The Visible & Invisible Worlds Of Salem

Historians are interested in the reconstruction of historical events. They play the role of
architects and builders. The implication is that they must be interested in the scale of historical
events. In addition, they must be interested in the extent of the ground covered. The extent is the
time duration of a historical event. Grasping the full nature of historical events as well as the
implication of these events requires more breadth of vision. Historians are thus ready to
determine the scale and scope of research in order to gain a good understanding of history. The
Salem Witch trials is an important period in history that has been extensively studied. It
represents a time in which witchcraft came to New England. The period is well-exhibited and has
well-defined boundaries. It is a perfect example of how a story that is told often can be
transformed by research (Davidson & Lytle, 2004, p.52).
Question 2
The Salem Witch trials have been extensively explored by historians. However, each
historian has explored it from a different perspective. Hutchinson was not a believer in
witchcraft. He thus faced the critical problem of explaining the motivation of the accusers. He
believed that people were frauds and impostures. He, like Upham, believed that the events were
started by young girls. On his part, Upham was also hard on young women. He believed that the
events were a display of acting “There has seldom been better acting in a theatre than displayed
in the presence of the astonished and horror-stricken rulers.” (Davidson & Lytle, 2004, p.58).
Question 3
Boyer and Nissenbaum decided to go back to the drawing board. The two concluded that
the alleged witches and their accusers lived on opposite sides of the village. In addition, a

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majority of the people that defended the accused lived in the same part of the village as the
accused. They were often close neighbors of the people who had been put to trial. The east and
west split was between the village and the town (Davidson & Lytle, 2004, p.66).
Question Four
Religious beliefs of people affect their behavior (Davidson & Lytle, 2004, p.69). Puritans
subscribed to Christianity, and this played a huge role in the witch trials. The choice of a minister
was one of the important factors that affected the trials. The village appointed James Bayley to
be the minister. Bayley was accused of failing to attend to his duties. This would later cause
divisions that played a role in the trials. From an economics standpoint, there was a difference
between the occupations of the accusers and the accused. The trials can be attributed to a group
of villagers who protested after their way of life was threatened by traders in Salem town
(Davidson & Lytle, 2004, p.68).
Question Five
Based on my analysis of the Salem Witch trials, various differences that characterized
society caused the trials. Puritans were highly religious, and thus this was a major factor that
influenced their decision. They obeyed Christianity and believed that the devil was out to destroy
them. Anyone who was associated with the devil has to be punished by being put to death. This
was a major factor and is aligned to the Christian perspective of the world. Christians are
believers that the devil is against them.

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References

Davidson, J. W., & Lytle, M. H. (2004). After the fact: The art of historical detection (Vol. 1).
McGraw-Hill.