The Puritan Experiment, By Francis J. Bremer

The Puritan faith is a one that was not well accepted in Great Britain, forcing them to a place where they could, theoretically, be free from persecution. Francis J. Bremer’s book, The Puritan Experiment, provides the reality that no matter the place that this religion was present, the rules were still the same. He is successful in examining the role that women played in a New World Puritan society, and is able to provide information to other authors on the aspects of the Salem Witch Trials, and the role that women played in the hysteria. The girls that created the hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials were never reported as being prosecuted for their perjury, and little is known about what happened to them after the trials ended. Bremer himself,
The town had already been through three other reverends, who had all left because of financial issues, but Parris needed to get away from Boston, so he accepted the position. The Salem Witch Trials in Salem, Massachusetts began as a simple misunderstanding creating a domino effect that overtook the entire community, allowing chaos to ensue, and lives to be lost. The persecution of the men and women of Salem was encouraged by Samuel Parris. His sermons began to develop a dark tone because he was not getting his way and thought that he would scare his congregation into doing as they were instructed. Even after consulting with many doctors, and five other reverends from surrounding communities, he still sought out another opinion, any other opinion that could explain what his daughter was experiencing. This diagnosis was the second catalyst for the trials. He encouraged the persecution of the people in his town by urging the girls to name those that were “known” to practice witchcraft. Rev. Parris also never acknowledged that the girls only succumbed to their “rages” when they were in court, nor did he take into account that they never accused anyone related to them. After the trials finished he attempted to consul his people but instead just created more a divide between himself and them. He wanted to fix his mistake without actually admitting that he had made a mistake. The people of Salem recognized that and refused to forgive him for what he had put their families through. Instead of accepting that he had a major role in the trials, Samuel Parris blamed the people, by stating that the plague of witchcraft never would have occurred, if they would have done as they were instructed to in the first place, and paid him what they were supposed to. He made the people of Salem feel that they had offended God by refusing to give their hard earned money to crops to this