Salem Village through the eyes of 20th century historians: A historical and geographical review
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document in English
history 1789 to present
presentation
published 17/07/2008
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level : Advanced
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Summary
In 1953, Arthur Miller composed a highly-charged work for the theater that struck its audiences as frighteningly relevant to the times. That play was called The Crucible, and its fictional examination of the Salem Witch trials has become a classic of American Theater. Miller’s play was well named, for the Salem Witch trials still function as a crucible today, one in which historians can discover many different truths about American history. The complexities of that time and place have created a moment in history that can be examined over and over for fresh insights about the nature of our culture, our politics, our attitude towards women, etc. This paper’s examination of the Salem Witch Trials will focus on the following questions, ones which have been a source of debate for historians over the last several decades. The first question is Why Salem Village? What was unique about Salem Village that caused such an outbreak of accusation? And why also did those accusations lead to so many executions, on a scale nearly unheard-of in the colonies?
Table of Contents
- Introduction.
- Why Salem Village?
- Puritanism and witchcraft.
- Puritanism in Boyer and Nissenbaum's view.
- Hoffer's view on the relationship between the Devil and the outside forces threatening the Puritans.
- Gender and Witchcraft.
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