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Once again, the sense of superiority comes to light in his statements. That a Christian family could be afflicted in this way was unthinkable, yet it happened.
The general colonial attitude towards servants confirms the superiority issues and correlates with the Indian issue mentioned above. A washerwoman was suspected of theft. The conclusion was immediately drawn that the washerwoman in question was using the linen for witchcraft practices. This event appears to indicate a slightly hysterical disposition that suspects guilt before innocence, especially within the lower classes of society. The woman in question and her mother are both described as "ignorant" and the woman's mother is described as "scandalous." This assessment is not elaborated or clarified, but fits well with the rest of the document.
The concepts "ignorant," "scandalous," and "pagan" are directly opposed to the concepts of piety and virtue in the document. In the introduction, it is significant that...
This indicates that the accusation of witchcraft carries with it not only a sincere attempt to create a pure and Christian society, but also a sense of power that translates to brutality.
Finally, it is also clear that the accusation of witchcraft is generally made against women. Women are then either excessively pious, as the virtuous wife of the mason, or excessively despicable, like the Washerwoman and her mother. There is no middle ground between the two. Although the document appears to have been written in all sincerity, the use of language and other subtle indicators also highlight the violence and general ignorance of the time.
In conclusion, what struck me most about the text was the fact that Cotton Mather believes his own assessments and observations in all sincerity.
This would also explain why the torment continued even after the supposed witch had been put to death. When the oldest girl was outside of the house, she stopped her act until she realized she would be found out, "But on the Twentieth of November in the Fore-noon, she cry'd out, "Ah, They have found me out! I thought it would be so!" And immediately she fell into her
Women's Roles In New England During Colonial America Today, women still have not seen an acceptable level of equality compared to their male counterparts. Yet, the struggle for women's rights have improved conditions for modern women tremendously when compared to the roles that the sex was limited to play during the colonial period. In Colonial America, women were often limited to purely caretakers, dealing only with domestic and child raising matters.
His narrative takes place during a period where religious dogmatism eventually changed towards tolerance. Through his direct actions, religious toleration expanded within new England as colonials recognized the need to create greater religious acceptance beyond Puritanism. In his essays, Roger Williams expresses his disgust at the inability of the colonies to deal with religious toleration. He is especially frustrated that Puritans, who were persecuted for their religious piety in
" Although a similar situation regarding sexual deviance, sex between males was deemed a far more serious crime than mere masturbation. In fact, many states in the United States still have laws on the books that make sodomy, of any kind, illegal. This demonstrates that the traditions of colonial America and religious beliefs have continued to be passed down to this day, even in fully developed nations. Yet, the case
supernatural phenomena were associated with everyday life emerged in 15th century Europe and spread to the New World with the influx of European colonists (Bonomi, 2003). Seventeenth century colonists in the New World had been using charms to foster the growth of crops, control the weather, etc. As these beliefs served to provide a sense of control over otherwise uncontrollable conditions for them (Bonomi, 2003). However, the notion of
John Winthrop What is America's role in the world? Considering that America was in many ways founded experimentally, it is only natural to imagine that outside observers are constantly looking to America as an example or a source of guidance. In particular, America's early status as an experiment in religious tolerance has led to the popularity of the phrase and image of "the city on a hill." Derived from Jesus Christ's