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The Salem Witchcraft Trials
Relates the causes, events, and aftermath of the witchcraft trials which took place in Salem, Massachusetts, in the early 1690's and resulted in the deaths of more than nineteen people.
95 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1989
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About the author
Karen Zeinert
30 books9 followersKaren Zeinert is a seasoned author of books on significant American events that were turning points, or microcosms, of the major issues of the time.
She has formerly taught American history to high school students, and language arts and social studies to middle school children. She has been a writer since 1981 and has authored such works as Captured by Indians: The Narrative of Mary Jemison (Linnet, 1995) and The Extraordinary Women of World War I (Millbrook, 2001). Across the Plains in the Donner Party (Linnet, 1996) was selected by VOYA as one of the top 40 nonfiction books for Young Adults published in 1996.
She has formerly taught American history to high school students, and language arts and social studies to middle school children. She has been a writer since 1981 and has authored such works as Captured by Indians: The Narrative of Mary Jemison (Linnet, 1995) and The Extraordinary Women of World War I (Millbrook, 2001). Across the Plains in the Donner Party (Linnet, 1996) was selected by VOYA as one of the top 40 nonfiction books for Young Adults published in 1996.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 31, 2022
A nice quick non-fiction read.
February 3, 2016
The book has some interesting things to say about the book Malleus Maleficarum, a major anti-witch book. The authors of the book said women were more likely to be witches then men because:
1. Woman are not as smart as men.
2. They are greedier than men.
3. Women were jealous of the greater physical strength of men, so they signed on with the devil to get themselves some powers of their own.
4. Men that did work for the devil were usually tricked by women into doing so.
The book talks about the witch hunts in Europe. It says “hundreds” were hung, which is about the lowest number I've seen anywhere. It also notes that witch hunting could be a very profitable business.
The first person to be executed for being a witch was Margaret Jones in 1648. She was what would best be termed a “wise woman” who was knowledgeable in use of healing herbs.
This book also has something I have not read elsewhere. “Puritan ministers were concerned by the growing lack of interest in the church, the loss of church members, and the disrespectful ways that some of the colonists behaved.” What better way to get people back into the church than have a witch craze?
The book goes into the history of how the Puritan settlements were founded. It also notes that it was not just children that did the accusing, but adults did, also.
The book goes into some detail about the concept of hysteria as an explanation for the actions of the young girl accusers.
The book also examines the idea that some of the trouble was due to bad feelings between Salem Town and Salem Village. Then it discusses the various apologies that were issued later.
An interesting book, rather well done.
1. Woman are not as smart as men.
2. They are greedier than men.
3. Women were jealous of the greater physical strength of men, so they signed on with the devil to get themselves some powers of their own.
4. Men that did work for the devil were usually tricked by women into doing so.
The book talks about the witch hunts in Europe. It says “hundreds” were hung, which is about the lowest number I've seen anywhere. It also notes that witch hunting could be a very profitable business.
The first person to be executed for being a witch was Margaret Jones in 1648. She was what would best be termed a “wise woman” who was knowledgeable in use of healing herbs.
This book also has something I have not read elsewhere. “Puritan ministers were concerned by the growing lack of interest in the church, the loss of church members, and the disrespectful ways that some of the colonists behaved.” What better way to get people back into the church than have a witch craze?
The book goes into the history of how the Puritan settlements were founded. It also notes that it was not just children that did the accusing, but adults did, also.
The book goes into some detail about the concept of hysteria as an explanation for the actions of the young girl accusers.
The book also examines the idea that some of the trouble was due to bad feelings between Salem Town and Salem Village. Then it discusses the various apologies that were issued later.
An interesting book, rather well done.
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December 5, 2012 The Salem witch trials of 1692–1693 remain one of the enigmas of American history. The porpose of writing this book was to share with the readers and let them know how time was back then and how the witches came about. So, How did the witchcraft hysteria come about? Did the imaginations of the townspeople run wild so that they viewed unneighborly acts as an evil threat promulgated by Satan's minions? Zeinert answers these and other questions in her monumental daily chronology of the trial years.
As She writes this book she introduces her account with an exhaustive narrative history of the Salem community from 1661 to 1691. With workmanlike precision, she provides historical details—such as the conflicts between church congregations and ministers and the increasing frequency of Indian attacks—as she contends that the hysteria arose most likely from the political, religious and social turmoil of the time. Using newly available diaries, journals and letters, Zeinert then reconstructs, for the first time, daily life during the height of the witch trials as well as accounts of court proceedings, arrests and suspects' confessions. The theme of this book is that people will do anything to get attition even if its is giving yourself to the devil.
I thought this book was kind of boring. I didnt like it that well, and i think everyone in this time period was crazy. I think that anyone who gives their self to the devil could be crazy.
As She writes this book she introduces her account with an exhaustive narrative history of the Salem community from 1661 to 1691. With workmanlike precision, she provides historical details—such as the conflicts between church congregations and ministers and the increasing frequency of Indian attacks—as she contends that the hysteria arose most likely from the political, religious and social turmoil of the time. Using newly available diaries, journals and letters, Zeinert then reconstructs, for the first time, daily life during the height of the witch trials as well as accounts of court proceedings, arrests and suspects' confessions. The theme of this book is that people will do anything to get attition even if its is giving yourself to the devil.
I thought this book was kind of boring. I didnt like it that well, and i think everyone in this time period was crazy. I think that anyone who gives their self to the devil could be crazy.
December 6, 2013
The book I choose for this quarter's book review was "The Salem Witchcraft Trials" by Karen Zeinert. The author's purpose for writing this book was to inform the reader about witches and the history of them. It also told about their past and how people reacted to witchcraft. It explained what witchcraft is and what it does to people. That is the author's purpose for writing "The Salem Witchcraft Trials".
The theme of this book is to always stnad up for what you believe in. In this novel, the villagers had to take their side of who they thought was performing witchcraft and who was not. They had to stand up and voice their opinions no matter what other people thought. The author was trying to state indirectly that witches are real and that there is proof them because of these trials.
The style that this book was written in was argument form. The author was trying to explain the past of witchcraft to persuade people to believe that they exist. This was a very effective style to use when the author wrote this book. That is the syle of this novel.
My opinion on this novel is that really liked it. I enjoyed learning about the witches and what they did. The thing that I did not like about it was that it was very short. The one thing that I would have changed about it was to make it longer. That is my opinion on the novel "The Salem Witchcraft Trials".
The theme of this book is to always stnad up for what you believe in. In this novel, the villagers had to take their side of who they thought was performing witchcraft and who was not. They had to stand up and voice their opinions no matter what other people thought. The author was trying to state indirectly that witches are real and that there is proof them because of these trials.
The style that this book was written in was argument form. The author was trying to explain the past of witchcraft to persuade people to believe that they exist. This was a very effective style to use when the author wrote this book. That is the syle of this novel.
My opinion on this novel is that really liked it. I enjoyed learning about the witches and what they did. The thing that I did not like about it was that it was very short. The one thing that I would have changed about it was to make it longer. That is my opinion on the novel "The Salem Witchcraft Trials".
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews