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Cotton Mather. By: Heather Harris. Born February 12,1663 in Boston, Massachusetts Attended Boston Latin School Graduated from Harvard Was influential Puritan Minister Was author of many writings. Writings.
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Cotton Mather By: Heather Harris
Born February 12,1663 in Boston, Massachusetts • Attended Boston Latin School • Graduated from Harvard • Was influential Puritan Minister • Was author of many writings
Writings • Mather was not known for writing in a neutral perspective. Many of his writings had pieces of his personal life included in them, or were written for personal reasons. • It is obvious, according to literary historian Sacvan Bercovitch, Mather’s biases sept through into his writings. • Examples-Ornaments for the Daughters of Zion, and Wonders of the Invisible World. ( These reveal his abrasive feelings for women.) • Mather often wrote about his three wives in diaries or journals, but not in a flattering way.
Major Works • The Biblia Americana (1693–1728) • Bonifacius (1710) • The Christian Philosopher (1721) • Decennium Luctuosom: a History of the Long War (1699) • Magnalia Christi Americana (1702) • Manductio ad Ministerium (1726) • The Negro Christianized (1706) • Ornaments for the Daughters of Zion (1692) • Wonders of the Invisible World (1693) • Pillars of Salt (1699)
Magnalia Christi Americana • was considered Mather's greatest work • published in 1702, when he was 39. • was done through several biographies of saints • It was composed of seven total books. • many have openly criticized it. • Random quotes appear throughout.
The Biblia Americana • When Cotton Mather died, he had an abundance of unfinished writings left behind • Mather believed that Biblia Americana was the best thing he had ever written • Contained Cotton Mather's thoughts and opinions on the Bible • Is incredibly large • 35 years
The Inoculation Debate • Smallpox were a very serious threat to colonial America • Boston had been plagued by smallpox outbreaks twice • public authorities in Massachusetts dealt with the threat primarily by means of quarantine • Slave in 1706 tells Mather how he was inoculated as a child. Mather sent letter to London-wanting Boston’s doctors to adopt this practice • HMS Seahorse-West Indies • Ended up having to try the procedure on his only son and two slaves—one grown and one a boy. All recovered in about a week. • Many Puritans believed that creating a wound and inserting poison was doing violence and therefore was antithetical to the healing art • Sixth Commandment “Thou shalt not kill,” seemed insoluable and stood as one of thee main objections against the procedure.
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings before local magistrates followed by county court trials to prosecute people accused of witchcraft between February 1692 and May 1693. • Over 150 people were arrested and imprisoned, with even more accused but not formally pursued by the authorities. At least five more of the accused died in prison. All twenty-six who went to trial before this court were convicted. • The two courts convicted twenty-nine people of the capital felony of witchcraft. Nineteen of the accused, (fourteen women and five men) were hanged. One man, Giles Corey, refused to enter a plea and was crushed to death under heavy stones in an attempt to force him to do so.
Mather played a more direct role in the Salem Trials. His written works and sermons “fanned the flames” of the witchcraft hysteria. He declared, that the Devil was at work in Salem, and that witches should face the harshest punishment. • His belief in witchcraft was no more apparent than at the hanging of George Burroughs.( a former pastor of Salem Village.) Just before he was hanged, Burroughs turned to the crowd, and perfectly recited the Lord’s Prayer. This was supposedly impossible for a witch or wizard. His dramatic prayer and claim of innocence drew tears and doubts from the crowd. • The episode is one the most famous cases of mass hysteria.
Although Mather was not directly involved in the proceedings of the Salem witch trials, he wrote a letter to one of the magistrates in the trials, John Richards of Boston, urging caution in the use of spectral evidence. • “If they do good, it is only that they may do hurt.” • Mather preached about magic and witchcraft before encountering any of it. • “The time for a favor is come,” exulted Cotton Mather; “Yea, the set time is come. Instead of my being a made a sacrifice to wicked rulers, my father-in-law, with several related to me, and several brethren of my own church, are among the council. The Governor of the province is not my enemy, but one of my dearest friends.”
Negative/Positive Influence • Some critics say Mather caused the Salem Witch Trials with his book Wonders of the Invisible World . He also influenced the construction of the court for the trials. • Chadwick Hansen’s Witchcraft at Salem, published in 1969, defined Mather as a positive influence on the Salem Trials.Hansen also noted that Mather was more concerned with helping the affected children than witch-hunting. Mather treated the affected children through prayer and fasting.
Bridget Bishop • was the first person executed for witchcraft during the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692 • she may have been accused because she owned one or more taverns, played shuffleboard, dressed in provocative clothing, and was outspoken. • She was married three times
Elizabeth Howe • was one of the accused in the Salem witch trials. She was found guilty and executed on July 19, 1692. • They believed firmly in the devil, and felt that he was not only an enemy to mankind, but to the Puritans specifically. “The devil, as envisioned by the people of Salem, was a short, black man with cloven feet who stood about as high as a walking stick. ” • Elizabeth Howe was accused of afflicting several other girls within Salem Village.
John Willard • was one of the people executed for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts, during the Salem witch trials of 1692. He was hanged on Gallows Hill on August 19. • Served as a constable in the town of Salem at the time of the first allegations of witchcraft. His duties included bringing the accused before the court. • He began to doubt the truth of the accusations, and refused to arrest anyone else. Others accused him of witchcraft.
Work Cited Barrett, Wendell. "Cotton Mather." Cotton Mather. JRank, 1980. Web. 24 Oct 2010. <http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ma-Mo/Mather-Cotton.html>. Discovery, Channel. "The World Behind the Histeria." Salem Witch Trials. Discovery Communications, LLC, 2010. Web. 24 Oct 2010. http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/salemwitchtrials/resources.html Johnson, Phillip. "Writings By Mather." The Cotton Mather Home Page. copywright, 2001. Web. 24 Oct 2010. <http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/mather.htm>. Linder, Douglas. "An Account of Events in Salem." Famous American Trials. N.p., 9/2009. Web. 24 Oct 2010. <http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/salem.htm>.
