Agents Of The Devil?: Women, Witchcraft, And Medicine In Early America

This thesis argues that early American women healers were especially vulnerable to witchcraft accusations because their positions of power threatened patriarchal society and their colonial communities. Colonial society already viewed early American women as more susceptible to witchcraft than men because they believed women were more vulnerable to temptations by the devil. In particular, women healers faced accusations of witchcraft because they had it within their power to cure or to hurt. Women healers were involved in early American witchcraft trials as character witnesses and inspectors for witches’ marks. However, their abilities to recognize witchcraft-induced illness, injuries, and deaths contributed to the fears of their neighbors who did not possess such skills. Because of their power and influence, women healers represent a prime example of revolutionary women who acted as agents of change within their own lives. This thesis contributes to scholarship through a complex look at women healers’ specific involvement in early American witchcraft trials as opposed to women in general.