Cotton Mather's 'Return Of The Several Ministers'

Mather neglected to include Bridget Bishop’s side of the story on purpose. In 1962, Mather wrote a book titled The Wonders of the Invisible World. He wrote the document in an organized and professional manner so that it could be credited it as an official record and taken seriously. Inside of this book was a section titled “The Tryal of Bridget Bishop”, which specifies the events that took place during Bridget Bishop’s trial (Walker). Mather writes in detail about the case of Bridget Bishop in order to provide an account of the outrageous ways in which the Salem Witch Trials were conducted. Although Cotton Mather includes direct quotations from many different individuals and recounts their accusations with great care, he does not pay tribute to the words of Bridget Bishop herself during her own trial. In “The Tryal of Bridget Bishop”, Cotton Mather omitted Bishop’s own rebuttals and responses because he did not find it necessary to include them; he had all the evidence he needed to make the court system look guilty of injustice.

Cotton Mather is known for his scientific thinking and his beliefs in the Puritan religion. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts on March 19, 1663 and died in Boston, Massachusetts on February 13, 1728. Cotton was married three times and had many children. Cotton did not live up to his father's legacy in politics, however, he left his mark on history with his publications and studies. Throughout his lifetime he wrote over four hundred books and sermons in topics relating to smallpox, witchcraft and many other subjects. Mather was a leading scientist of his time; he promoted the smallpox cure and was elected to the prestigious scientific organization the Royal Society of London. His parents instilled important values in his mind at a young age. His father Increase Mather was a

The Salem Witchcraft outbreak of 1692 has intrigued and fascinated historians for nearly 400 years. Every major player of the outbreaks in 1692 Massachusetts has been scrupulously analyzed and studied, with different views coming from different historians. One of these key players in the witchcraft outbreak was Giles Corey, a well to-do farmer and churchgoer. At age 81, he was known for being a good farmer, but a slow learner and a simple man. In The Devil in Massachusetts, author Marion L. Starkey paints a picture of Giles Corey as a victim, and that it was because he believed “the word of a pack of lying girls,” (205) that he testified against his wife Martha, as well as getting himself pressed to death in September of 1692. This essay will

Neighbors accused neighbors of witchcraft, and the fright was mounting. (Sutter par. 4) The accused were mostly women, and to make them confess, different methods of torture were used. The confessions and trials of the accused witches were nonsense. Often, torture would continue until the victim had no choice but to confess of being a witch, and most of the confessions were forced. Trials and hangings continued and by the early autumn of 1692, doubts were developing as to how so many respectable people could be guilty. The educated elite of the colony began efforts to end the witch-hunting hysteria that had enveloped Salem. Increase Mather then published a work entitled Cases of Conscience, which argues that it were better that ten suspected witches should escape than one innocent person should be condemned. This urged the court to exclude spectral evidence. With spectral evidence not permitted, the remaining trials ended in acquittals and all the convicted and accused witches were let out of jail in May of 1693. By the time the whole witchcraft incident ended, nineteen convicted witches were hanged, at least four accused witches had died in prison, and one man, Giles Corey, had been pressed to death under rocks. About one to two hundred other people were arrested and imprisoned on witchcraft charges. The witchcraft accusations in Salem had taken the lives of at least twenty-four people.

For instance, in Document 3, a primary source of Mather, one of New England’s most intellectual minister's, own accounts, the following is recorded, “These evil spirits are all around… Go tell mankind, that there are devils and witches…” During this period of time, the church and the state government were the same, and as a result, the word of the church was taken extremely seriously. Consequently, as Mather, a very influential person during the time period, emphasizes that witches and devils were real, the Puritans believed him, for his word was as important as the bible's. This shows how the power of suggestion was a cause of the Salem Witch Trials as incorrect suggestions had the potential to mislead everyone and send them into believing false conclusions. Furthermore, in document 7, a primary source from the trial of Bridget Bishop that was recorded by Samuel Parris on April 19th, 1692, the recorder writes, “ She shook her head and the afflicted were tortured.” This shows that the Puritans were still forgiving and had an interpretation of the Bible, but it also proves that the power of suggestion was so strong that one’s word was taken extremely seriously, just as Bridget Bishop’s was taken during her examination. Putting together these two pieces of evidence show the power of suggestion and how heavily important one’s word was, so much so that it influenced court decisions and people’s definition of whom to kill for being a

For its witnesses, the Salem Witch Trials confirmed the reality of the invisible world of spirits. The catalyst was described as a man who had an interest in the actions of Satan. That man is Cotton Mather. Mather was born into a family of ministers, including Reverend John Cotton. Mather preached his first sermon as a teenager and was ordained in his early twenties. Cotton Mather is known for his unnecessary involvement with the Salem Witch Trials. With the assistance of Cotton Mather’s novel, The Wonders of the Invisible World, the reader assumes Mather’s role in the witch hunt was excessive due to the result of his involvement. In his article, “An Unholy Mess,” Anthony Brandt argues that Cotton Mather’s contribution to society is greater than his infamous reputation. Also, according to Anthony Brandt, Mather’s influence in the world is larger than the Salem Witch Trials. Despite Anthony Brandt’s argument, Cotton Mather’s infamous reputation as a false prophet ultimately provoked the Salem Trials.

