America has a history that has been dark and disturbing at times. People have been oppressed and persecuted for their beliefs, their religion, their color, and their sex. It is sometimes hard for young people to understand or appreciate the significance and importance of remembering our past. One such dark time occurred during the sixteen hundreds in Massachusetts. Cotton Mather was a leading Puritan religious leader who was responsible for many positive scientific advances, but is primarily remembered as a leading proponent of the dangers of witchcraft.
In one of his most famous works, "Memorable Providence", he recounts a disturbing episode involving a local mason. This individual called on him because he did not know what was happening with his children. They were suddenly complaining of severe pain and would burst into unexpected wails of distress. The minister looked into the matter and concluded that a washerwoman was to blame for demonizing them.
During this time the Puritans became fearful and intolerant of those who did not completely obey the tenets of their religion. They considered impure thoughts to be as sinful as impure actions and targeted anyone they believed guilty of nonconformity. Behavior that today we would associate with a mental disorder, they perceived as the devil living inside the afflicted person.
In order to purge their villages of presumed witches, hundreds were rounded up and arrested. It was such an easy way to get rid of a pesky neighbor or a unpopular family member since almost anyone could be made to look suspicious. Without today's medical knowledge, the scourge of smallpox, that threatened the region at this time, was explained away as the work of these devil worshippers.
The situation got so heated that many believed the pets of the accused could be affected by demons, which resulted in a number of dogs, cats, and other animals being killed for their association with so called witches. Any skin blemishes could be construed as the devil's work. Something as common as freckles was considered evidence of evil doing.
The majority of people who were eventually hanged or stoned to death were women. Others died in prison or managed to escape. A few were pardoned for being falsely accused. An example of Mather's influence can be seen in the case of George Burroughs, an ex-minister, convicted of the crime. Right before hanging he publicly recited the Lord's Prayer. This would have been an impossibility for a true witch in the minds of the citizens. When they called for clemency for him, Mather convinced the authorities to go ahead with the execution.
It is interesting to note that all the women who confessed to being witches survived and those who refused to plead guilty were put to death. In later years, as accused survivors began to recant their guilty admissions, Mather had doubts about some of his actions. He attempted to minimize his involvement, but history remembers differently.
If we don't want history to repeat itself, we have to understand and learn from it. Today we see many signs of religious and racial intolerance that have begun to mirror the times of the Salem witch trials. What was wrong about the thinking and behavior then is just as wrong today.
In one of his most famous works, "Memorable Providence", he recounts a disturbing episode involving a local mason. This individual called on him because he did not know what was happening with his children. They were suddenly complaining of severe pain and would burst into unexpected wails of distress. The minister looked into the matter and concluded that a washerwoman was to blame for demonizing them.
During this time the Puritans became fearful and intolerant of those who did not completely obey the tenets of their religion. They considered impure thoughts to be as sinful as impure actions and targeted anyone they believed guilty of nonconformity. Behavior that today we would associate with a mental disorder, they perceived as the devil living inside the afflicted person.
In order to purge their villages of presumed witches, hundreds were rounded up and arrested. It was such an easy way to get rid of a pesky neighbor or a unpopular family member since almost anyone could be made to look suspicious. Without today's medical knowledge, the scourge of smallpox, that threatened the region at this time, was explained away as the work of these devil worshippers.
The situation got so heated that many believed the pets of the accused could be affected by demons, which resulted in a number of dogs, cats, and other animals being killed for their association with so called witches. Any skin blemishes could be construed as the devil's work. Something as common as freckles was considered evidence of evil doing.
The majority of people who were eventually hanged or stoned to death were women. Others died in prison or managed to escape. A few were pardoned for being falsely accused. An example of Mather's influence can be seen in the case of George Burroughs, an ex-minister, convicted of the crime. Right before hanging he publicly recited the Lord's Prayer. This would have been an impossibility for a true witch in the minds of the citizens. When they called for clemency for him, Mather convinced the authorities to go ahead with the execution.
It is interesting to note that all the women who confessed to being witches survived and those who refused to plead guilty were put to death. In later years, as accused survivors began to recant their guilty admissions, Mather had doubts about some of his actions. He attempted to minimize his involvement, but history remembers differently.
If we don't want history to repeat itself, we have to understand and learn from it. Today we see many signs of religious and racial intolerance that have begun to mirror the times of the Salem witch trials. What was wrong about the thinking and behavior then is just as wrong today.
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