Salem Witch Trials Uncovered

3 Pages 745 Words

A historian's task becomes difficult work when an observed incident lacks the logical cause and effect that normally expects from history. The art of dissecting an incident such as this can take centuries, if not more, to accurately expose the incident using multiple interpretations. In Chapter 2 of James West Davidson and Mark Hamilton Lytle's After the Fact, the Salem Witch Trials are subject to multiple interpretations, which can both stand on their own, or be intertwined with other interpretations. Davidson and Lytle refer to two of these interpretations as the Visible Salem and Invisible Salem. The Visible Salem refers to the social, economic, religious, and geographical dynamic of the town of Salem. The Invisible Salem refers to the hysteria caused by physical and psychological manifestations of the effects of an "invisible world" of demons, witches, and a Satan who was out to corrupt all. Although each explanation can be viewed as a concrete interpretation of the facts, it seems more logical that truth can be found in both the Visible and Invisible Worlds of Salem. The Invisible Salem seems to serve the conflict mounting within the social, economic, religious, and geographical Visible Salem.
When Salem was settled, a small number of houses were built on a Peninsula that stretches into Massachusetts Bay. This constituted Salem Town, which became a center of commerce and a bustling port town that traded with England. As time passed it drew more and more settlers, who were forced to settle farther west into an agrarian village. As the village began to grow larger and larger, outlying areas began to desire succession from the town. In After the Fact, this problem is simply boiled down to money: "Everyone paid taxes to support a minister for the town church, to maintain the roads, and to care for the poor. If a chunk of the village split off, revenue would be lost" (Davidson & Lytle, 38). This caused rising tensions bet...