, social, and political factors. The fear, insecurity, and divisions within the community, combined with religious beliefs and practices, created a perfect storm that led to the frenzy of witch accusations and the subsequent executions..

Reviews for "A New Perspective on Salem: Norton's Theory of Social Control in the Witchcraft Trials"

1. Samantha - 2 out of 5 stars - I found Norton's belief for the cause of the Salem witchcraft trials to be unsatisfactory. She argues that the Salem witch trials were a result of deep-rooted social and cultural issues, such as sexism and fear of female empowerment. While these factors may have played a role, I think Norton overlooks the religious fervor and mass hysteria that swept through Salem at the time. Her argument feels like an oversimplification of a complex historical event, and I was left wanting a more comprehensive explanation.

2. Robert - 1 out of 5 stars - Norton's explanation for the cause of the Salem witchcraft trials was incredibly weak. She attributes it mainly to the economic struggles and religious tensions in Salem, but fails to address the role of individual fascination with the supernatural and personal vendettas that fueled the accusations. I was disappointed by the lack of depth and thorough analysis in her argument, and it felt like she was downplaying the importance of personal motives and vendettas in favor of broader societal issues.

3. Jennifer - 2 out of 5 stars - Norton's proposition for the cause of the Salem witchcraft trials didn't sit well with me. She suggests that the trials were primarily a manifestation of Puritanical fears and anxieties in a changing society. While I can understand the influence of Puritan beliefs, I believe she overlooks the individual motives of those involved and the power dynamics at play. I felt that Norton's explanation was too one-sided and didn't take into account the complexity of human behavior and the interplay of various factors that led to the mass hysteria of the witch trials.

Norton on Malevolent Spirits: The Supernatural Beliefs in the Salem Witchcraft Trials