The Puritan society in Boston is described by Arthur Miller (1995), in his preface to The Crucible, as one that was organized to withstand the harsh elements and lifestyle and those considered ôotherö: ôMassachusetts tried to kill off the Puritans, but they combined; they set up a communal society which, in the beginning, was little more than an armed camp with an autocratic and devoted leadershipö (5). Such leadership came in the form of men like Cotton Mather, a devout and zealous pastor. Mather believed Puritans were GodÆs chosen, with New England representing the new Jerusalem. Those who were different or did not adopt puritan beliefs were considered a threat to the community. Three main beliefs of Puritans led to MatherÆs support of the Salem witch trials. The first was the belief that the ôspiritual and earthly realms overlappedö, leading to beliefs of witch craft and other evils orchestrated by Satan (Hovey and Jackson 2004, 1). A second belief was the belief that Puritans were ôGodÆs chosenö, and a third belief argued that their colony was a ôholy communityö (Hovey and Jackson 2004, 1). Positing themselves as superior to the morality and faith of ôothersö, such beliefs led to abuses by the clergy and government officials during the era of Cotton Mather.
The three beliefs outlined above enabled leaders like Cotton Mather to rationalize and validate forms of social control that often involved prosecution and persecution of those with different beliefs. According to Becker (1915), such a justification and validation stemmed from the ôvain and pathetic effort of single-minded men to identify the temporal and spiritual commonwealthsö (97). Men like Mather believe he and the members of his community maintained a monopoly on virtue and goodness (i.e. godliness). This mentality allowed for the uncharitable and unkind treatment of others who did not conform to Puritan bel
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