Although the subject of a particular historical event is based on facts the truth remains that the story of history is largely subjective. Loewen points out that “textbooks in American history stand in sharp contrast to other teaching materials,” what he does not point out is why (387). In the educational areas of grammar and math the subject matter is based on hard evidence and irrefutable facts, which are not open to interpretation. The way we are taught about historical events and the situations surrounding them are majorly based on the views of individuals relating personal accounts of a factual event. In any given situation all individuals involved may have many different perspectives or accounts of the events which took place. As time passes and more people’s opinions and perspectives are added to an event even more interpretations come to life. Loewen states that “each textbook picks just one reason and presents it as fact (394).” When considering the concept of history textbook content it is necessary to understand that there is a vast amount of information to weed through based on the need for a compact presentation. While we want students to learn the facts of history, we tend to forget that history is drawn from a massive amount of subject matter the majority of which is subjective in nature.
The incidence of the witch hunts which took place across Europe from the 14-17th centuries that spread to New England and eventually Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 can be used to demonstrate the subjective nature of history. The Salem witch trials is not a subject which is necessarily avoided, typically the events which took place are represented as a historical view of the danger inherent in religious fundamentalism. The fact whic...
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...sive (387-388). Inevitably many aspects of history will be left out, but due to the subjective nature of history in the end everyone must and will draw their own conclusions.
Works Cited
Breslaw, Elaine G. "Tituba's Confession; The Multicultural Dimensions of the 1692 Salem Witch-Hunt." Ethnohistory 44.3 (1997): 535-556.
Hall, David D. "Middle Ground on the Witch-Hunt Debate." Reviews in American History 26.2 (1998): 345-352.
Holden, Constance. "Textbook Controversy Intensifies Nationwide." Science 235.4784 (1987): 19-21.
Loewen, James W. "From Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong." Green, Stuart and April Lidinsky. From Inquiry To Academic Writing. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012. 383-403.
Norton, Mary B. "Witchcraft in the Anglo-American Colonies." Organization of Historians Magazine of History 17.4 (2003): 5-10.
John M. Murrin’s essay Coming to Terms with the Salem Witch Trials helps detail the events of these trials and explains why they might have occurred. The witch trials happened during a “particularly turbulent time in the history of colonial Massachusetts and the early modern atlantic world” (Murrin, 339). Salem came to be in 1629 and less than seventy years later found itself in a mess of witch craft.
The Salem, Massachusetts Witch Trials have generated extensive evaluation and interpretation. To explain the events in Salem, psychological, political, environmental, physical, and sociological analysis have all been examined. The authors Linnda Caporael, Elaine Breslaw, Anne Zeller, and Richard Latner all present differing perspectives to speculate about the events of the Salem Witch Trials. This changing interpretation and perspective has resulted in an extensive historiography to explain the
Le Beau, Bryan F. The Story of the Salem Witch Trials. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1998.
Rosenthal. Bernard. Salem Story: Reading the Witch Trials of 1692. Cambridge Mass: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
In modern times, the most infamous witch trials are the one that occurred in Salem. These specific witch trials are known for the unjust killings of several accused women and men. The Salem witch trials of 1692, is a big portion of what people refer to, when they want to analyze how Puritan life was during the colonial period. According to ‘Salem Witch Trials’, “The witch trials are often taken as a lens to view the whole Puritan period in New England and to serve as an example of religious prejudice…” (Ray p.32). However, as more fragments of textual evidence occur, historians are making new evaluations of how the witch trials were exaggerated by recent literature. Some historians like Richard Godbeer, analyze how witch trials were conducted during the colonial times, but in a different setting, Stamford, Connecticut. In this book,
Breslaw was a Professor of History from Morgan State University and is now an author and speaker. In her essay Tituba 's Confession: The Multicultural Dimensions of the 1692 Salem Witch-Hunt Elaine focuses on the cultural aspects of a certain individual named Tituba. Her confession, blending elements from English, African, and American Indian notions of the occult, was of key significance in the shaping of the bizarre events at Salem.8 During this time period people believed that magic and Satan coexisted. When Tituba was accused of being a witch rather than denying it, she accepted it and confessed. Tituba used her cultural background as a safe zone and made the Puritans believe in her being a regular slave trapped by forces out of the human realm.9 When this was happening there was not enough records to prove that the cultural background of a slave. By looking at the multicultural background of a single person shows that people did what they had to, to survive this chaos. Another author Isaac Ariail Reed writes Deep Culture in Action in order to further explain the sociological culture. Salem Witch Trials was considered moral panics which were built up out of resignification, a specific kind of public, communicative work that achieves its ends via Synecdoche and metanarrative.10 The Salem Witch Trials were a disproportionate response and by far the largest, the deadliest, and the most emotionally charged event.11 The trials occurred during a time of high anxiety
Hinds, Maurene J. Witchcraft on Trial: From the Salem Witch Hunts to the Crucible. Library ed. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow, 2009. Print.
