The Devil's Disciples: The Makers of the Salem Witchcraft Trials - Hardcover

Hoffer, Professor Peter Charles

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0801852005 ISBN 13: 9780801852008

Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996

Synopsis

"A superb legal scholar, Hoffer provides an excellent discussion of the procedures and evidence used in the trials. He reveals that grand juries demanded more tangible evidence of witchcraft that the assertions of afflicted adolescent girls before issuing indictments. Hoffer then demonstrates that, in determining the guilt of the accused, the trial juries essentially followed the lead of the judges, who were insufficiently prepared for witchcraft cases." -- American Historical Review

"Hoffer's central argument is persuasive and significant... [He] furthers understanding of Salem witchcraft by comparing it to allegations of satanic abuse and child molestation in our own time. Without denying the existence of child abuse today or the importance of exposing it to public view, Hoffer compares the Salem witchcraft hysteria to the collective fantasies of victimization that have overtaken United States communities in recent years... [He] demonstrates the continued relevance of the Salem episode and its important place in American history." Journal of American History

"Reads like a good novel... You cannot wait to see what happens next, even though the verdicts were passed in 1692."-- New England Historical and Genealogical Register

Mention the term witch hunt, and Salem, Massachusetts, springs to mind--and with it the power of superstition, the danger of mob mentality, and our natural fear of gross injustice. For more than a year, between January 1692 and May 1693, the men and women of Salem village lived in heightened fear of witches and their master, the Devil. Hundreds were accused of practicing witchcraft. Many suspects languished in jail for months. Nineteen men and women were hanged; one was pressed to death. Neighbors turned against neighbors, children informed on their parents, and ministers denounced members of their congregations. How could a settled community turn so viciously against itself? Why were certain persons accused and condemned while others were not? And why did the incidents of Salem occur where and when they did?

Approaching the subject as a legal and social historian, Peter Charles Hoffer offers a fresh look at the Salem outbreak based on recent studies of panic rumors, teen hysteria, child abuse, and intrafamily relations. He brings to life a set of conversations--in taverns and courtrooms, at home and work--which took place among suspected witches, accusers, witnesses, and spectators. The accusations, denials, and confessions of this legal story eventually resurrect the tangled internal tensions that lay at the bottom of the Salem witch hunts.

"This engaged account of New England's most notorious crisis fuses scholarly craft and chutzpah with the skills of a master story teller. The author's expertise as a legal historian, coupled with explorations of oral culture and informed conjectures on such topics as Tituba's origins and 'recovered' memories of child abuse, give The Devil's Disciples a distinguished place in the ever-lengthening line of Salem witchcraft studies."--Michael McGiffert, Editor, William and Mary Quarterly

"Hoffer offers us a balanced, smoothly written book which helps the reader understand how the judges and jury members framed the testimony of frightened and frightening young women. It is a bright, well-informed study."--Timothy H. Breen, Northwestern University

About this title

From the Back Cover

For more than a year, between January 1692 and May 1693, the men and women of Salem Village lived in heightened fear of witches and their master, the Devil. Hundreds were accused of practicing witchcraft. Many suspects languished in jail for months. Nineteen men and women were hanged; one was pressed to death. Neighbors turned against neighbors, children informed on their parents, and ministers denounced members of their congregations. Approaching the subject as a legal and social historian, Peter Charles Hoffer offers a fresh look at the Salem outbreak based on recent studies of panic rumors, teen hysteria, child abuse, and intrafamily relations. He brings to life a set of conversations - in taverns and courtrooms, at home and work - which took place among suspected witches, accusers, witnesses, and spectators. The accusations, denials, and confessions of this legal story eventually resurrect the tangled internal tensions that lay at the bottom of the Salem witch hunts. Hoffer demonstrates that Salem, far from being an isolated community in the wilderness, stood on the leading edge of a sprawling and energetic Atlantic empire. His story begins in the slave markets of West Africa and Barbados and then shifts to Massachusetts, where the English, Africans, and Native Americans lived under increasing pressures from overpopulation, disease, and cultural conflict. In Salem itself, traditional piety and social values appeared endangered as consumerism and secular learning gained ground. Guerrilla warfare between Indians and English settlers - and rumors that the Devil had taken a particular interest in New England - panicked common people and authorities. The stage was set, Hoffer concludes, for the witchcraft hysteria.

About the Author

Peter Charles Hoffer is Research Professor of History at the University of Georgia and the author of numerous books on early American law and history, including the second edition of Law and People in Colonial America, also available from Johns Hopkins.

About this edition

• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0801852005
• ISBN 13: 9780801852008
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 296