A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience (Pivotal Moments in American History) *[ePub]
Beginning in January 1692, Salem Village in colonial Massachusetts witnessed the largest and most lethal outbreak of witchcraft in early America. Villagers--mainly young women--suffered from unseen torments that caused them to writhe, shriek, and contort their bodies, complaining of pins stuck into their flesh and of being haunted by specters. Believing that they suffered from assaults by an invisible spirit, the community began a hunt to track down those responsible for the demonic work. The resulting Salem Witch Trials, culminating in the execution of 19 villagers, persists as one of the most mysterious and fascinating events in American history. Historians have speculated on a web of possible causes for the witchcraft that stated in Salem and spread across the region-religious crisis, ergot poisoning, an encephalitis outbreak, frontier war hysteria--but most agree that there was no single factor. Rather, as Emerson Baker illustrates in this seminal new work, Salem was "a perfect storm": a unique convergence of conditions and events that produced something extraordinary throughout New England in 1692 and the following years, and which has haunted us ever since. Baker shows how a range of factors in the Bay colony in the 1690s, including a new charter and government, a lethal frontier war, and religious and political conflicts, set the stage for the dramatic events in Salem. Engaging a range of perspectives, he looks at the key players in the outbreak--the accused witches and the people they allegedly bewitched, as well as the judges and government officials who prosecuted them--and wrestles with questions about why the Salem tragedy unfolded as it did, and why it has become an enduring legacy. Salem in 1692 was a critical moment for the fading Puritan government of Massachusetts Bay, whose attempts to suppress the story of the trials and erase them from memory only fueled the popular imagination. Baker argues that the trials marked a turning point in colonial history from Puritan communalism to Yankee independence, from faith in collective conscience to skepticism toward moral governance. A brilliantly told tale, A Storm of Witchcraft also puts Salem's storm into its broader context as a part of the ongoing narrative of American history and the history of the Atlantic World. Read more
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Why Must Read A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience (Pivotal Moments in American History)?
If you're interested in learning about the Salem Witch hysteria of 1692/3, you'll find that bookstores and libraries are loaded with options, not to mention websites, podcasts and more - it can be overwhelming. (It's a topic worthy of so many books, of course!) Moreover, academic approaches to this period have varied widely over the last century, with more than a few pushing fairly fringe beliefs (i.e., "It was mold that made them do it!") into unjustified prominence or relying on incomplete records or rumors ("they were fortune-telling!") to advance arguments. Baker does none of that, with an accessible but scholarly look at the period and the hysteria. It's a solid, modern, thoughtful introduction to the period, covering all of the major bases including the run-up and aftermath, and drawing at least one fascinating parallel to present day. Instead of approaching the era on a straight timeline, he looks at it thematically - the accusers, the accused, the trials - making it easier to follow key trends and events as they unfold without being overwhelmed by Proctors, Putnams, etc. Since reading this, I've read a few other modern treatments of the Salem witch crisis; this remains my hands-down favorite, and the first one I'd recommend to anyone looking to learn more about this fascinating period in early American history.
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