... of witchcraft. To control the spread of witchcraft a community of vigilance was created to hunt down and prosecute all suspected witches. Not all of the villagers agreed to this approach. Cotton Mather was troubled by this fanaticism. He believed that people were too zealous in their pursuit of witches and thus they were becoming hysterical ... . Cotton Mather realized that misunderstandings and irrational thinking caused the widespread idea of witchcraft among the Puritans. (Mather) This irrationality was not only common amongst the people but also amongst the authorities. People became...

• Word Count: 1873
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School