Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft – Paul Boyer & Stephen Nissenbaum. Harvard University Press, 1974.

     As the title indicates, the book deals with the Salem witchcraft crisis and trials, but rather than witchcraft and spells, the authors mainly see economics and rivalry within the community as the driving forces in the Salem witchcraft crisis. Things you should watch for in the book and should be able to discuss on an exam include:

What was the geographical and economic setup of Salem Town and Salem Village? How had Salem Town and Salem Village changed physically, economically, and socially over the years? What problems were developing between Salem Town and Salem Village? What specific things were angering the citizens of Salem Village about Salem Town?

Who were the Puritans? What did they believe? What was their concept of God, humans, sin, and witchcraft? How was Puritan society changing by the 1680s? How were Puritan beliefs, for many, changing by the 1680s? What role did capitalism and economic prosperity play in this change? Where did Salem Town and Salem Village fit when it came to traditional Puritan beliefs? How did Puritan beliefs play into the witchcraft craze?

What, politically, was happening in the colony of Massachusetts at this time? Why did it make many people of the colony feel nervous and insecure? How did this political insecurity affect Salem Village?

What are the rivalries tearing Salem Village apart? How do the Porter and Putnam families fit into this crisis? What is fueling these rivalries? How does the role of church pastor fit into these rivalries? Where does Rev. Samuel Parris fit into this crisis?

How does “witchcraft” make its appearance in Salem Village? How does it manifest itself? Who and from what faction do the accusers come from? Who do they accuse and what faction are those accused associated with?

Why are the girls listened to? How do they describe what is happening to them? How can you prove if someone is a witch or not? What is “spectral evidence?” Why are those particular people accused of witchcraft? Who were executed and who got to live? How did the witchcraft trials play out? What finally brought the whole situation to an end? W

Why did witchcraft executions play out as it did in Salem Village but no where else in the colony either before or after?