Growing Up in Salem, Massachusetts

Puritan Children Rebelling Against Adult Rule

Oct 10, 2006 Mary Trotter Kion

Life in Salem Village for youngsters: Long Puritan church services, acting as adults, accusing others of witchcraft.

Toddlers Envied in Salem

In Salem Village, during the late 1600s, some young people may have accused various adults and other children of practicing witchcraft as a means of rebelling against strict Puritan adult rule. In Salem Village, especially in 1692 during the Salem Witch Trials, the lives of children were filled with stress and uncertainty. Gaiety and having fun were regarded as irreligious. Only toddlers were allowed to play. Older children were expected to work hard and conduct themselves as the adults. It was a situation that could encourage some youngsters to misbehave in extreme ways. Although it would have been unthinkable to strike out physically at a toddler, some older children may have found a more devious method of venting their jealousy. It was a way of retaliating that goes far beyond any present-day method of one child taunting another.

Toddler Accused of Witchcraft

In one such instance, during the Salem Witch Trials, four-year-old Dorcas Good was accused by older girls of witchcraft. Dorcas was sent to prison. The long months that she spent chained to a wall in a dark dungeon scarred her for life. In prison she was not even allowed a doll for solace, since dolls were considered instruments of witches for casting spells. After finally being released from prison Dorcas was, for the rest of her life, in such a mental state that she had to constantly be under the care of an adult.

Sundays in Salem

On Sunday morning the children of Salem Village trudged to church with their parents and other adults. There they endured a three-hour sermon while regulated to hard benches. Throughout this service the children heard words of warning to have extreme caution against all sorts of evil temptations. Any child who wiggled, fell asleep, or showed signs of impatience during the services could be certain of encountering the minister's wrath later.

A Brief Respite

When the final prayer was said the young people were somewhat free from their confines. But that was not the end of the religious observance for the day. In the afternoon another long sermon was held. There was no getting out of it either. It was the law, set down by the church leaders. And all could look forward to a rerun of the long ordeal on the following Wednesday to come.

During the time between services the children had a brief opportunity to talk to friends. It was also a chance to hear what the adults said to each other, things that may have made a strong impression on their young and budding minds. And therein many problems arose.

Cotton Mather Warns Against Demons

The children of Salem had very little outlet for venting their often-confused emotions. This was especially true with the girls. Boys could hunt, shoot and be physically active. Many girls surely found little solace for sorting out their pre-womanhood feelings while stitching samplers, doing housework, and preparing meals. One group of girls, in spite of Cotton Mather's warning against demons, in 1692 did vent their emotions to the utmost by accusing others of bewitching them, and their actions were accepted as genuine by many of Salem's leading citizens.

Educating the Children

Many of the original Salem settlers had been educated people. However, by the year 1692, the education that the children received in Salem Village was not very thorough. It was believed that so long as they were taught correct religious doctrine they would grow up to be good citizens. The teaching, of course, was from the Bible, and the children were told over and over again that only the greatest piety would save them from eternal damnation.

Holiday Celebrations

Holidays were not observed by the Puritans, including Christmas and Easter, as the church believed they derived from pagan ideas. The occasional holidays the children had from school were for such things as planting crops or getting in the harvest.

Sources:

Deetz, James. Patricia Scott Deetz. The Times of Their Lives: Life, Love, and Death in Plymouth Colony. W. H. Freeman and Company, New York, 2000.

Jackson, Shirley. The Witchcraft of Salem Village. Random House, New York, 1956.

The copyright of the article Growing Up in Salem, Massachusetts in American History is owned by Mary Trotter Kion. Permission to republish Growing Up in Salem, Massachusetts in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.