A Gallos Set Upon A Hill [Paperback]

Although the phrase separation of church and state was not used until President Jeffersons letter to the Danbury Baptists in 1802, and did not obtain its current usage until the 1940s, yet nothing in American history so subtly but thoroughly contributed to that idea as the Salem Witch troubles of 1692. Despite their huge impact on the colonies, and nation emerging from them, the story of what actually happened has been obscure, hid in mythological wrappings. Arthur Millers The Crucible is most peoples source of information about these strange events, yet Millers primary agenda was to pen a parable about the McCarthy era. What actually went on in Salem Village in 1692 was much more complicated  and more representative of us all. Millers chief error may have been making the trials appear the work of a few zealots. Thousands of actual court documents are available and the author has incorporated many of these. He presents the troubles as a drama of diverse influences affecting the whole population of New England. The witch business was entirely a conflict within the American church, thus this novel challenges those who regard our origins as pristine. Lord, Lord, said they all, but this telling indicates it was at other altars many bowed. It is at other altars many sought a blessing  and it is on other altars that the unholy sacrifices were made. As the seriousness of the trials became evident, the Governor of Massachusetts sought direction from the leading ministers of Boston. These men, Puritans, Congregationalists, but also in their own minds, scientists, were unable to see their own errors or those of their disciples. Their compromising statements and actions facilitated the deaths of 23 innocent persons. In this regard, then, the story is reminiscent of Dostoevskys Grand Inquisitor. This novel might also be placed in the stylistic tradition of Melvilles Moby Dick, only instead of the white whale, it is Old Nick himself who is being oblS>