Source Analysis

1. Book: The Salem Witch Trials Reader- Frances Hill

Originally uncertain how to find adequate, reliable source material on which to base my Major Work on, the discovery of Hill’s book was invaluable to the development of my essay. Hill provides excerpts from a variety of historical works which encompass hypotheses spanning from contemporary to modern contexts, all of which have been recognised by the wider historical community. Whilst Hill herself has no professional training in history (she has a degree in English Literature and Philosophy), she has written extensively on the subject with four non-fiction books in publication, therefore indicating that her work has validity. Bias towards certain causation theories can be located when she voices her own opinions when she introduces the next historians work; however, she has not shown bias selectivity in her source material. She provides the reader with an extensive compilation of theories and adequate referencing for further independent investigation. This book has been of immense value to the core question of my essay in regards to analysing different historical opinions, as it has broadened my perception of causative historical debates and the extent to which theories have developed and changed over time.

2. Scientific Journal Article: Ergotism: The Satan Loosed in Salem? – Linnda Caporael

Caporael’s ergotism paper was amongst the first theories I uncovered in my research, and it was the innovative ideas behind it that garnered my interest in causation theories and debate. Caporael is not an academic historian, but her historical research is impressive. Her theory is a combination of thorough historical, medical and scientific investigations and it was this cross-disciplinary approach that drew me to analyse it as a core component of my essay. Caporael uses a considerable number of endnotes and cites a variety of sources, however, much of what she says is speculation drawn from sources that cannot be proven, therefore placing its reliability in doubt. She approaches previous historians work with a biased mindset as she is aiming to highlight the validity of her own theory over others. However, the controversy that this article provided was significant in allowing me to demonstrate the way historical debate is generated. Due to word limitations I could not discuss in detail flaws in its content that were disputed by Nicholas Spanos, but nonetheless this article was indispensible in the creation of my work.


3. Book: Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft- Paul Boyer and Steven Nissenbaum

As two competent and well recognised historians in the field of American Cultural and Intellectual History, Boyer and Nissenbaum’s collaborative work has been essential in shaping my understanding of how the use of different types of sources can be interpreted into the Salem Witch Trials debate. In 1974 this work won the American Historical Association's John H. Dunning Prize, which is awarded biannually to the best book on any subject pertaining to American History, and combined with their Ph. D’s in History, this sets them up as an extremely reliable source. Their Rankean methodology, evident via consistent footnoting and clearly cited sources, combined with Annales theology, adds further proof of the reliability of the source. Much of the material for my essay was drawn from the preface of this book, which spoke in detail of the types of sources the two used, and why. Their work corresponded perfectly with my other core question in relation to different interpretations. Boyer and Nissenbaum have published a number of works together on the Salem witch trials that have been supported and upheld into the present by other historians. Their work is valid, logical and accurate, and I found it difficult to establish a point of bias in what they chose to write their hypothesis about.