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1581344627.Pdf WIA.tpgs 4/5/04 1:54 PM Page 1 Witchcraft in America WIA.tpgs 4/5/04 1:54 PM Page 3 Witchcraft in America Peggy Saari Elizabeth Shaw, Editor Peggy Saari Staff Elizabeth M. Shaw, U•X•L Associate Editor Allison McNeill, Bernard Grunow, Contributing Editors Carol DeKane Nagel, U•X•L Managing Editor Thomas L. Romig, U•X•L Publisher Erin Bealmear, Permissions Associate (Pictures) Maria Franklin, Permissions Manager Kelly A. Quin, Imaging and Multimedia Content Editor Rita Wimberley, Senior Buyer Evi Seoud, Assistant Manager, Composition Purchasing and Electronic Prepress Dorothy Maki, Manufacturing Manager Mary Beth Trimper, Production Director Michelle DiMercurio, Senior Art Director Pamela A. Reed, Imaging Coordinator Randy Basset, Image Database Supervisor itchcraft in America Barbara Yarrow, Imaging and Multimedia Content Manager Linda Mahoney, LM Design, Typesetting W Cover photograph: Reproduced by permission of Mary Evans Picture Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Saari, Peggy. Witchcraft in America / Peggy Saari ; Elizabeth Shaw, editor. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7876-4835-3 (hardcover) 1. Witchcraft-United States- History- Juvenile literature. [1. Witchcraft-History.] I. Shaw, Elizabeth, 1973- II. Title. BF1573 .S23 2000 133.4’3’0973-dc21 00-030264 This publication is a creative work fully protected by all applicable copy- right laws, as well as by misappropriation, trade secret, unfair competi- tion, and other applicable laws. The editors of this work have added value to the underlying factual material herein through one or more of the fol- lowing: unique and original selection, coordination, expression, arrange- ment, and classification of the information. All rights to this publication will be vigorously defended. Copyright © 2001 U•X•L, an imprint of The Gale Group All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents Reader’s Guide ....................ix Research and Activity Ideas .............xiii Words to Know ...................xvii Timeline of Events .................xxiii Almanac Chapter 1: Witchcraft in Europe ............3 Chapter 2: Witch-Hunts in Puritan New England ....................19 Chapter 3: Salem Town and Salem Village ....................33 Chapter 4: Salem Witch Trials and Executions ...................45 Chapter 5: The Aftermath of the Salem Trials .....................69 Chapter 6: Neo-Paganism ..............81 v Primary Sources Heinrich Kramer and Jakob Sprenger: Excerpts from Malleus Maleficarum (Hammer of Witches, 1486) the book that started the European witch hunts ..................93 Increase Mather: Excerpt from “Remarkable Providences” (1684) a document that helped promote witch hysteria in the colonies ..........99 Cotton Mather and Ezekial Cheever: The Salem Trials: Interrogation of Susannah Martin examination of an outspoken woman who was later executed as a witch .......105 Rebecca Nurse: Examination of Rebecca Nurse (1691-92) testimony of a prominent community member who was later executed as a witch............109 Ann Putnam, Sr.: The Testimony of Ann Putnam, Sr. against Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse (1692) an example of the typical charges brought against accused witches . .....115 Thomas Knowlton: Witchcraft 1687: The Deposition of Thomas Knowlton evidence from New England witch trials prior to Salem incident ..........119 Cotton Mather: Excerpt from The Wonders of the Invisible World (1693) book used as justification of the Salem witch trials ...............125 Samuel Sewall: Excerpts from the diary entries of Samuel Sewall a judge’s daily account of the Salem witch trial proceedings ............131 vi Witchcraft in America Samuel Sewall: Apology of Samuel Sewall (1697) public apology by a judge for his role in the Salem witch trials..........135 Robert Calef: Excerpt from More Wonders of the Invisible World (1700) published attack on the Salem witch trials, especially Cotton Mather’s role......137 Ann Putnam, Jr.: Apology of Ann Putnam, Jr. (1706) public apology of one of the main accusers in the Salem witch trials........141 Nathaniel Hawthorne: Excerpt from “Young Goodman Brown” (1846) Nathaniel Hawthorne story about Puritan hypocrisy ............145 Carl L. Weschke: Excerpt from “Principles of Wiccan Belief” an attempt to define modern Wicca, its beliefs and practices ............149 Biographies Bridget Bishop (1640-1692) the first accused witch to be hanged as a result of the Salem witch trials .......157 Robert Calef (1648-1719) critic of Cotton Mather and the Salem witch trials ...............165 Rachel Clinton (b.1629) Ipswich, Massachusetts, woman accused of witchcraft prior to the Salem hysteria...............171 Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-64) novelist and great-great grandson of John Hathorne, chief magistrate in the Salem witch trials; wrote classic stories that were critical of the Puritans .....179 Contents vii Cotton Mather (1663-1728) Puritan minister who promoted the Salem witch trials along with his father, Increase Mather...........185 Samuel Parris (1653-1720) Salem pastor whose family members started the witch trials; he left Salem in disgrace ............193 John Proctor (d.1692) Salem community member and witch trial critic who was executed (featured as a main character in The Crucible, Arthur Miller’s play about the trials) .........203 Ann Putnam, Jr. (1680-1717) chief accuser of suspected witches, whose life was ruined by her actions; later apologized and died an early death .......213 Samuel Sewall (1652-1730) prominent Salem businessman and witch trial judge; gave a public apology for his role in the executions of 19 people . 223 Tituba (dates not known) West Indian slave in the Parris household and accused leader of the “Salem witch ring” ..............229 Where to Learn More ................xxix Index .......................xxxi viii Witchcraft in America Reader’s Guide itchcraft in America is not a history of the practice of W witchcraft. In fact, scholars have found no documented evidence of magic being performed by witches in America. Rather, this is a story about fear. European settlers who immi- grated to the colonies in the early seventeenth century brought with them superstitions and beliefs, including the irrational fear of witches, that had accumulated over the course of many centuries in their home countries. As they set out across the Atlantic Ocean, witch-hunt hysteria was raging in Europe. After the colonists reached the shores of North America, they encountered an untamed wilderness where they struggled daily to survive the hardships of clearing the land and building communities. At this time science was a new and emerging field, and even well-educated people did not under- stand their world. Relying solely upon religion to show them the way in life, they were deeply afraid of forces that could not be explained as the will of God. This was especially true of the Puritans, who had arrived in New England with a special mission to establish a perfect society. They believed that any adversity—epidemics, ix drought, crop failures, social unrest, political turmoil—was God’s way of punishing them for their sins. Thus they feared God, and they came to fear one another, as existence in the New World became increasingly more difficult. Soon they were convinced that their problems would be solved if they rid themselves of witches, who were working in league with the devil to prevent the fulfillment of a harmonious community. Puritan officials in Salem, Massachusetts, held formal trials and executed nineteen innocent people for practicing witch- craft. The Salem trials left such an indelible mark on history that the term “witch-hunt” has entered the American vocabu- lary to describe the seeking out and hounding of people with unpopular or unconventional beliefs. Yet executions of sus- pected witches, all of them innocent, had taken place in New England before the Salem trials, and witchcraft superstitions lingered into the nineteenth century long after the executions had ended. Many of these same superstitions were revived, though in a different form, with the rise of Neo-Paganism in the 1970s. Witchcraft in America traces this story, from Europe in ancient times to modern America near the turn of the twenty-first century. Features Witchcraft in America offers a complete view of witch- craft using three separate formats-overview essays, primary source documents, and biographies. The six overview essays focus on such topics as witch-hunts in Puritan New England and the rebirth of Neo-Paganism in the twentieth century. The primary source section includes thirteen excerpts from docu- ments such as Malleus Maleficarum, the book that started the European witch hunts; and “The Apology of Samuel Sewall,” the public apology by a judge for his role in the Salem witch trials. Ten biographical essays highlight prominent figures related to the Salem witch trials, including Bridget Bishop, the first person hanged as a result of the Salem witch trials, and the woman believed to have planted the seed of hysteria in the Salem community, Carib slave Tituba. The book also has a timeline of events, a page of sources for further reading and research, and a section of research and activity ideas. There are more than 50 black-and-white photographs to enhance the text. Entries contain sidebars of information that further high- light the subject matter, and help define the context for some xWitchcraft
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