The term witchcraft is defines as the practice of magic intended to influence nature. It is believed that only people associated with the devil can perform such acts. The Salem Witch Trials was much more than just America’s history, it’s also part of the history of women. The story of witchcraft is first and foremost the story of women. Especially in its western life, Karlsen (1989) noted that “witchcraft challenges us with ideas about women, with fears about women, with the place of women in society and with women themselves”. Witchcraft also confronts us too with violence against women. Even through some men were executed as witches during the witch hunts, the numbers were far less then women. Witches were generally thought to be women and most of those who were accused and executed for being witches were women. Why were women there so many women accused of witchcraft compared to men? Were woman accused of witchcraft because men thought it was a way to control these women? It all happened in 1692, in an era where women were expected to behave a certain way, and women were punished if they threatened what was considered the right way of life. The emphasis of this paper is the explanation of Salem proceedings in view of the role and the position of women in Colonial America.
Carlson, Laurie M. A Fever in Salem A New Interpretation of the New England Witch Trials. Chicago: I.R. Dee, 1999. Print.
The Salem Witch Trials were a time of confusion, where half a dozen girl accusers threw the town of Salem on its head. The end result was 19 hung and one crushed to death for failure to admit or deny witchcraft and 150 more were imprisoned throughout the course of the trial (Hall p38). The Puritans came to the “New World” for their religious freedom to fallow their ideals for a new way of life, the “perfect way of life.” They were issued charter--to live on the land--. The King Phillip’s war labeled as “[t]he bloodiest war in America’s history …which…took place in New England in 1675” (Tougias par.1) had a dramatic effect on the Puritan society. Their charter was revoked and reinstated at least twice throughout the course of the war. This stress of having their land revoked and reinstated without a doubt placed pressure on the society as a whole to develop and become self-sustaining entity free from England. After the war people would look to the church even more than they had in the past for guidance. This set the seen for the problems to come. The churches relentless attempt to maintain the society that they had established was the cause of the Salem witch trials.
The notorious witch trials of Salem, Massachusetts occurred from June through September. It is a brief, but turbulent period in history and the causes of the trials have long been a source of discussion among historians. Many try to explain or rationalize the bizarre happenings of the witch hunts and the causes that contributed to them. To understand the trials and how they came to be, we must first examine the ideals and views of the people surrounding the events. Although religious beliefs were the most influential factor, socioeconomic tensions, and ergot poisoning are also strongly supported theories. A combination of motives seems the most rational explanation of the frenzy that followed the illness of the two girls. This paper looks closely at the some of the possible causes of one of the most notable occurrences in history.
-Blumberg, Jess. “ A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials.” 24 October 2007. Smithsonian.com. 16 February 2010.
The epoch of Medieval European history concerning the vast and complicated witch hunts spanning from 1450 to 1750 is demonstrative of the socioeconomic, religious, and cultural changes that were occurring within a population that was unprepared for the reconstruction of society. Though numerous conclusions concerning the witch trials, why they occurred, and who was prosecuted have been founded within agreement there remains interpretations that expand on the central beliefs. Through examining multiple arguments a greater understanding of this period can be observed as there remains a staggering amount of catalysts and consequences that emerged. In the pursuit of a greater understanding three different interpretations will be presented. These interpretations which involve Brian Levack’s “The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe,” Eric Boss’s “Syphilis, Misogyny, and Witchcraft in 16th-Century Europe,” and Nachman Ben-Yehuda’s “The European Witch Craze of the 14th to 17th centuries: A Sociologist’s Perspective,” share various opinions while developing their own theories. The comparison of these observations will focus upon why the witch trials occurred when they did, why did they stop when they did, why did the witch trials occur when they did, and who was persecuted and who was responsible for the identification and punishing of witches.
During the Salem Witch Trials citizens were unjustifiably persecuted for being witches, sometimes leading to executions. In “Here Are No Newters": Witchcraft and Religious Discord in Salem Village and Andover”, Richard Latner argues that the practically militaristic policies and sermons given at the time by frequently changing ministers who acted as leaders and prosecutors. Salem became the “the focal point of this culture of conflict”(Latner, 2006, 94). Latner explains why religion made Salem the host of contagious hostility. Latner is an history professor at the University of Tulane.
As the first chapter in this long analytical book, chapter one serves as the foundation for the rest of the novel, with a basic premise that “history textbooks make fool out of the students.” It shows how portrayal of historical figures and events in the best light for the reputation of United States leads to biased and distorted historical education.