The creation date of the image above is estimated to be anywhere from 1910-1919. The author is currently unknown. The image represents a group of puritans traveling to church in the winter. Church and Puritanism was extremely important to the Puritans and it pertains directly to the Salem Witch Trails, as that was the main religion of Salem. The puritans believed “it was necessary to be in a covenant relationship with God in order to be redeemed from one’s sinful condition, that God had chosen to reveal salvation through preaching, and that the Holy Spirit was the energizing instrument of salvation" (“Puritanism”). This heavily contributed to the radical ideas of witchcraft spreading throughout the village. Witchcraft is said to be the work of the devil, and due to the radicalism of puritanism, this helped to fuel everyone's belief in the devil’s work – witchcraft (Linder). Puritanism may have been the main reason why witch accusations spread as fast and were as successful as they were. The sheer intenseness of Salem’s devotion to this religion led them to become irrational in everyday life, especially while examining those accused of witchcraft.
A puritan minister who was once famed for his intense sermons, Jonathan Edwards, was born just after the Witch Trials were put to a halt. However, this did not stop the irrationalism of Puritanism, especially in his “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” sermon. Edwards even says, “Your Wickedness makes you as it were heavy as Lead, and to tend downwards with great Weight and Pressure towards Hell…” (Edwards). While many sermons were not this extreme, they still had the same overall beliefs. This alone led the Puritan Salem residents to believe in the devil being able to drag you down to hell and helped influence the townsfolks’ belief in witchcraft. With this, combined with the fear of sin and eternal damnation, the witchcraft accusations ran rampant throughout the town. Edwards also mentions “The God that holds you over the Pit of Hell, much as one holds a Spider, or some loathsome Insect, over the Fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked…” (Edwards). This provoked a fear of damnation amongst the Puritan religion, similarly to the witch trials in which fear absorbed the entire town of Salem. Both Edwards and the Witch Trials provoked fear into the surround community; in fact, he may have gathered a bit of the fear factor from the witch trials and used them in his sermons. The fear of damnation and upsetting god led the Puritans to the mess that became the Salem Witch Trials.
Edwards, Jonathan. “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. A Sermon Preached At ...” University of Nebraska - Lincoln Digital Library, digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1053&context=etas. Accessed 5 May 2024.
Linder, Doug. “The Witchcraft Trials in Salem: A Commentary.” An Account of the Salem Witchcraft Investigations, Trials, and Aftermath., law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SAL_ACCT.HTM. Accessed 4 May 2024.
“Puritanism.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 29 Mar. 2024, www.britannica.com/topic/Puritanism.