Short Research Report

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 and was raised in Salem, Massachusetts. His
family was historically high in power in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, holding important
political positions. He was related to John Hathorne, a judge of the Salem Witch Trials.
To escape association with his ancestor, he added a W to make his name Hawthorne.
He went to school at Bowdoin College and married Sophia Peabody, a
transcendentalist, having three children. He wrote his most famous piece, The Scarlet
Letter, and was published in 1850, which became an immediate bestseller in both the
United States and England. Hawthornes geographic location and community in
Massachusetts became the setting for many of his works, being strongly influenced by
the historically Puritan beliefs of the community. He gained much respect in the literary
community, and became acquaintances with notable figures such as Lincoln, Emerson,
and Franklin Pierce. Hawthorne died in 1864, at age 59, in Plymouth, New Hampshire.
The Salem Witch Trials were a cause of Puritan extremism. The Puritan community
believed that Satan was very active in the world they lived in, and he used humans to do
his work. They justified their claims with disasters like smallpox and the frontier war with
the Indians. Also, underlying conflicts between the residents and families of Salem were
a cause of the Salem Witch Trials. Any strange behavior was reported and investigated
as witchcraft.
The trials began in February of 1692 and ended in May of 1693. It started with a few
uncontrollable girls, which began to spread to other girls in the community. Some were
accused of witchcraft because they were poor or had disease. These witches were
accused, investigated by the magistrate and prosecuted by the court.
Several key individuals were responsible for the actions of the trials in Salem. John
Hathorne, Nathaniel Hawthornes great grandfather, and Samuel Sewall were the
magistrates in charge of investigating many of the accusations. It is said that these
supposedly fair and impartial investigators were actually very subjective and acted
similarly to a prosecutor. Ann Putnam was a key figure in that she was a main accusor in
the trials and have thought to have been afflicted by 62 people.
Many innocent people were victims of unwarranted accusation as a result of family feud
and being different from what was considered normal. After being accused, victims were
kept imprisoned and then if the magistrate ruled that the person was, in fact, a witch,
they were hung at the gallows.
Hawthorne was the great-grandson of the magistrate, John Hathorne. Nathaniel
changed his name to Hawthorne later, probably to avoid persecution and association
with the ruthless actions of his great grandfather.
There was a surge in Puritanism. In fear of being persecuted and ultimately killed, the
entire community conformed to a very strict Puritan way of life. People became very
wary of the actions of other neighbors in their community. A lot of judgement occurred,
and those who didnt conform to strict Puritan ways, they were considered to be
controlled by the Devil.
Young Goodman Brown is related to the Salem Witch Trials because Hawthorne
alludes to Puritan history and the complicated spiritual events that occured in Puritan
history. He believes in inherent evil and criticizes the beliefs of the Puritans in his short
story.
His great-grandfather who was firm in his Salem Witch Trial decisions was hated by
many. In order to avoid hatred directed toward his grandfather, he chose to change his
name and disassociate himself from the familys troubling past.