Salem Witchcraft and Cotton Mather

Charles W. Upham

Charles Wentworth Upham (1802-1875) was a member of the Massachusetts State House of Representatives in the 19th century. He was the cousin of George Baxter Upham and Jabez Upham. A classmate and former friend of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Upham was an opponent of the burgeoning Transcendentalism movement and later engineered for Nathaniel Hawthorne to be dismissed from his job at the Salem custom house. He also arranged for Jones Very to be institutionalized at McClean Asylum. Senator Charles Sumner once referred to Upham as "that smooth, smiling, oily man of God". His works include: Life, Explorations and Public Services of John Charles Fremont (1856), Salem Witchcraft (1867) and Salem Witchcraft and Cotton Mather: A Reply (1869).

Table of contents

• Prefatory Note
• Introduction
• 1. The Connection Of The Mathers With The Superstitions Of Their Time
• 2. The Goodwin Children. Some General Remarks Upon The Criticisms Of The North American Review
• 3. Cotton Mather And The Goodwin Children. John Baily. John Hale. Goodwin's Certificates. Mather's Idea Of Witchcraft As A War With The Devil. His Use Of Prayer. Connection Between The Case Of The Goodwin Children And Salem Witchcraft
• 4. The Relation Of The Mathers To The Administration Of Massachusetts, In 1692. The New Charter. The Government Under It Arranged By Them. Arrival Of Sir William Phips
• 5. The Special Court Of Oyer And Terminer. How It Was Established. Who Responsible For It. The Government Of The Province Concentrated In Its Chief-Justice
• 6. Cotton Mather's Connection With The Court. Spectral Evidence. Letter To John Richards. Advice Of The Ministers
• 7. Advice Of The Ministers, Further Considered. Cotton Mather's Plan For Dealing With Spectral Testimony
• 8. Cotton Mather And Spectral Evidence
• 9. Cotton Mather And The Preliminary Examinations. John Proctor. George Burroughs
• 10. Cotton Mather And The Witchcraft Trials. The Executions
• 11. Letter To Stephen Sewall. "Wonders Of The Invisible World." Its Origin And Design. Cotton Mather's Account Of The Trials
• 12. "Wonders Of The Invisible World," Continued. Passages From It. "Cases Of Conscience." Increase Mather
• 13. The Court Of Oyer And Terminer Brought To A Sudden End. Sir William Phips
• 14. Cotton Mather's Writings Subsequent To The Witchcraft Prosecutions
• 15. History Of Opinion As To Cotton Mather's Connection With Salem Witchcraft. Thomas Brattle. The People Of Salem Village. John Hall. John Higginson. Michael Wigglesworth
• 16. History Of Opinion As To Cotton Mather, Continued. Francis Hutchinson. Daniel Neal. Isaac Watts. Thomas Hutchinson. William Bentley. John Eliot. Josiah Quincy
• 17. The Effect Upon The Power Of The Mathers, In The Public Affairs Of The Province, Of Their Connection With Witchcraft
• 18. Cotton Mather's Writings And Character
• 19. Robert Calef's Writings And Character
• 20. Miscellaneous Remarks. Conclusion