Episode Description
This episode of Salem Witch Trials Daily, hosted by Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack, explores the Massachusetts Body of Liberties, New England's first legal code compiled in 1641 by Nathaniel Ward. The document introduced rights that resemble those in today's U.S. Bill of Rights but also reflected the Puritanical norms of its time by prohibiting practices like witchcraft. It laid out rights and liberties for various inhabitants but was heavily influenced by biblical scripture, contributing to the legal foundation that enabled the Salem Witch Trials. The episode delves into the complex balance between freedoms and restrictions within this code.Links
The Thing About Witch Hunts / About Salem YouTube channel
Emerson W. Baker, A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience
Bernard Rosenthal, ed., Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt
Marilynne K. Roach, The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege
Mary Beth Norton, In the Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692