Religion and Social Movements
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14.7K1Margaret Rule and the ‘Smutty’ Cotton Mather
In September of 1693, just after the Salem witchcraft hysteria, a Boston girl, Margaret Rule, convinced the town that demons possessed her....
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6.3K1Epes Sargent Tries to Get America to Believe in Ghosts
In the 1860s and 1870s, many Americans grew obsessed with spiritualism and communicating with the dead. The movement, which began in 1848...
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12.8K1John Humphrey Noyes Finds Out Sex and Silverware Don’t Mix
John Humphrey Noyes started out in the 19th century as a conventional Yale-trained minister until he found out he was perfect and...
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19.5K5How the Witchcraft Trials of Susannah Martin Lasted Nearly 25 Years
In 1692, the witch trials in Salem finally ended the life Susannah Martin. It was the culmination of a 25-year-long period during...
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14.8K20Lewis Tappan, the Man Who Hired Abe Lincoln to Spy on Sinners
Lewis Tappan hated slavery as much as he hated people who didn’t pay their debts. In 1841, he found he could do...
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10.4K1Equity, Maine Meets the New England Divorce Reform League
The New England Divorce Reform League sprang up in the late 1800s in response to a divorce crisis in the country. The...
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