Therefore, the purpose of the trials was to separate those disobeying Puritan beliefs. In Case of Conscience , Mather believes executions "were better that ten suspected witches should escape than one innocent person should be condemned." Mather suggested the ideas of eliminating the leery and doubtful spectral evidence. This evidence was causing more chaos, as the courts did not know if it was believable.

During the Salem Witch trials, a lot of the testimonies used involved used some form of spectral evidence, and because it was impossible to refute accused witches where overwhelmed by the court. The court system of Oyer and Terminer use of Spectral Evidence had a large impact on the witchcraft crisis as seen when Oyer and Terminer was replaced and spectral evidence was not as admissible the witchcraft crisis began to wane, “forty-nine of the remaining prisoners were acquitted outright” (SP, 20). Yet the Oyer and Terminer court cannot be the only cause of the Salem Witch trials, the court required the cooperation of the people continuing the hysteria and bringing in more accused. This leads into an idea that Salem’s disputes and problems played a role in the witchcraft

The hysteria, craze, trials, and deaths, still rest an unsolved case. The theories of politics, rivalries, religion and the “circle girls” seem the most believable, in my eyes. However, as the happenings in Salem village still continue to mislead and amaze not only historians, but many others, the witch trials lie a great turning point for Salem, and the lives of many; let alone

The Salem Witch Trials were a sequence of hearings, prosecutions, and hangings of people who were thought to be involved in witchcraft in Massachusetts. These trials occurred between February 1692 and May 1693("The Salem Witch Trials, 1692." ). The Trials resulted in the execution of twenty people, in fact, most of them were women. The first of the trials began in several towns in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, such as Salem Village (currently known as Danvers), Salem Town, Ipswich, and Andover("Salem Witch Museum." ). The most infamous trials were tried by the Court of Oyer and Terminer in 1692, in Salem Town. Robert Calef, the author of More Wonders of the Invisible World, a book composed throughout the mid-1690s denouncing the recent Salem witch trials of 1692, summarized the trials saying

Let us first start by evaluating a writing related to the events described above, The Wonders of the Invisible World. In this publication, Mather makes many references to accounts of eyewitness testimonies and confessions of the accused; not only to justify, but also to prove that the Salem witchtrials were a God sanctioned attack against Satanic works. Mather says, “He (the devil) has wanted incarnate legions to persecute us, as the people of God have in the other hemisphere been persecuted: he (the devil) has therefore drawn upon his more spiritual ones to make an attack upon us.” (2) Mather’s use of the term “spiritual ones,” is meant to represent the accused witches of the time. Witches, Mather believes, are the work of the devil. Throughout this writing Mather quotes from the Bible. Mather knows that the people of his church would not dare question the validity of the Bible. So, by choosing specific verses that favor the intended goal of his writings he is able to add rock solid validity to the statements he is making to the members of his church. References to past situations illustrated in the Bible prove to Mathers’ audience that these

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In this primary document, Cotton Mather, a Puritan theologian, writes about his fears of losing the entire country to the devil and his minions as the Christian religion, in his mind, is being slowly eradicated from the entire country due to witchcraft. In 1693 Cotton Mather wrote a literary piece called The Wonders of the Invisible World a year after questionable events in defense of the persecutions of those accused and convicted in Salem for witchcraft.

In Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter, he had a lot on his mind while sitting in Birmingham’s jail. He usually did not answer to the questioning and criticism of his ideas; however, he decided to give his reasoning for his actions in Birmingham. King states that Birmingham has injustice; while others may sit around and watch, he believes that if injustice is in one place it affects everywhere and everyone. Waiting for their Constitutional rights, black people were getting beaten and harassed every day. As he watched all of this happen, he noticed a huge gap between a law being just and unjust. Many people will alter these laws to where a law is unjust in its purpose. King reverts back to the past when civil disobedience is not new; it has shown up for years against Jews, Romans, and Communists. He concludes that he is not afraid and that African Americans will reach their goal of freedom all over the nation. After reading Martin Luther King Jr.’s, “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” he uses effective logos, pathos, and ethos to persuade the nation to fight for justice.