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The Salem Witchcraft Trials
A Legal History
Paperback | 8 October 1997
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Peter Charles Hoffer, a historian long familiar with the Salem witchcraft trials, now reexamines this notorious episode in American history and presents many of its legal details in correct perspective for the first time. He tells the real story of how religious beliefs, superstitions, clan disputes, and Anglo-American law and custom created an epidemic of accusations that resulted in the investigation of nearly two hundred colonists and, for many, the ordeal of trail and incarceration. He also examines life during this crisis period of New England history—a time beset by Indian wars, disease, severe weather, and challenges to Puritan hegemony—to show how an atmosphere of paranoia contributed to this outbreak of persecution.
Hoffer examines every aspect of this history, from accusations to grand jury investigations to the conduct of the trials themselves. He shows how rights we take for granted today—such as rules of evidence and a defendant's right to legal counsel—did not exist in colonial times, and he demonstrates how these cases relate to current instances of children accusing adults of abuse.
The Salem Witchcraft Trials, a concise history written expressly for students and general readers, contains much new material not found in the author's earlier work. It sheds important light on the period and shows that our horror of these infamous proceedings must be tempered with sympathy for a people who gave in to panic in the face of a harsh and desolate existence.
Industry Reviews
ISBN: 9780700608591
ISBN-10: 0700608591
Series: Landmark Law Cases and American Society
Published: 8th October 1997
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Number of Pages: 160
Audience: General Adult
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Country of Publication: US
Dimensions (cm): 22.23 x 14.61 x 1.27
Weight (kg): 0.25
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You Can Find This Book In
This product is categorised by
- Non-FictionHistoryRegional & National HistoryHistory of the Americas
- Non-FictionReligion & BeliefsAlternative Belief SystemsOccult StudiesWitchcraft
- Non-FictionLocal & Family History, NostalgiaLocal History
- Non-FictionMind, Body, SpiritMysticism, Magic & Occult InterestsWitchcraft & Wicca
- Non-FictionReligion & BeliefsAlternative Belief SystemsOccult StudiesSatanism & Demonology
- Non-FictionHistoryEarliest Times to Present DayEarly Modern History from 1450 to 1700
- Non-FictionHistorySpecific Events & Topics in HistorySocial & Cultural History
- Non-FictionLawJurisprudence & General IssuesLegal Skills & Practice